Chapter 5

Several weeks and several dates had passed, and Callie was over the moon. There was a new found spring in her step, and just the mere fact that Arizona was a part of her life made her enjoy everything that little bit more. Going to work, going to the park, hanging out with her friends and life was always enjoyable whenever she was around the blonde haired beauty.

It was a cool Friday evening in Seattle, typical for the busy city. The streets were busy as people were heading out to restaurants for dinner and clubs and bars to unwind and let loose. Callie was sitting in the dark confinement of her cruiser doing some of her paperwork and observing the streets in a major industrial area of the city. She lifted her left arm to her face to take a glance at the time, when a call came in over the radio.

"Officer needed at Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital. We have a domestic dispute in progress in the paediatric ward."

Callie reached over to her radio, held down the button and spoke clearly. "10-4 dispatch. This is 5-5 Tango answering the call, I am on en route to SGMWH."

"10-4"

Callie flipped on the lights and siren, and was on her way.

Arizona was standing next to Teddy at the nurse's station watching the dispute between two men unfold. Teddy had been on the phone, and when she hung up, she walked back to Arizona who was staring, with a slight glimpse of fear in her eyes over the situation at hand.

"I just called the police; they should be on their way."

"I hope they get here soon. This looks like it could get ugly." Arizona answered while biting down on her knuckles. Both her and Teddy watched on at the drama unfolding before their eyes. Nerves starting to set in as they divided their attention between the fight and the clock on the wall as it ticked every second that went by.

"And you!" A bald headed man wearing a green plaid shirt tucked into his jeans yelled pointing directly at Arizona as he swiftly approached her. The man he was arguing with in the waiting area following close behind.

Picking up the pace, the bald man took a leap and tackled Arizona to the ground. In a burst of rage, he grasped the collar of her lab coat. "You said that she would live! You said it looked like a simple fix! This jerk nearly kills my little girl, and you said you could fix her! Now…She's DEAD!"

The other man, who had dark brown hair, small in frame was wearing jeans and a t-shirt tried to get the other man off of Arizona but was unsuccessful as the other man shoved him off with his elbow.

"I did everything I could Mr. Smith. I am terribly sorry for your loss." Arizona said, fighting to get free from his grasp.

The second that Mr. Smith raised his fist in preparation to administer a strong blow to Arizona's face, the fear from within surfaced upon her. Everything went into slow motion. Arizona watched as Mr. Smith's fist inched back behind his shoulder building up momentum and the energy to exert on her face.

Tick, tick, tick

All the sounds and gasps from the bystanders left Arizona's head as all she could hear was the ticking of the clock on the wall.

In the flash of a second, Callie ran into the paediatric ward and pulled Mr. Smith off of Arizona and tackled him to the ground face first and with a firm grip, she managed to handcuff him. Just then, Avery and his rookie partner walked in and Callie handed Mr. Smith to Avery, while the rookie questioned the other man. The other man was handcuffed as well and Avery and his partner escorted the two men out of the hospital and into the back of their cruiser back down to the station for questioning.

Once the scene was secure, Callie turned over her shoulder to find a stunned Teddy standing behind the nurse's station with her hands covering her mouth, hiding the shocked expression on her face. Turning her attention to the floor, she saw a petrified Arizona leaning against the wall, hyperventilating and tears streaming down her face. Callie got down to her level and pulled Arizona into her arms. Arizona grabbed on tight, wrapping her arms around Callie's neck and rested her head in Callie's crook of her neck.

"I was so scared."Arizona whispered. Her tears uncontrollable and her breathing uneven.

"I know. Shh…It's okay. You're okay. I'm never going to let anything happen to you." Callie whispered back as she rocked back and forth in an attempt to sooth Arizona's nerves.

Callie lifted Arizona up off the ground and started heading for the elevator to take Arizona away from the people staring. She turned to a now calmer Teddy. "I'm taking her home, okay? Just let the chief of surgery know." Teddy nodded and with that, Callie walked into the elevator still carrying Arizona in her arms.

Fortunately for the both of them, Callie lived across the street from the hospital, so the distance was not an issue. Once they were inside Callie's apartment, Callie sat on the couch and held Arizona tight in her arms. Hysterically crying, Callie held on tighter.

"Shh….it's okay….I got you."

They sat like this for what felt like an eternity. Finally Arizona broke the silence with a slight laugh. "Look at me. I'm an army brat…I'm usually the strong one and here you are being strong for me."

"You are strong. You will always be strong. I'm just glad you're okay." Callie whispered into Arizona's ear as she continued to hold her tight to her body.

Silence fell over them once again as Arizona held on to Callie, feeling safe and secure while in her arms.

A couple of days later, Callie was enjoying the morning sunshine in Seattle. It was her day off and she was looking out of her apartment window while sipping on a hot cup of coffee. A smile crept upon her face as thoughts of Arizona took over her mind. Deciding tonight was the night to take the next step, Callie took her empty mug to the kitchen and proceeded to her bedroom to get dressed.

Arizona was charting in the paediatric ward at the hospital when Teddy walked up to her.

"Hey, how you feeling?" Teddy asked

"Hey….I'm feeling fine…..really." Arizona answered with a smile. "But I do need you on a consult. I have an eleven year old girl who is having major breathing issues. These are her CT scans and MRI…I think she has failing lungs." Arizona said as she handing the scans to Teddy.

"Okay, well let's take a look." Teddy responded taking the scans out of the envelope to examine them.

Arizona went back to her charting when she felt a pair of strong arms gently wrap themselves around her waist. A full out dimpled smile danced across her face at the contact as she felt a chin rest on her shoulder.

"Hey, beautiful." Arizona heard whispered in her ear. Knowing who it was right away, she leaned back into Callie's embrace.

"Calliope, what are you doing here?"

"I came here to see you…and to see what time you're done work." Callie responded, giving Arizona a gentle kiss to her cheek.

"Why do you ask?"

"Cuz, I want to cook you dinner."

Arizona smiled at this and turned around to face Callie. "Sounds great, I'm done at seven."

"Great I will see you later, I gotta run to the store." With that, Callie kissed Arizona chastely on the lips and exited the hospital.

Teddy stood off to the side with a grin on her face that didn't go unnoticed by Arizona. "What?" she asked.

"Oh, nothing." Teddy responded as she walked away.

It was now 8:00pm and Arizona, dressed very casual for the evening in jeans and a blue shirt was sitting on Callie's sofa sipping on a glass of wine. With some soft music filling the room, and the lighting very intimate, Callie placed plates of food on the table.

Arizona made her way over and sat down glancing at the food in front of her. "This looks delicious Calliope. But everything you make is delicious." Arizona said, smiling from ear to ear.

"Well, I don't think you will be disappointed." Callie responded.

Eating their dinner, conversation flowed easily, each of them talking about how their day went. Arizona went on to tell Callie about one of her patients.

"…..So, did she make it through the surgery alright?" Callie asked as she was finishing the last bite of her supper and swallowing it down with a large sip of her wine.

"Fantastically well. She's in recovery now, and her vitals are stable." Arizona responded smiling widely.

It was a smile that melted Callie's heart so much so that while listening to Arizona speak, she knew then that it was the time to say what she wanted to say all day to the beautiful blonde. Pulling her chair closer to Arizona's she took Arizona's hands and held them in her own. "Arizona…I have something to say to you, and I don't want you to say anything until I'm finished."

"Okay, what's going on Calliope?" Arizona asked with a quizzical stare.

"Arizona, I have enjoyed all of our dates together and getting to know one another. It's been the best few months of my life since my disaster of a relationship, my ex-husband…." Callie was staring straight through Arizona's gripping blue eyes, her hands shaking with nervousness. "….I never thought that I could feel like this again. And then you and I kept bumping into each other and I guess it was a sign because you are the one who's made me open up to love again. I took a chance asking you out that day at the hospital…and…well…I'm taking a chance now when I say that I want you to be my girlfriend because…"Callie choked up, as tears started to fill her eyes threatening to trickle down her face. "…because I'm in love with you."

Tears were building in Arizona's eyes now as she heard Callie's words escape her lips. She couldn't believe what she was hearing and immediately broke into a joyous smile. "I'm in love with you too, Calliope. I would love nothing more than to be your girlfriend."

Arizona had barely finished her sentence when Callie lunged at her and crashed their lips together. Hands were going wild as each of them was entangling their fingers in the other's hair. When the necessity to breathe became an issue, both slowly pulled away and rested their foreheads together. Neither one of them spoke to the other for a minute, when Callie then stood up from her chair and taking Arizona's hands in hers, gently pulled Arizona out from her chair and pulled her towards the bedroom. Once inside, Callie turned the lights out and shut the door.