It's time to introduce my favorite character, Arizona Robbins :) Okay, so the scene with them: Yes, most of the dialogue is stolen from the show. It's late and I'm tired. Plus, I love how the writers write Arizona and her interactions with Callie (Hello? 'I love you' scene? Brilliant!). Anyways, enjoy

Chapter Five: No Reins

"Hey," I greeted, a true smile brightening my features. Mark turned to see who was speaking to him and I saw his face go from bored to surprised to happy in a matter of seconds.

"Callie!" he cried, turning his body fully around and wrapping his arms around me. "What are you doing here?"

"Wanted to talk to you," I said with a shrug. My eyes wandered around, taking in the sight of the hospital around me. I saw many people in blue scrubs and white lab coats, but not the one I was hoping to avoid. I smiled again and brought my attention back to Mark, who was laughing at me.

"You could have just called," he pointed out. I scrunched my mouth to the side like I always do, trying to think of something clever to say back to him.

"Well, it was a nice night, so I decided to take the walk over here. I don't live far." So I was a little rusty in the Smart-ass Department. That's what happens when you spend a few days unmoving on the couch.

"Uh-huh. What do you want?" I laughed at that; Mark knew me too well to assume I had come to the hospital just to chat.

"I was wondering if you wanted to go out tonight. You and Lexie and whoever else wants to come. I'm in a party mood," I admitted. Mark rolled his eyes.

"A few hours ago, I was about to check your vitals 'cause I was pretty sure you had died on that couch. Now you want to go out and party? I don't get you Torres." I wrapped my arm around his waist and leaned into his side as we walked through the hospital's hall.

"A few hours ago, I was a very different person. I want to celebrate the death of that person."

"Does this mean I get my best friend back? 'Cause that other chick was scaring me." I punched Mark playfully. He cried out dramatically and bent in half, forcing me to let go of him and take a step back.

"Yes, you get your best friend back," I sighed impatiently. "Now do you want to go to Joe's or not?"

"Sure," Mark agreed with a grin, straightening himself again. "I'll talk to Lex and see if she wants to come. See you in an hour?" I nodded and watched him happily as he bounded off in search of his girlfriend. My smile faded slowly as the feeling of loneliness began to creep through me.

…

"Alright, so what finally got you up? It was me, wasn't it? You couldn't bear to think of me, bored and alone in the hospital," Mark asked jokingly, handing me a free beer. I laughed.

"Yeah, that's it," I replied with the same amount of sarcasm. Mark looked pleased that I was acting like myself again and grin childishly at me. He sat down on the barstool between me and Lexie, wrapping an arm around each of us, pulling us close to him and nearly yanking me right off my barstool in the process.

"This is how it should be," he sighed. "Just me and my ladies and a bar full of sexy strangers." Lexie slapped Mark lightly and tried to pull away from him while I just laughed. My eyes involuntarily swept the bar; she wasn't here, but the some of the strangers that were were in fact very sexy. A blonde-haired woman sitting across the bar locked eyes with me. For a minute, we both stared. But then embarrassment took over and we both looked away quickly with flushed faces.

Mark was leaning towards a giggling Lexie, his beckoning lips whispering sweet words that were no doubt meant to make her forget about his joke. I escaped Mark's loosened grip and slid off my barstool before I had to witness them kiss. Looking around once more, I noticed that the resident gang was mostly there. I grabbed an extra beer from Joe and made my way over.

"Hey," I greeted almost nervously. Cristina and I were friendly, Meredith was secretly afraid of me, George was friendly but it was awkward between us, Alex and I had never really had anything to do with each other, and Izzie…well, that was bridge that I would never be playing on. Derek and Owen were also there, their arms wrapped around their significant others the same way Mark had been holding me and Lexie. I was friends with both of them as well and they raised their hands in greeting. I sat in an empty chair next to Cristina and handed her the extra beer. "Thanks," I muttered.

Cristina accepted the beer, nodding in understanding. After an awkward moment of everyone staring silently at me, Derek and Owen began to talk about baseball. Alex joined halfheartedly, whereas Izzie and George were joking about a patient. Cristina looked over at Meredith and they seemed to have a silent argument until finally Meredith rolled her eyes and nodded. Without warning, they both stood up, Cristina pulling me up as well.

"What's going on?" I asked, laughing nervously. Meredith turned to Cristina, waiting for her to answer. Cristina took my beer and placed both mine and hers on the table before speaking.

"We're dancing it out. You'll feel better," she explained.

"Cristina, I'm fine. I don't need to 'dance it out'," I argued.

"Surgeons always need to dance it out," Meredith said, speaking for the first time. I rolled my eyes and went along with them. Meredith went over to the jukebox to find something to dance to. She came back a moment later and a song I recognized and kind of liked, 'Little Pieces' by Gomez, was playing loudly through the bar.

I let them start, trying not to laugh as they rocked around. I had to admit, it looked like fun. I joined them just before the end of the first verse, not caring if I looked like a total ass. It was some of the most fun I'd ever had and dancing it out did make me feel better. I felt totally free. Halfway through the song there was a tap on my shoulder.

"Mind if I join you?" an amused voice asked. I turned with horror to see that it was the blonde I had seen earlier. She was smiling, revealing dimples that made me almost forget what I was doing.

"Uh…yeah, sure," I stuttered. We didn't speak as she joined the dance party. We twisted around each other, laughing and smiling like little children. The sound of my laughter in my own ears sounded amazing to me; a few hours previously, I had thought I would never hear that sound again.

When the song ended, the blonde and I stopped dancing, panting slightly from our exercise. Cristina and Meredith continued their movements, trying to pretend that I wasn't with somebody to give me my privacy. My respect for the two of them soared in that moment. I gestured to the blonde woman over to the bar and she followed with a bright smile.

"I'm Arizona, by the way. Arizona Robbins. I work at the hospital too. Peds," the blonde woman informed me happily.

"Callie Torres, Ortho," I introduced myself, although she giggled and I knew that the introduction was not necessary.

"I know all about you Calliope," she said. Usually I cringed at the use of my full name, but it sounded kind of nice when she said it. I let it slide. "People talk, where we work. A lot. So, for the sake of being honest, I think I should tell you that I know things about you…because people talk." By now, I knew what she was talking about, but decided to ask to be sure.

"You mean…?" Arizona nodded, still flashing her dimples at me. "Great."

"It is, actually," Arizona assured me. "People really like you over there. Some of them really like you. I've seen you around. You act like you're all right and everything is fine, but I'm willing to bet that the last five minutes were the happiest you've had in a while."

I kept quiet, unsure of what to say to someone I'd never met before who seemed to know more about me than I did. Arizona had me down to a T, and I wasn't sure if it scared me or just peaked my curiosity about her. She smiled at me again and I decided that I was just curious. I wanted to know more about the blue-eyed Peds surgeon in front of me.

"I should go, but I just wanted to let you know that people will be lining up for you when you're ready, when you're fully recovered," she continued. She slid gracefully off her barstool as she spoke, and I realized with a pang in my chest that I didn't want her to leave.

"Oh yeah? Like who?" I asked lightly, trying to keep the conversation going. She looked up at me, a half smile playing her lips and a look of pity in her eyes. Then she did something that nearly made fall off my stool: she grabbed my face and pulled me into one of the sweetest kisses I've ever experienced.

"I think you'll know," she whispered, winking at me as she stepped back and let go of me. I smiled dumbly at her, words failing me completely. I was satisfied enough just to watch her as she gathered her things and grinned a goodbye at me.

"Way to go Torres!" Mark called, coming up behind me and resting his chin on my shoulder. I rolled my eyes, the carefree smile still on my face. I got up, grabbing Mark's hand and dragging him back to where Cristina and Meredith were still dancing. Mark reluctantly rocked back and forth with me as I partied the night away, feeling more lighthearted than ever before. My mind was thinking about nothing but Arizona and finally I felt totally free from Erica's grip. Now nothing could hold me back, like I was living with no reins.

Like a painted wild mustang
Flyin' out across the open range
Finally gets to live her life that way
No fear, no fences, nobody-no reins