Sorry it took longer than expected, I DID get a new laptop, so I'm a little surprised that this chapter didn't actually take longer! Thank you all for sticking with this.

Let's see how our gals are doing, shall we?

Previously

"Since when do you speak French?"

"Since I was little, my dad was a marine so we've been stationed all over the place. We were stationed in the south of France for nearly two years." She explained.

Meredith smirked.

"That's neat. You going to use that to get into Callie's pants?"

The blonde nearly choked on her much-awaited beverage.

"Oh my God, Mer, really?!"

Chapter 9B

Meredith and Arizona's forty-eight hours in Paris passed in a blur; mostly filled with sightseeing as Meredith had never been before, but Arizona was more than happy to soak in the rich culture of the city time and time again. She snapped many panoramic pictures from the top of the Eifel Tower, as well as posing outside of the Louvre – each photograph she emailed to Callie in the hopes of lifting her spirits in spite of the surgeon's impending boards.

"I really want to tell Callie about next weekend." Arizona mused as she strolled along the Seine with her younger colleague.

"You know if you tell them they'll end up changing you." Meredith rolled her eyes. It happened often; the minute flight attendants made plans in a particular city, they would often find their rosters changed the next week only to find that flight removed.

Arizona groaned.
"I know, but she's so stressed and it's killing me not to be able to tell her. Our rosters are fixed for the week when we arrive in New York, so I guess I could wait until then." She sighed, taking a sip of her bottled water.

"Or even better, you could surprise her when we get back to Seattle, like not call her and then just show up at her door and tell her. She'll probably be very happy." Meredith smirked, nudging Arizona's arm.
"Oh my God, is sex all you think about?"

"Not all of the time." Meredith defended, taking another swig from her cola can.

"Just most?" Arizona laughed, receiving a swat on the arm from Meredith.

Callie paced anxiously outside Chief Webber's office. He'd paged her for a meeting and the surgeon couldn't help but think that bad news was coming her way. Whispered rumors that Bailey was safe made Callie happy for her friend, but even more anxious about the prospects of her own job.

Suddenly, the heavy oak door swung open and a surgeon Callie barely recognized left, puffy eyed and crying. Callie felt like throwing up.

"Torres." Webber smiled, his demeanor completely betraying that of the chief who had just crushed a young doctor's dreams. He welcomed her to take a seat, then rounded his desk and sat himself, clasping his hands together.
"How are you doing, Torres?"

Callie blinked, unsure of how exactly to respond to the chief's question. If she told him she was losing sleep over her boards, would he think she wasn't up to handling a position as an orthopedic attending?

"Uh, fine, sir. Just busy, I suppose." Callie answered truthfully.

Webber chuckled.
"I can imagine, Torres. Less than a week until your Boards? I don't think I slept a month beforehand!"

The brunette breathed a sigh of relief.
"So it's not just me then?"

"Are you kidding? Worst week of my career." Webber confessed, smiling understandingly.

"I suppose you're wondering why I paged you in the middle of all of this." He surmised.

Callie laughed nervously, nodding.

"Well, an old colleague and good friend of mine will be an examiner at your Boards. I've told him a lot about you and he's very impressed. Torres, I have a lot of interest in Dr. Chang's department, but if you can wow my old friend, I'd say you're a shoe-in for attending here next year."

Those hadn't exactly been the words Callie had been expecting to hear, and the shock rendered her silent for a long moment.
"I know it's a lot to absorb, but you're still my top pick for this position. I need someone who isn't scared to take charge and make a change and innovate. That's what you've been doing since you got here. That student that you arrogantly promised would walk?"

Callie grimaced. Webber had promised that if he didn't her career would begin and end there. Thankfully the months of work had been a success, but now, there was another hurdle in her way.

"So let me get this straight…I ace my boards and I'm and attending here. I crash and burn and I'll be serving Slushies in the cafeteria." She concluded.

Webber chuckled, a friendly smile on his face.
"I have every faith in you, Torres. Good luck."

"That's awesome! You should be celebrating!" Mark exclaimed, handing Callie her cup of coffee from the cart outside. She sighed, tossing some sugar into the beverage and stirring it thoughtfully.
"Yeah, awesome if I pass! I'm going to crash and burn, Mark. I can feel it." She grumbled, only somewhat calmed when the hot liquid met her lips.

"You know what you need?" Mark winked, taking a sip of his own coffee.

Callie chuckled.
"Thank you, Mark, for the offer, but I'm good."

"You're sure? It'll help you de-stress. You know how good I am at helping you to de-stress." He smiled, pinching her side lightly. Callie swatted his hand away and laughed.
"This has helped, Mark. You're good for more than sex you know." She nudged his arm supportively before making her way back into the building.

"Where are you going?"
"To study! I have a test's ass to kick."

Setting her crew bag at the door of her hotel room, Arizona nearly moaned in pleasure as she slipped out of her high heels. Glamorous, but painful when worn for an entire day. She glanced around her New York suite, happy to be back on American soil. As beautiful and as romantic as Paris was, their hotels could be a nightmare. She'd once had to convince a check-in agent that she and Teddy were in fact not a couple and would require separate rooms. They'd had to settle just for separate beds.

After enjoying a long and luxurious shower, Arizona donned the hotel's robe and hopped onto her king-size bed to check her messages. She smiled when she realized that she had one from Callie.

Hey pretty lady,
I'm not sure when your plane lands, I suck at this time difference thing, but call me when you can, I have some news!

Miss you,

Callie x

Arizona quickly checked her watch, deciding it was still early enough to call Callie. She hit 'call' and waited to connect.

"Hello!" Callie sounded very happy to hear from her, a fact that made Arizona smile.

"Hey, how are you? I just got to my hotel in New York."

"I'm ok, how was your flight?"

"Long. Good, but long!" She smiled, realizing how much she'd missed talking to Callie after only a few days.
"You said you had news?"

"Oh yeah!" She bit her lip to keep from smiling at how totally adorable Callie sounded when she was excited.

"So the chief called me into his office today."

"Yikes."

"Yeah, but he's a sweetheart. Well, most of the time. Anyway he said an old friend of his will be an examiner at my Boards, and if I impress him, the attending position at Seattle Grace is mine!"

"Oh my God, Callie that's awesome! Of course you'll impress him, you're very impressive." The blonde smiled, making the surgeon laugh.

"Well, I hope he thinks so. I mean, this is good news, but - "

" – but even more stress for you. I get that."

Callie sighed.
"Yeah. Gosh I just want this week to be over, and then I'll just know one way or another. When is your flight back to Seattle?"

"Tomorrow evening. I know you're going to be crazy busy, but maybe we could meet up for a coffee or something? My treat, to help you chill before the madness." Arizona chewed on her lip, anxiously awaiting the brunette's answer. She had just checked her roster, and now it was confirmed that she and Callie would be in Chicago at the same time.

"Yeah, that sounds great. Really great. I've missed you." Callie admitted.

Arizona grinned.
"I've missed you too. I'll have a surprise for you when I see you, ok?"

Callie raised her brows.
"It's not one of those tacky Eiffel Tower key-rings, is it?"

The blonde laughed.
"No, no. This is much better, I promise."

The following evening, Callie let herself into an empty apartment. She had crossed paths with Cristina briefly between surgeries, and knew the cardio-hungry surgeon would be home late. Callie had been paged in at 4am and was officially wiped. Tossing her bag onto the floor, she yawned, peeling off her leather jacket and tossing it over the couch as she rounded it to sit. Her stomach growled impatiently, but Callie knew there was nothing of value in the fridge. She hadn't been shopping in weeks, and the only thing Cristina managed to stock the apartment with was liquor. Pulling her phone from her pocket, she quickly scrolled through her contacts and called the nearest Chinese restaurant and placed her order of lemon chicken, prawn toast and duck spring rolls. She figured some of it could be shoved into their bare fridge for the morning.

Callie felt gross. Knowing it would be a while before her food arrived, she set a wine glass in the fridge to chill and made her way to the shower. As she lathered product into her hair, she reflected on the barrage of possible scenarios that could be thrown her way at the Boards; she would be nothing but prepared for all of them. Lumbar spinal fusion. Anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction. Bone grafting. Facial reconstruction. Laminectomy. Carpal tunnel release.

The surgeon felt much more relaxed and fresh as she stepped into the bedroom, quickly pulling on a pair of sweats and a black t-shirt. She almost squealed when she heard the knock at the front door. Taking her glass from the fridge, she set it on the counter in preparation before making her way to the door with her wallet.

Callie gasped as she swung open the door. Instead of the friendly little Chinese man stood a gorgeous blonde flight attendant, wearing a smile that Callie could only describe as magical. She frowned in confusion.

"You're not my spring rolls…"

Arizona laughed, and the sound was music to Callie's ears.

"Surprise! Can I come in anyway?"

Let me know what you think?