I'm doing it again; I've not finished chapter 9, but I wrote this one under pressure and it turned out alright. I think! Let's all hold hands through the Calzona Storm that's approaching.

Previously:

Callie looked at the blonde in disbelief.
"You're not going to file this away as your 'worst first date ever' and conveniently lose Crazy Lady's number?"

Arizona laughed, and the sound brought a smile to the surgeon's face.
"No way. Although I hope our second date doesn't involve so many false starts. Or so many tears. You're much prettier when you're smiling."

A blush colored Callie's cheeks.

"You're really sweet."

The flight attendant winked in reply.
"Nah, that's just the cupcakes."

Chapter 8

Callie was roused from sleep far earlier than she'd have liked by a persistent knocking at her front door.
"Open up! Open the door, Torres! Open the door, I'll keep knocking and potentially damage my multi-million dollar hands!"

Sighing at his melodramatics, she made her way to the door, opening it just as Mark tried to knock again. His face appraised hers.
"Oh. You're ok." He smiled, relieved. "You're ok, right?"

The brunette frowned. It was too early in the morning for mind games.
"Yes, why wouldn't I be?"

"Well Bailey said you looked pretty upset when you left the hospital last night."

Realization settled in Callie's sleep-fuzzy brain.
"Oh. Yeah. Yeah last night sucked. I tried calling you or Cristina but everyone was still scrubbed in. I couldn't handle it anymore."

Mark set a protective hand onto Callie's shoulder and pulled her into a warm hug.
"You wanna talk about it now?"

Callie relaxed into his embrace, shaking her head.
"No, I'm good. Arizona came round actually."

Mark quickly pulled out of their embrace, a cheeky smile playing on his lips.
"Oh, did I just interrupt something?" He asked, peeking his head into her apartment.
"No, not like that. We just…talked. She only stayed for an hour or so."

Callie smiled as she remembered how insistent the blonde had been that she could stay, crashing in Cristina's room or on the couch. It had been clear that she didn't want to leave until she had ascertained that Callie really was ok.

"So nothing happened…?" The plastic surgeon asked.
"Nothing. We just talked. We're having lunch later though."
"That's great. Be sure to tell me how it goes." Mark replied before checking his watch.
"I have surgery in twenty, I've got to run."

Callie waved him off, heading back inside her apartment and closing the door. With a few hours to kill before her lunch date with Arizona, the surgeon decided to embark on some all-important studying.

Arizona navigated her bright red Fiat 500 through the streets of downtown Seattle. Callie had given her the address of the café they were meeting at for lunch, but the blonde was having a hard time finding it. Receiving a text from Callie to say she had arrived, the flight attendant decided to call her.
"Hello?"

"Hi! So I think I'm nearly here. Maybe? I'm a little lost." She admitted, putting the phone on speaker and setting it on the passenger seat.

"Could you come outside and flag me down?"

"Sure, what does your car look like?"

"Bright red Fiat 500. I've just passed a McDonalds and a Dunkin."

Arizona heard Callie giggle through the phone.
"It's the next left, and I'm standing outside. I really hope you're joking about the Fiat."

The blonde rolled her eyes as she pulled into the street to find Callie standing, her cell being placed into her back pocket and her arms folded across her chest. She spoke as Arizona got out of the car.
"You really drive one of those monstrosities?"

Arizona slapped Callie's arm playfully.
"Hey, do not talk smack about Ruby."
"Ruby?"
"She's red."
"You named it?"
"Named her. What do you drive anyway?" She retaliated.

The surgeon smiled proudly, pointing to the vintage T-Bird that sat beside Arizona's beloved Ruby. The blonde nodded appreciatively.
"Ok, that's awesome."
"No it's not, it's badass." Callie stressed, leading them towards the café.
"Come on, you'll love this place."

The building looked to be nothing special from the outside, but as Callie opened the door for Arizona, she stepped into what felt like another world. Strings of fairy lights hung from the windows, giving a soft glow to the interior. The walls were covered with mismatched paint and wallpaper, and a different lamp sat on each table.

A counter was set into the far wall, the daily specials written on a large blackboard behind. Callie led them to a table on one side of the room, a benched booth that had a slightly secluded feel to it.
"You can pick off the menu here, or see what they have at the counter…or just as the older lady behind the counter, she'll pretty much make you anything."

Arizona smiled, absorbing the atmosphere as they took their seats.
"This place is so cool. How did you find it?"

"My friend Addison, before she moved to LA, we had this thing about trying every café, bar, restaurant…you name it, in the city. We just totally fell in love with this one."
"I can see why." Arizona agreed, scanning the vast menu.
"Oh and this one is on me." Callie added. "To apologize for last night."

Arizona shook her head as she sat her menu down.
"Calliope…you don't have to apologize. You needed someone and I was happy to be there, ok?"

The brunette blushed as she heard her full name roll off the blonde's tongue. She usually hated it, but at that moment she decided that Arizona could call her whatever she wanted.

"No, I didn't mean that. But thank you. I meant for ditching you at Joe's and letting you foot the bill. That wasn't fair."

"I really didn't mind. But ok." Arizona conceded, glancing at the menu again.
"What do you recommend?"

"Their soup. I don't even care what kind it is. It's always amazing."

"How's their chilli?"
"Not as good as mine, but pretty damn tasty." Callie replied, slipping her leather jacket from her shoulders.
"Sounds like something I'll have to try for myself." Arizona smirked as she closed her menu.
"Mine or theirs?"
"Both." The blonde flashed a dimpled smile that nearly took Callie's breath away.
"Do you like to cook?"

Arizona shook her head emphatically.
"No. Years as a flight attendant has made me super lazy. My culinary talents include pouring cereal and boiling noodles. Can you cook?"

Callie laughed, closing her menu and setting it on top of the other.
"Yeah, I'm pretty good, not that I get much time these days. I make a mean chilli, as well as chicken piccata, and I'm getting pretty good with fish too."

"Wow. Next date's at your place then." The words slipped from her mouth so easily that Arizona felt the color rising in her cheeks. Callie only smiled widely, seemingly in favor of the idea.

Moments later, a young waiter asked if he could take their orders. Deciding to share a bottle of sparkling water, Callie chose a soup and a sandwich while Arizona decided to sample their chilli. After all, she would need something to compare Callie's to.

Words and diagrams were blurring together in Callie's head. After her lunch date with Arizona she had elected to spend her evening studying for her boards, but she was finding it nearly impossible. Stress surrounding the merger was weighing heavily on everyone's minds, and it made concentrating difficult. Why study when she might be out of a job in a week?

There was also the issue of the super-hot blonde she had just had lunch with. She couldn't get those eyes out of her mind. Or her laugh. Or her dimples. Especially the dimples. As she thought of Arizona, she knew that she would be packing now. After quizzing her about her week, Callie had learned that this one would be a little hectic for the flight attendant.

Arizona was embarking on a five day trip, starting in New York, then going on to Paris for two nights, before coming back to Seattle via New York again. Callie was jealous. She would give anything for two days in Paris, but Arizona promised her it wasn't as appealing as it sounded.

Callie had assured her it was far more appealing than studying.

The loud vibration of her phone against the table startled Callie from her musings. Swiping her thumb across the screen, she smiled.

Lunch today was awesome :) how goes the studying? A xx

Her fingers ghosted over the phone, typing a quick response.

I'm glad you agree. The studying is not so awesome. Definitely hitting a wall :( C xx

Callie smiled, glad that the blonde had enjoyed their lunch date as much as she had. She didn't have to wait long for a reply.

My packing is finished and I'm looking at spending a night in front of the TV. How about I come over and help you study? With pizza? A xx

Nothing in the world sounded better to the surgeon than a gorgeous blonde and a large meat-feast pizza, so she quickly texted her response.

Yes please. Come over whenever. You can be my patient. ;) C xx

With a large meat-feast pizza balanced in one hand, and a six-pack of beer in the other, Arizona struggled slightly to press Callie's buzzer. Eventually managing it without sacrificing their dinner, she stood at the brunette's door, knocking twice.

A slightly disheveled Callie opened the door, a wide grin covering her face when she laid eyes on the beer and the pizza.
"You're going to be a very bad study helper." She laughed, swiftly lifting the pizza from the blonde's struggling arms.

"Au contraire, Calliope. I'm an awesome study partner. I'm always super focused." She beamed, setting the beers down at the breakfast bar. Callie only raised an eyebrow in return, handing Arizona a bottle opener. As two tops were popped off, Callie motioned Arizona to the couch. The desk was littered with notepads, flashcards and books.

"Can I deal with the first part of your problem?" The blonde asked, settling herself on the couch with a slice of pizza. Callie nodded eagerly, taking one of the beers from Arizona.

The flight attendant smirked before pushing everything from the table onto the floor.
"Hey!" Callie cried, watching as her notes tumbled to the floor. Arizona ignored her surprised outburst and swiftly grabbed the booklet containing the practice Board questions.

"There's way too much clutter. You need to clear your head, and your desk. You need to focus."

Callie sighed.
"Our hospital is merging with another one."

A frown clouded Arizona's features.
"Have they told you what that means for you?"

Callie shook her head as she took a large swig of beer.
"Nope. But usually most personnel that are let go are nurses, interns and residents. The expendable ones."

"I hardly think you're expendable, Calliope. You're at the end of your residency, which means you're nearly a…" The blonde faltered.

"An attending." Yeah, so is everyone else in my year." She sighed, lifting a slice of pizza from the box.
"Our chief won't even tell us what's happening, or who's going to go, so it's making focusing on anything a little difficult."

Nodding as she swallowed, Arizona spoke.
"I get that. It's got to affect your focus, but you've got to try your hardest not to let it. They're probably going to keep the best residents, right? That means you've got to focus on being the best. Study, ace those boards, and be an awesome surgeon."

Callie smiled at Arizona's positivity.
"You make it sound so easy."

The blonde shrugged.
"I'm guessing it's not, but let's get down to it, ok?"

As she finished a slice, her eyes glanced over the questions on the page in front of her.

"A 39yr old male suffering from FOP is admitted with severe pain in the abdomen and is coughing up blood. You suspect internal bleeding. How would you proceed?"

"What's FOP?" Arizona asked.
"Fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva." Callie answered quickly, obviously familiar with the condition.
"It causes tissue in the body to be turned into bone. The slightest knock or bump can trigger more bone growth. Pretty soon the people are statues. In this case, the patient has probably had previous treatment that has triggered the growth. Without treatment he'd slowly bleed to death, but any treatment, even minimally invasive procedures would be dangerous. I'd inject a catheter to drain the blood, it's as minimally invasive as you can be." Callie stopped her explanation to look at Arizona.
"That's awful. It's fatal?"
"Yes, usually by 40yrs old. I had a patient a few years ago, female, we tried the procedure but it didn't work so we had to open her up in an attempt to save her."
"Which was completely counterproductive?" Arizona frowned.
"Yeah." Callie nodded.
"That's awful." Arizona repeated.

Callie nodded.
"Thankfully it's very rare."

With a solemn smile, Arizona moved to the next question.

With the pizza long finished and most of the beer having disappeared, laughter and chat flowed freely as the flight attendant continued to help the surgeon study.

Arizona turned over a flashcard and presented a new assessment to Callie,

"Ok, a 27yr old female needs an examination after suffering a neck injury when falling from her motorbike." The blonde frowned. "Ouch."

Callie nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, I'm not a fan of them either."

The brunette moved closer, holding both of her hands to Arizona's neck. A soft blush colored pale cheeks as she leaned into the touch.

Callie couldn't help but feel the soft skin on the blonde's neck and a strong, slightly fast pulse underneath her fingers.
"Ok. I need test the range of motion in the neck, so first we'll try to bring it as far forward as possible."

Arizona moved forward, resting her hand on Callie's lap. With Callie's hands still cradling her neck, she leaned towards the surgeon's plump, waiting lips. Capturing them in a sweet, slow kiss, she smiled into it as she felt Callie reciprocate. Strong hands moved from her neck to her cheeks, cupping them in an inviting embrace as she leaned into the kiss. Cautiously curious lips caressed each other as tongues tempted entrance. An excitement and energy filled the space, palpable even as they pulled away.

"Wow." Arizona breathed. "I have to say, I like your bedside manner."

Callie chuckled, tucking a stray strand of blonde hair behind Arizona's ear.
"Trust me, this is only the treatment that I give the cute ones."

Dimples appeared in Arizona's cheeks as she leaned instinctively towards Callie again. Lips met less hesitantly this time and tongues battled for dominance as Callie moaned softly.
"You really are an awesome study partner." She smiled, speaking softly against the blonde's lips.
"I'm glad you think so." Arizona replied, her hand moving from the back of Callie's neck and into her gorgeous dark hair.

The surgeon pouted as their lips parted again.
"You'd better have Skype on your trip. I don't know if I can go a whole five days without seeing your face."

Arizona smiled, linking her fingers with Callie's.
"New York will be fine, but the different time zones in Paris might be a little more interesting."

"We'll make time, right?" Callie asked. Aware that she could be moving too quickly, she looked to Arizona for reassurance. Blue eyes sparkled back in return.

"Definitely."

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