After that night, Callie and George began dating. As she didn't really have a place of her own, the brunette moved in with he and Jackson in their small downtown apartment. It was efficiency and all they could afford, so it was small and cramped. Callie and George bunked down in the small bedroom space in the back and Jackson crashed on the couch. It wasn't romantic or ideal, but it was theirs.

Callie still hated her job at Capital One, but it was a steady, though relatively small, paycheck that helped pay bills as George relied solely on the income from the band. The band still wasn't the best, but with Alex gone and Izzy on board, they were doing a little better than before. They lived off of ramen noodles and love - and it was enough for them. Callie had stayed in touch with Arizona, dropping by the bar here and there to grab lunch or to watch the guys play the occasional gig. But with her job and new-found relationship, she hadn't seen the blonde much as she had before.

Arizona was surprised at the news that Callie and George had taken their relationship with each other further than their make-out session in the pool. The blonde had concluded that about 46 percent of it was because she was crushing on the Latina. The other fifty-some was because it just didn't make sense to her. Still, she found them both to be good people and couldn't find a decent enough reason to be unhappy for them.

It was September and fall was beginning to settle in on Seattle. Callie signed out of her phone at work, grabbed her jacket and took the elevator down to the lobby. When she exited the building, she found George waiting for her with flowers. She smiled brightly as she walked up to him.

"Hey you!" She wrapped him into a tight hug. "What are you doing here?"

"I had some free time and the weather is nice, so I thought I would come see you." He said as he handed a small bouquet of flowers to the Latina.

Callie kissed him on the cheek and inhaled the fragrance of the flowers. It seemed most guys always thought a girl loved roses and George was no different. Secretly, Callie hated roses. To her, they were too cliché' - too unoriginal. Secretly, she loved lilies. But still, the gesture was a nice change from the way she had been treated in recent years and she appreciated having a nice guy for once. She looked back at George with a toothy smile. "Thank you."

George nodded a 'welcome' and grinned. "So, I thought maybe we could do dinner together tonight. Just you and me?"

In the few months that the couple had been together, they had not had many proper dates, or dinners. They had grown accustomed to their opposite work schedules and when they did get to enjoy dinners together, they usually included Jackson.

"That sounds perfect." Callie said as she linked her arm with George's and walked to his car that was parked out front. He opened the passenger's side door for Callie and she settle into her seat, noticing a basket sitting on the back seat.

They drove aimlessly around Seattle, finally settling on a small spot in Seward Park. Beneath the trees and right by the water, they sat on a small blanket and nibbled on food and sipped on wine as they enjoyed the sunset together. After they were done with dinner, they continued to enjoy each other on a walk in the park. They caught each other up on their day as dusk began to roll in. George found a vacant bench chair and sat Callie down. He bent down to kiss her and stood back up with a smile. "I love you, Callie Torres."

"Really?"

He knelt down and pulled a black, velvet box from his coat pocket. "Really." Taking the small ring from its holding and placing it on the brunette's finger, he asked, "Will you marry me?"

Callie cocked her head to the left to admire the ring and the looked at George. "Of course I will."

They met in an embrace and, on the waterfront, enjoyed being in each other's arms. Breaking the kiss, Callie backed away. '"Adios mio, we need to tell people."

George giggled. "Like who?"

"I dunno, Jackson? "

"He already knows."

"Oh okay, well I gotta tell Addison and - ooh, Arizona!" Callie pulled her phone from her pocket, flipped it open and texted.

Hey, you at work tonight?

In the meantime, she placed a successful call to Addison and told her the news. "I know, I know! Addy, you will be my maid of honor, yeah?"

They talked for another five minutes or so before Callie felt her phone vibrate. Walking with George back to their picnic area, she stopped Addison short. "Ooh, Addison, I gotta go, talk to you soon." She ended the call without waiting for a goodbye and scrolled to her text messages, one of which was from Arizona.

I'm always here, girl. Don't you know that by now?

Callie didn't reply, but asked George if they could swing by Joe's on the way home to share the news. A yes was in order and after packing up their small picnic, they were en route to the bar fifteen minutes later. After parking and kisses and more 'I love you's', they went inside to meet Jackson and Izzy, who had been waiting with congratulatory drinks.

Callie and George joined the duo at the bar and were greeted by Arizona, clad in jeans and her signature tank - today it was royal blue. She stuffed her bar towel in her back pocket and threw her elbows on the bar to lean in for a chat. "How ya been, guys?" She pad attention to Callie in particular.

She received 'goods' all around until the Latina spoke up, holding up her left hand in excitement. "We're engaged! I wanted to come by to tell you."

Arizona defeatedly smiled, but offered her congratulations. "Oh that's great! Lemme get you guys a drink, on us. To celebrate."

The blonde took their orders and turned away around to begin pouring. As she did, she met Derek, who was doing the same for his customers. "How ya doing, Robbins?"

She wiped the sweat from her head with her forearm and gave him a quick glance and a crooked smile. "I'm good."

Honestly, Arizona was a wee jealous of George O'Malley at that very moment, but she was also secretly very happy for her friend as she seemed to have a smile again.

But Callie and George fell into the routine that new couples always seems to fall into. Though it was unintentional, Callie saw less of her friends, including Arizona, and spent most of her free time, if not all, with George. He and his band were growing more popular with the underground music scene in Seattle, so she followed them from gig to gig to support them. But since they were getting better, they rarely played Joe's as time went on.

Instead of a traditional wedding, which is what Calliope and her family had been planning, the two went to Vegas on a whim and got married. Some drunk couple they had met at a craps table at the Bellagio had been their witnesses. Quick, to the point, and not romantic at all. It had surprised everyone when they shared the news, especially the Latina's family. And Arizona had found out by way of a text message that had included a cheesy picture of them in tacky outfits in front of an even cheesier, fake beach background. Attached to the picture had been a message that read, 'Married woman now - wish you could have been here. Miss ya!'

And Arizona had wished she had been there. She hadn't seen her brunette friend in ages.

She and Callie kept in touch here and there, through text messages and the occasional lunch. Summer swims the following year at Arizona's pad were few and far between as time went on and people became settled in their own lives. The band kept going and the bar kept going. Callie and George tried to do the same, but in the end, it just hadn't worked out.

Callie didn't bother texting Arizona that night - she knew she would be at the bar. Racing through the downtown streets of Seattle with tears hindering the view in front of her, she found her way, somehow, to Joe's. She parked illegally and looked at her watch as she walked in, not really caring what time it was. 12:49.

The Latina avoided any stare that came her way as she walked in. Some band, much like the one George and Jackson had, was playing on the stage to the right. The bar was full, crowded, and loud. She didn't care. Callie walked up to the bar, nudged her way in somehow and waited for Arizona, who she knew would be tending tonight. After five minutes, the blonde appeared from the back and immediately noticed her.

"Calliope," The blonde said excitedly, but then cut her own self short as she noticed the demeanor of the brunette. "What's wrong?"

Callie bounced up and down, wanting to talk, wanting to cry, wanting to let go, but knew she couldn't right here in front of everyone. She winced, shook her head and simply muttered, "I, uh, I didn't know where else to come."

Arizona threw the bar rag hanging from her pocket into the linen basket and approached Derek, She pleaded a few words to he and Joe and with their nods, she ducked from behind the bar and walked up to Callie. "Come on," Arizona said, taking Callie by the arm with two fresh beers in her free hand. Moving through the crowd, the blonde found them a spot in the back by the wall and away from the madness that was in the bar tonight. She hugged her friend before they sat down across from each other.

"Calliope, what is it?"

The brunette just started crying, fiddling with the beer in her hands in front of her.
Arizona tried again, placing a hand on Callie's for reassurance. "You can talk to me."

Callie shook her head with frustration. "Everything." She wiped tears from her eyes. "George, my life, my family. All of it."

Arizona cocked her head helplessly and took a seat to the Latina in the booth. "What happened?"

Callie told Arizona about George cheating on her with Izzy, the other girl from the band. She told her about her Catholic family and how wrong it was, in their eyes, to ever be divorced, no matter what the circumstances. She told her how they though she was supposed to work it out with someone she could no longer trust. How she hated her job, how she felt stuck. Callie told Arizona about how much, at this moment, she hated her life.

The blonde listened on and they talked as the bar began to dwindle down to just a few people.

"I loved George. I still do. But this thing, I can't get over. And I didn't know where else to go." Callie started crying again. "I have nowhere to go, Arizona. I don't know what I'm doing with my life. I wanna be someone. I wanna be something."

Arizona comforted her friend in a hug and then pulled away. "Okay, Calliope Torres, what do you wanna be?"

Callie wiped her tears and let a small laugh out. "I don't know."

"Well sure you do. If you could do anything you wanted to in life - be anything you wanna be, what would it be?"

The brunette thought for a minute as she sipped a beer Derek had recently replenished. For the first time tonight, she wasn't thinking about George, or his infidelities. "I've always wanted to be a doctor."

"Alright then, so you'll be a doctor."

"What? Arizona - I'm like 25 and have pretty much no college background. It would take forever."

"So? If it's what you wanna do, what does it matter how long it would take?"

"I couldn't pay for it."

"Student loans."

"And I have nowhere to go." The brunette sipped her beer. "My family will disown me once I'm divorced, which is what I want to do. I can't live like that. So I can't go home, Arizona."

"You can stay with me."

Callie widened her eyes at the blonde. "No, I couldn't do that."

"Well, why not? Come on, Calliope, you've seen my flat - it's way too big for just little 'ol me."

"I wouldn't want to impose."

"Never." Arizona put her arm around her friend. "And from now on, this booth is reserved solely for you, to study. Ya know, when you don't wanna be cooped up at the apartment."

"You can't just reserve tables like that, Arizona."

"Pssh, Sure I can - Joe is my big brother. And he loves me."

Callie simply nodded. "Thank you, Arizona."

"So it's settled, then? We'll get you enrolled and on your way to becoming an M.D. and you'll bunk with me for as long as you need."

"Why are you doing this for me?"

Arizona looked at the brunette honestly. "Because you are a good person. And you deserve good." Callie simply nodded and hugged her friend.

They sat for the better part of the night as the rest of the staff closed down the bar. The two girls talked about life, about plans, and about themselves, finally getting to know each other a little better. And when Callie went to sleep that night, her mind was not dwelling on the infidelities from George, but on her own future and her new place she would call home. Tomorrow would be a better day.