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: Ok, going to address a couple things first. One, I DID post all the removed chapters from CGAH into its own story. If I get banned, so be it. I'm tired of the BS and drama. Wanna ban me, fricken ban me. Two, I do intend on posting here until I can't anymore. I have a Live Journal (find link in my profile) and am currently working on getting it up to date, but when I have multiple stories and nearly 300 chapters to upload, it takes a while. And finally, I want to thank all of you, verbal or not, who support us writers while those pansy ass, no balled, chicken sh*t anonymous reviewers are trying to stir up trouble. It really is amazing and I thank you. Truly and deeply, thank you.
AN2: That being said, I am pleased to give you the next chapter of this story. I think you guys will like it. Enjoy!
Chapter 15
Much to their displeasure, as soon as Mark left Callie and Arizona in the training room alone, a Texan player was brought in after having tripped and sprained her ankle while running the bases. The two USA players remained a safe distance away from one another, Torres relaxing and trying to get over the pounding in her head while Arizona tried to calm the pounding in her chest. They had nearly kissed, their first kiss. And it was going to be awesome, the blonde knew it was going to be awesome. …And then Mark. And the news that she and Callie were now a team within the team. Callie was her catcher. She was the Latina's pitcher. And that complicated things. …A lot.
Which is what a certain Peds surgeon is thinking about as Team USA's tour bus turns north on its way up to Illinois. It's been two days since their almost first kiss, and since then Arizona has been avoiding the captain. That voice in her head is screaming at her to stop, to keep it professional. After all, it's not personal, it's business. That is her mantra, that is what she swore to herself. But now… now it's quickly becoming very very personal. And Robbins is starting to panic.
From the back seat, her bench raised up allowing her to gaze upon her team spread out before her, brown eyes find long, toned legs propped up just a few benches in front of her. Arizona has her feet propped up on a seat across the aisle and her body laid out over her bench. Callie can't see the blonde's face, but she's felt that chill that has settled between them. Just when Torres thought she made a break through, just when she thought she got Arizona to open up… the blonde retreated back into the protective shell of hers. Two days of dancing around each other, not talking, barely even seeing one another. And it's killing Callie. Because the memory of that kiss, that almost kiss still lingers in her mind and on her lips. She craves the taste of Arizona, the feel of fair skin against hers. But the catcher is afraid to push her teammate, because that would do no one any good.
Cerulean blue stares up at the ceiling of the bus, her head resting on a pillow as she lays down across her bench. The steady beat of the music playing in her ears mixes with the calming movement of the passing ground below her. It should be enough to relax her, pull her into sleep. But it's not. Not when she has Callie on her mind, as well as the rest of Team USA. Their goal is plastered in the forefront of her vision, seeing those five interloping rings and all they represent. It's really happening, she is really on an Olympic team. A dream she never even knew she had is coming true. Then why is she risking putting it all on the line for one woman. One woman who she doesn't even know… not really. She doesn't know anything about Callie, besides the fact she's the best catcher Arizona has ever seen. And she can cook. Has a smile that could melt an iceberg. And her eyes… it's like staring into the entire universe, that's how deep they are.
Team USA makes their pit stop of this leg of their road trip, players spilling out of the bus in search of real bathrooms, food, drinks, or just a place to stretch out their legs. Eyes of the truckers light up when they see more than a dozen good looking, in shape woman fill the homey truck stop, everyone breaking off into groups of two or three. They've been driving for eight hours, and have just as long to go before making it to Chicago, so everyone agreed that they needed to get out of the bus for a while.
Amelia watches from around a corner as Arizona meanders through aisle after aisle of the small convenience store. It's been two days since the younger Shepard was told the news that Torres was now Robbins catcher, and since then the short brunette has been simmering in anger and jealousy. Callie is HER catcher, Amelia's. They have been working together for years. Amelia can read Callie's mind, Callie can read hers. They know each other's moves before either of them can make them. And then little miss Blondie comes marching onto the team and screws everything up. Why shouldn't Amelia be pissed off?
The veteran pitcher nearly jumps out of her skin when someone behind her whispers "What are you doing?" Dark eyes snap around, only to find those of steel blue ones looking down at her.
"Damn it, Hahn." Shepard growls, her heart nearly pounding out of her chest.
Looking over her, now, pitchers shoulder, Erica sees Arizona leaning into one of the refrigerator units while perusing the huge selection of drinks. "You weren't going to do anything stupid now, were you Shep?" Hahn sings.
"Of course not." Amelia replies shortly, then grabs the first thing she can grab next to her. "I was looking for… this." She says, holding up a set of jumper cables. Thin lips purse when Erica glances down at the object, then look back up to dark eyes in front of her. With one last look over the woman's shoulder, catching the tight, forced smile Arizona sends their way before turning a corner and leaving her line of sight, Erica turns on her heel and goes about her own thing.
Once her captain is out of earshot, Amelia drops the jumper cables on the ground with a loud smack and grinds her teeth. She easily zeros in on Arizona again, whose sickeningly perky giggle comes from the front of the store, and finds her checking out at the register. The man there manning the register is nearly falling over himself as the newcomer chats animatedly with him, bright blue eyes and dimples making the poor boy melt into a pool of drool.
"Ladies!" Derek calls out, catching the attention of players and other patrons of the truck stop. "Let's get a move on. Ten minutes the bus is leaving, whether you're on it or not."
With a roll of her eyes, Amelia heads to the bathroom and locks herself into an empty stall. Most of her teammates have already used the facilities and now there are just a couple other women she doesn't know milling about. But the pitcher isn't worried about them as her shaking hands grasp at the orange pill bottle in the pouch of her hoodie. It's lighter than she would like, but getting a refill now would be too dangerous. It would raise too many suspicions. Up until now, she hadn't had to ration them, but now that she knows there are only a handful left, the itch is even greater. And her fingers move on their own as she undoes the safety cap and tips the bottle up, spilling two little blue pills into her hand. She doesn't pause a second before tossing them into her mouth and swallowing them down, her eyes closing as the itch and the anger and the pain already starting to melt from her body.
Hours after the team loaded back up on the bus, Callie finds herself staring at the blonde just two rows in front of her again… or still. She doesn't really know, but Callie knows it's been long enough. Plucking up her courage, she stands as the bus shifts beneath her and slowly closes the distance between her and her pitcher. Brown eyes trace the expanse of leg before her, the fair skin smooth and supple just waiting to be touched. But she doesn't, instead she pokes her head out from behind the blonde and finds Arizona staring off into space. She clears her throat, but still the newcomer doesn't response, the ear buds in her ears preventing any noise filtering in from the outside world.
So, with the nail of her thumb, Callie quickly trails the length of Arizona's exposed calf, making the blonde jump at the contact. Blue eyes snap back to reality as she sees the gorgeous Latina standing in the aisle, smiling and looking all kinds of sexy.
Arizona struggles to get up out of her prone position and pulls the ear buds from her ears. "He-hey, Cal." She stammers, a blush ripping across her cheeks for some reason.
"Sorry, didn't mean to startle you." Callie replies, her eyes scanning the rest of the cabin in front of her and catching steel blue eyes of her co-captain before Hahn quickly looks away. "Can I sit?" She asks, gesturing to the seat that had, up til a few seconds ago, been the pitchers bed.
"Yeah." Robbins says, a tight smile crossing her lips. And her heart starts to pound as soon as Callie takes the empty seat next to her. A silence falls between them, both looking at the woman next to them then quickly looking away when the other catches them.
Seeing that Arizona is fidgeting nervously with a bottle between her hands, Callie asks "What you drinking?"
"Oh, uh…" The blonde turns the bottle so her captain can read the label with big white letters.
"You have a drink named after you?" Callie plays, trying to lighten the tension between them.
"Yeah, you ever try it?" Arizona asks, and when Callie shakes her head 'no' the pitcher offers the Latina the bottle. Torres takes it between her tanned hands and unscrews the top, then takes a long pull out of it.
Smacking her lips, letting the taste fill her mouth, Callie states "You taste delicious." An evil smile erupts, perfectly white teeth shining as the Latina sees the brightest blush ever race across Arizona Robbins' cheeks. She knows it was a dirty move, but seeing the older woman squirm with embarrassment was just too good to pass up.
After giving the blonde a couple seconds to compose herself, Callie lowers her voice and turns her head to look at Arizona full on. The atmosphere shifts, and they both get pulled into each other. "So…" Callie drawls, and the pitcher knows exactly what she's asking.
"I don't want to make trouble." The blonde whispers, subconsciously glancing towards the front of the bus where her two nemeses are sitting, both apparently in their own world.
"What trouble?" The Latina asks, wanting so much to lean in and kiss Arizona once and for all right now. Screw the rest of the team, screw the less than optimal setting they are in. She just wants to kiss the girl.
"Callie…" Arizona sighs. "You know what trouble. If you… if I… if we…" The older woman struggles to find the right words because her mind and heart are fighting each other so fiercely about this entire issue.
"That's a lot of 'if's', Battleship." Callie plays, nervously dropping her gaze for fear that her pitcher is about to shut the door in her face. When Arizona doesn't reply, she chances another look up and sees that the blonde is thinking, thinking hard. Over thinking, and Callie doesn't like it.
"Arizona." Callie whispers, and blue eyes focus back on the Latina next to her. "It's no one's business. It's not like everyone is innocent in all this. Addison and Derek… that whole mess. Mark has a huge thing for Little Grey. Kepner and Avery."
"Teddy and Hunt." Arizona adds to the list, then back tracks a second. "Wait, Kepner and Avery? Really?"
Callie chuckles while nodding, then asks "Altman and Hunt?"
"She's is crazy about him." The blonde sighs, glancing out the window at the passing Missouri landscape. By the rate the team is moving, they should make Chicago by 10 pm which Arizona is grateful for. The hard uncomfortable bus seats aren't exactly working wonders on her back.
Callie chews on her bottom lip, fighting with herself on whether to push it or to just let it go. Maybe Arizona isn't worth the risk, maybe she's just another person in the long line of people who will eventually hurt the Latina. She's put her heart out there many times, more than you would think for someone her age, and every time it's been thrown back at her, stepped on and broken. But… what if Arizona ISN'T like those others. Everything Callie has learned the woman tells her that Arizona is different. Special. Amazing. The catcher is so inexplicably drawn to this woman that she can't see how she can just let her go.
"How about…" Callie starts, taking a deep breath to steady the butterflies flapping away in her stomach. Blue eyes look away from the large side windows and find those deep chocolate orbs again, emotion swirling like the Milky Way Galaxy within them. "How about you give me one chance. One kiss. One kiss, and then… you can decide whether this…" she gestures between the two of them "…is worth whatever trouble it might bring."
Arizona wants to say no, no kiss. Because a kiss would mean personal. And it's not personal. It's business. But she also wants to say yes. Because it would put an end to the torture that has been plaguing the blonde since that fateful night Callie uttered 'I don't want to kiss you'. Every night since then, those words have been replaying in the blondes head like some catchy song, looping over and over again. Driving her mad. This kiss could put her out of her misery, but since when has Arizona ever been that lucky?
Callie lets her think, lets her battler herself because she knows that whatever side is pulling for that kiss to happen is winning. Seconds pass, and then the Latina sees a calm fall upon the woman next to her. Her gaze drops to the plump lips of Callie Torres, then flick back up to meet brown eyes. Both Arizona's and Callie's heart start to pound as the newcomer leans in, inch by cautious inch. The faint vanilla coconut-y smell of the blondes shampoo hits Torres's nose, and it's like Arizona has flooded her body. Eyelids droop closed, and their lips are pulled closer and closer together.
When pink lips are an inch from hers, Callie whispers "No." Arizona halts, afraid that what she just heard was actually what the Latina said. Pulling back to look at her, the blonde's face is full of hurt. It's so absolutely adorable, so beautiful that a smile pulls at the catchers lips.
A tanned hand reaches up and tucks a stray strand of blonde hair behind Arizona's ear, then cups her fair cheek. "Not yet. Not here." She purrs, a finger trailing down the curve of the pitchers cheek. "I only get one chance, I'm going to make it count." Sending the blonde a sultry wink, mixed with that sexy smile Callie has perfected over the years, the Latina stands and leaves a breathless blonde to her own thoughts.
The team makes it to Chicago and everyone quickly sacks down for the night. The next day fourteen women suit up for yet another day of sun and softball. Nerves have dissipated slightly, the team getting more comfortable stepping out on the field as a single unit. Much to Callie's displeasure, Mark heeds Arizona's advice and keeps the Latina on the bench. Not that Callie isn't a team player, she is. Very much so. But she's not use to riding the pine. She itches to get back out in the dirt, to feel the sweat mat at her forehead from behind that catcher's mask. To take on a frisky runner who thinks she can steal a base from the skilled woman.
But after a very heated, yet very hushed discussion with her coach, she conceded to taking a breather. Her skills won't dull from just a couple days off so instead Callie enjoys the opportunity to watch one particular teammate of hers. Because Callie isn't playing, Arizona won't be pitching, Mark deciding instead to rotate through the other pitchers and catchers the team has. So instead of having to keep her focus on the ball and the runners, as she would have to do if she were catching, Callie gets to watch Arizona in full action at shortstop. It's amazing the agility the older woman has, being able to cover a very large amount of ground in the bat of an eye.
And the Latina's attention doesn't go unnoticed by Arizona. She can feel those dark eyes watching her as she directs the infield to the play. When she lays full out on the dirt, stopping a hard grounder and flicking it up to Addison on second for an out, blue eyes glance over to USA's dugout and finds a smiling brunette. Even on the field, she can't get her mind off of Callie. She can't keep picturing that kiss. The kiss she promised she would give the Latina. Arizona doesn't know when it will happen, or where. And it makes her hunger for it even greater. The mysteriousness about that kiss, it floating out there in the heavens just waiting to drop, keeps her enthralled. If Callie had just kiss Arizona in the bus right then, it'd be over. But it's not. So now Arizona can only wait.
The game against some Illinois college team progresses and USA doesn't have to put up much effort to lay them out. Not only do third and fourth strings get to play, but fifth as well. Addison, who hasn't pitched in years, ends up on the mound for the very last inning and earns the win while tiny April Kepner tries her hand at catching. But its good practice and everyone gets to stretch their wings a little bit more.
Once the last out is had, the two teams line up and exchanged high fives then start to pack up the gear. There is no real urgency among the women because they all know that once they leave the fields, its right back to the hotel. Arizona gets wrapped up in a discussion with Addison while Callie slings a heavy bag full of catching equipment over her shoulder and starts to head back to the bus. The sun is hot, and even though she hasn't played a single out a slight sheen of sweat has broken across the Latina's forehead. Maybe it's because she's just watched a certain blonde for nearly three hours, Arizona being able to play damn near any position masterfully.
At the bus, the catcher drops the bag to the ground for the coaches to load up, and turns back to the field only to run into Erica Hahn. She, too, is also carrying a heavy bag and nearly tips over from the collision. Callie instinctively reaches out and catches the falling blonde, Erica grabbing a tanned arm for support.
"Sorry, Erica. Didn't see you there." Callie apologizes, then quickly lets go of the blonde before Erica can get any funny ideas. Things are still very tense between them, and the younger woman doesn't know how to make things better. What do you say to your best friend after shooting her down while trying to make a pass at you?
Erica gives her co-captain a tight smile in dismissal, and just as Callie is walking away, Hahn mumbles "You would have if I was Robbins."
Callie stops midstride, and turns to face the woman. "What was that?" She snaps.
Not looking up from the bag Erica has decided needs to be emptied and repacked, she drawls "You heard me."
"No." Torres spits and steps forward a couple feet. "No I don't think I did. You want to try it again, Hahn?" But all she gets is silence from the blonde who is still focused on cramming her catching gear into a bag that doesn't seem big enough. "Look, I'm sorry I hurt your feelings Erica. I really am. Ok? I'm sorry. But this? You being pissed off at me and making everyone's life harder than it already is? Is not ok. I'm sorry that I don't want to sleep with you, but just let it go."
"You think I'm still upset about that?" Erica snaps, her steel blue eyes locking with angry brown ones. Standing up straight Erica is able to look the Latina squarely in the face, the two of them being within an inch in height. "It's not. It's about YOU being stupid and putting MY team in jeopardy."
Confusion quickly flashes across Callie's face. "What the hell are you-"
"You and Robbins? Breaking rule number one on this team?" Erica cuts her off. "This is about you putting this team's fate on the line for some lousy lay with NewGirl. You said yourself that… that teammates getting involved was a stupid idea. And yet, here you are."
Turning on her heel, Callie starts to walk away. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Oh please!" Erica sneers, her voice rising at the retreating catcher. "If you drooled over her anymore you would need someone with a bucket and mop following you around. It's not ok, Callie. Especially now that you two are a battery. You know that. And I'll be damned if I let you risk MY teams outlook at the Games just for some cheap roll in the hay."
Anger flares within the fiery Latina, and again Torres spins around and closes the distance between her and her ex-friend. "Leave her out of this, Hahn. You're pissed off at me, not Arizona. She's just collateral. Whatever you think is going on between Robbins and me, whatever Shepard told you happened between the two of us is a lie. So if you want to be pissed off at me? Fine, I can take it. But leave Robbins alone, alright? She's had enough crap to put with from you, Shepard… hell, the entire team."
Erica is about to snap back at the woman in front of her when out of nowhere the rest of their team arrives, everyone hauling a bag and chatting animatedly. The two co-captains share a glare, both knowing that this discussion isn't over. But it's not for the rest of the teams ears so they silently agree to a temporary stay. Steel blue eyes glance over Callie's shoulder and finds another set of blue eyes looking back at her. A look of confusion, apprehension and anxiety tracing Arizona's face as she takes in the two very tense captains. She knows something happened between them, but doesn't dare ask.
"Don't you ever stop?" April squeaks when she walks out of the bathroom and sees her roommate hunched over an open text book and notebook full of neat hand writing. At every stop, Coach Webber makes the girls switch up roommates, something about team bonding, and this time Arizona drew April Kepner.
Not even glancing up from her place on the page, Arizona murmurs "Can never know too much." But in fact, she hasn't studied hardly at all since joining Team USA. Yeah, she stares at an open book, her eyes move across the page, but none of the information seeps into her brain. She can spend hours rereading the same paragraph but every time she gets two or three sentences, her mind wanders. Only now it wanders to something a lot more pleasant… it wanders to a certain Latina sleeping just a few rooms down the hall.
"Is it true?" The redhead asks, nervously looking at the blonde from the reflection in the mirror over their sink.
"What true?" The pitcher questions, losing her place on the page and slamming the book shut in frustration.
"That you… you're uhh… gay?" The younger woman shifts her gaze from her roommate and pretends to be busy folding, unfolding and then refolding the same wash rag in front of her.
"Since 1983." The blonde breathes out and collapses back onto her bed. April peeks over her shoulder, giving Arizona a confused look. "Yeah, I'm gay Kepner." The older woman states and waits for some sort of reaction. But the redhead just shrugs and it seems that that is the end of it.
The buzzing of a phone alerts April she has a new text, while Arizona glances at hers and sees she has nothing. The redhead bounds off her bed and starts to dig excitedly through her bag. "Hey, a bunch of us are going down to the pool. You coming?" She asks while grabbing her two piece and darting to the bathroom.
"Na…" The blonde answers dejectedly. "I'll just… I need to study." Arizona adds. The newcomer could actually use a little relaxation right now, maybe some time in the hot tub to work out a few kinks in her back. But she figures that if she was wanted, she would have been invited. And since her phone remains empty, she figures she's not wanted down there. And the last thing Arizona wants to do is rock the boat even more. It's been hell since Coach Sloan announced that Arizona was Callie's new partner, and Robbins has no intentions of giving either Amelia or Erica more opportunities to get pissed off at her. Normally the blonde wouldn't give two cents what others thought of her, but again, this is a team. They have to function as a team. Which means sometimes a player has to take a hit just to keep everyone afloat. And Arizona is taking that hit right now.
Brown eyes flash to the pool entrance as she hears the card access beep. Callie silently hopes it's a certain blonde that comes striding through, and can't hide her displeasure when it's April Kepner instead. The laughing and yelling and talking bouncing off the pool area's walls fill her ears as her teammates splash around and roughhouse, but Callie can't help but feel there is a certain void missing in the fun. Of course Hahn hasn't come down after their little tiff, but no one seems to notice her absence, nor mind it for that matter. Even Miranda Bailey, usually one of the most reserved faces on their team, is letting loose and relaxing tonight.
"Hey… you alright?" Addison asks from beside the solemn catcher, pulling Callie's eyes away from the empty doorway.
"Yeah. Yeah, I'm find Addy." Callie says, forcing a smile on her face.
"April!" Teddy shouts from the other side of the pool. "Where's Robbins? You didn't leave her alone, did you?" The first baseman asks, and the Latina's gaze locks onto the newest arrival to the party.
"I tried. She said she needed to study." The skittish player replies before Little Grey pulls her into the pool head first. A pout forms across plump lips as she recognizes the blondes universal brush off. It's always 'I need to study' when Arizona backs out of something. That was her excuse when Callie asked the pitcher out that Sunday where everything kinda blew up in her face.
A couple minutes later Teddy hauls herself out of the pool and walks over to the wall phone. After asking the blonde's roommate what their room number is, Altman punches in the number and starts to harp on someone on the other end. Callie can't make out her exact words, but from the few snippets she can hear over the roar of the pool and her hyped up teammates, she figures that Teddy won some sort of battle.
Some of the women abandon the pool in favor for the hot tub, and within fifteen minutes the tiny Jacuzzi is packed with nearly ten women. Then all eyes dart to the door when another beeping signals the entrance of another person.
Arizona walks into the pool area to the chorus of "Robbins!" A dimpled smile breaks out, the anxiety of interrupting some sort of secret party quickly fading as her teammates make room for her in the hot tub.
Brown eyes rake up and down the blonde, her tongue sneaking out to wet chlorine stained lips. It's not right how good a simple two piece bikini looks on Arizona. Fire engine red material covers all the good parts, but leaves a vast expanse of amazingly soft and toned flesh for all to see. Robbins chances a glance at the Latina on the far side of the tub, and gives her a smile before lowering her body into the warm waters.
"So what was it this time?" Yang asks, scooting a bit closer to Meredith Grey to give Arizona some more room. Blue eyes furrow in confusion and Cristina explains "Studying?"
"Oh. The uhh… Necrotizing enterocolitis in infants." Arizona answers, resulting in the ten faces around her drawing a blank. "Mostly affecting premature infants, necrotizing enterocolitis is the most common gastrointestinal emergency seen in the NICU. 'Necrotizing' meaning death of tissue. 'Entero' meaning small intestine. 'Colo' meaning large intestine. 'Itis' meaning inflammation. So… basically it's defined as inflammation in the intestines that can be life threatening if not treated promptly. It can affect only the intestinal lining or its entire thickness, but regardless, the damage may cause bacteria to leak out of the intestine and into the abdomen, causing an infection which can spread very quickly."
When Arizona finally realizes that she has been rambling, a habit that she has when she is either nervous or feeling crowded, like she is right now while sharing a hot tub for five with ten other woman, she looks up and finds all of her teammates staring back at her. Normally when she nerds out like that, she is surrounded by fellow doctors, so it's not that big of a deal when she goes off on some Peds tangent. But here, in the company of her teammates, none of which are doctors that she knows of, Arizona quickly realizes that she gave a bit too much information.
But when Arizona finally reaches the face of Callie, the fear of alienating herself even more quickly dissipates because the smile her catcher is sending her is breathtaking. The blonde finds herself smiling in return and the words start falling out again. "NEC affects only 1 in two to four thousand births or between one and five percent of NICU admissions. Symptoms include bloating or swelling in the belly. Poor tolerance of feeding. Decreased bowel sounds. Blood in the stoo-"
"OK." Yang barks, cutting off the blonde's speech she would generally give her attending during rounds, much to everyone's relief. "Enough class, I'm starved. Mer, food." She states, turning to her best friend beside her.
"Sure." Grey answers, and they both exit the hot tub.
"Can I come?" Meredith's little sister asks. "There's a sandwich place just down the block." Little Grey states, and at the mention of that, everyone else in the tub stands. Within a minute, the Jacuzzi goes from overflowing to barely covering Arizona's chest.
"Hey Robbins, Torres, you two coming?" Teddy calls as she towels herself off.
"No, I don't like sandwiches." Arizona answers, giving her friend a smile before turning her gaze back to the lone teammate sharing the same waters with her.
"Yeah, sandwiches aren't really my thing, Teds. But thanks." Callie adds, and with that Teddy waves them goodbye before exiting the pool area and catching up with the rest of the team.
"So…" Callie purrs, a smirk crossing her lips as she watches the blonde across from her fidget nervously. The Latina knows that Arizona has been waiting on baited breath for that kiss. Her kiss. The kiss Arizona promised before making up her mind about Callie, about any sort of… whatever might happen between them. It may be a little mean to leave the beautiful woman hanging like that, but a first kiss is something special, something to be remembered, not something to be pushed into. Not in the back of a smelly bus, not with a dozen other people just feet away from you. No… the Latina wants to make sure Arizona Robbins the first time her lips touch Calliope Torres', even if it's the last time.
"So." Arizona parrots, blue eyes flicking up off the water below her to meet the deep brown ones staring at her from across the tub. "I uhh… You're not mad that I told Mark to bench you today, are you?" The blonde asks, trying to break the heated silence between them. "I mean, I'm sure you would have been fine to play but-"
"I'm not mad." Callie cuts the cute surgeon off before Arizona starts rambling on about the dangers of concussions or heat stroke or… red clay dirt. As much as the Latina loves to hear the blonde spit facts out like that, now is not the time. "I understand. You were worried about me." The catcher states with a dismissing shrug of her shoulders.
"Mmm." Arizona hums, pursing her lips. "Don't flatter yourself Torres. Any decent medical practitioner would have done the same thing."
"Is that right?" Callie purrs, her tongue running across her perfectly white teeth as she plays with the woman across from her. "So… I'm not special?"
"Sorry to hurt your feelings, Calliope." Arizona sings, finding this little banter between the two of them so much easier than the heaviness of what actually hovers over them. A giggle falls from pink lips when Callie puts on a face of mock hurt. Standing from the warm waters, giving dark eyes a second opportunity to cruise Arizona's slim body, the pitcher walks out of the tub and steps into the pool.
With a smirk on her face, Callie follows, the temperature difference between the two waters making the Latina's breath catch in her throat. A blonde head pops up from under the water, blue eyes opening and finding Callie's. Arizona slowly backs up from the only other person in the room, all the while keeping her gaze locked with the catcher. The Latina stalks Arizona like a cat, slowly moving forward and trapping the blonde a the corner of the pool. Water reaches up to just above their breasts, providing a feeling of weightlessness.
Arizona's breathing starts to increase, her heart rate doubling each time Callie takes a step closer to her. Five feet, two feet, one foot. Both women's bodies are alive with anticipation and Callie zeros in on pink lips in front of her. She's going to do it, she's going to make that move. Put it all out there, and then let Arizona decide. A gasp slips from Arizona's mouth when the Latina's head tips forward fractionally.
And just as Arizona prepares to taste heaven, the door to the pool area clicks open, the air filling with the telltale squeal of excited kids.
"Damn it." Callie growls, taking a big step back and putting a good five feet between them. To say she's pissed off is an understatement. Two times. Two times she had the perfect opening to make her move, and yet both times they have been interrupted. What are the odds?
It takes a second for Arizona to realize what happened, why she doesn't feel the softness of Callie's lips against hers. But when her eyes open again, she see's two kids jump right into the pool, their parents warning them about something the blonde doesn't hear. All she sees is the Latina, now on the other side of the pool. Brown eyes boring into hers, Callie's frustration just pouring out of them.
And for some reason that little voice in her head is screaming at Arizona to get out. Get out before she's in any deeper. Twice the universe has conspired to keep them apart, what more proof does the blonde need to realize that this… that Callie… isn't a good idea. She's Arizona's captain. Her catcher. To mess with that relationship, that balance, would mean risking it all.
So Arizona takes a deep breath and drops Callie's gaze. Without so much as a smile, the blonde climbs out of the pool, grabs her towel and exits the room. Torres watches her leave, and not because of the amazing view it provides her. No, Callie saw something in those eyes, almost as if Arizona had decided something. The walls that Callie has slowly chipped at are being rebuilt with each foot the surgeon puts between them.
Acting on instinct, Callie reaches up and lifts her body cleanly from the pool, not wasting time to find a ladder. She has her towel in a second, and leaves the oblivious family the next. The catcher looks up and down the hallway in both directions, trying to find which way Arizona retreated. Brown eyes find a trail of wet foot prints, and that's all she needs. Callie takes off at a run, or as much of a run you can have while bare foot in a hotel hallway. She reaches the end and rams her body into the door for the staircase. More puddles point the way and Torres starts to take the steps two at a time.
Arizona hears someone climbing the stairs after her. She's not in a huge rush, she just needed to get away from Callie. But this person behind her is, feet slapping at the concrete steps hard as this mystery person races upwards. This unknown person catches up with her just as Arizona reaches the platform for her level, and turns to find a winded Latina scaling the last step.
"Calliope-" Arizona breathes out, but she doesn't get the opportunity to finish. Callie's lips find hers and everything fades away. Strong hands cup fair cheeks, the Latina's body coming flush with Arizona's and pushing her back until the support of the wall is behind her. The kiss is soft and firm at the same time, Callie showing her passion for this woman and yet giving her the respect she deserves. Only when Arizona parts her lips slightly does the Latina ask for access to her mouth.
Hands find their way into wet, raven hair as Callie's move down to a trim, red bikini covered waist. A moan, from either Callie or Arizona, they don't really know nor care, echoes off the concrete stairwell as their kiss continues. Arizona pushes her way into the Latina's mouth and Callie grips at the blondes' waist. Stars explode behind both sets of closed eyelids, and the need for air is quickly making them dizzy. But they push on, Arizona never wanting the feeling of this woman to end. And Callie… she never knew a woman could feel this good, taste this sweet.
Arizona's arms snake around the Latina's neck, trying to find enough leverage to bring herself up to the same height as Callie. Tanned hands grip at the slick flesh of Arizona's thighs, and Callie bends her knees just for a second before hoisting the blonde up and supporting her weight. The pitcher naturally wraps her legs around Callie's waist as the catcher pushes her back against the wall for support. All the while their lips and their tongues move in time with each others. Exploring every nook, every corner of one another mouths.
But too soon the need for air overwhelms them and their lips part. Both women suck in precious oxygen, their chests heaving against one another's as their bodies recover. Callie nuzzles her nose against Arizona's, plump lips teasing pink.
Their gaze's meet, and Callie's heart does somersaults. "Callie…" Arizona whispers, her breath ragged and voice thick with desire.
"Yeah?" The Latina purrs, kissing the corner of her pitcher's mouth.
"Can you put me down now?" The blonde asks, her grip in raven locks loosening.
"Oh… uh, yeah." Torres answers, a blush breaking across her face. Lifting a woman and pinning her against the wall is not something Callie Torres would consider first date material, let alone first kiss material. But it felt right, and she went with it.
Back on her feet, Arizona clears her throat and meets the dark eyes staring down at hers. She doesn't know what to say. What do you say to a woman who just rocked your world with a simple kiss? Thanks? That was nice? Call me? None of that fits, and it's becoming increasingly clear to the blonde what her decision should be. She should stop this, stop them from becoming 'them'. It's too hard, too messy. It could ruin everything. Run. Run away, and fast.
Sensing that the blonde is raging an internal battle again, Callie traces a finger down the curve of Arizona's cheek. "I just wanted to get that in before you made up your mind." She whispers, blue eyes locked onto hers. Leaning in so her lips ghost over the flesh of the pitchers ear, she adds "Good night, Battleship. I'll be dreaming of you." With a soft kiss to her cheek, Callie leaves the frozen blonde to ponder her next move.
AN3: Alright folks, was that enough angst for you? A lot is still unresolved. Arizona and Amelia. Callie and Erica. Erica and Amelia. Callie and Arizona. That's one vicious circle, any thoughts on how it's all going to play out? Let me know ;-)