Disclaimer: I own none of these characters; all belong to Shonda Rhimes. Any resemblance to the show is simply borrowed.
A/N: Hey guys! I'm so sorry I didn't get an update out last week, but hopefully this chapter will make up for it :) I have officially finished my novel that was due yesterday, so I won't have to worry about that anymore. I can finally sleep/write other stuff/get homework done. Okay, as always, your kind words are appreciated and welcomed! Hope you like this!
Chapter 9:
Callie walked the halls of the hospital the next day tall. She couldn't remember the last time she walked tall. She'd been a mess for so long...but now she was actually feeling happy. Happier than she could imagine. She had a girlfriend. A girlfriend. She hadn't had to go on a first date in years, and just the prospect of that created a whole new set of nerves in her stomach. But a good set of nerves. Because she had a date with Arizona Robbins, her girlfriend. Callie never skipped, but she sure felt like she was skipping down the hall that day. 12 hours. You can make it 12 hours. You can control yourself. You don't need to spend every minute thinking about her... Even as she talked herself down, she felt the exact opposite and only thought about the blonde more. She seemed to consume all her thoughts lately, which made everyday tasks more difficult, but she wasn't complaining.
She was interrupted from her thoughts as she felt a hand grasp at her shirt while she was walking, and she was suddenly yanked into a nearby on-call room.
"What the-"
She couldn't get any further in her sentence, for Arizona's lips covered her own once again. Once Callie got her brain on straight, she smiled into the kiss and wrapped her arms around Arizona.
Callie hummed against Arizona's lips as they released, but their bodies still maintained contact. "What is it about us that we are constantly interrupting each other?"
"Are you complaining?" Arizona asked with a sparkle in her eyes.
"No way," Callie murmured, "Just observing."
"I just couldn't wait another second to kiss my girlfriend today," Arizona said smiling, "My girlfriend. You're my girlfriend." She felt giddy. "God, I'm never going to get tired of saying that."
"I know what you mean," Callie hummed in agreement, "I've been saying it all morning. Told Addison even last night."
"How did she react? Did she approve?" Arizona asked jokingly, although there was a hint of seriousness in her voice. After all, impressing the best friend was vitally important.
Callie feigned thought before saying, "Hm. She thinks you could do better."
Arizona laughed and said, "She's a great friend."
"Right?"
"For the record," she said wiping a strand of hair behind Callie's ear, "I couldn't do any better than you. You are better than…better."
Callie laughed and Arizona rolled her eyes at her own word choice.
"You know what I mean," Arizona said pouting slightly, "And don't laugh at my incoherent thought processing."
"I'm sorry," Callie said lightly pecking Arizona on the lips, "I do know what you mean…and you're adorable."
A smile lit up Arizona's face as she asked, "Are you excited for our date tonight?"
Callie chuckled and replied, "I've only been thinking about it all morning. I'd be even more excited if you told me where we were going…"
Arizona shook her head and said, "Nope, that's not going to happen. Just make sure you wear…something unbelievably sexy." Her voice lowered an octave at the end.
Callie gulped at her change in voice, and tried to stay on topic. "So…fancy?"
"Yes," Arizona whispered, "Although…you could come in just your scrubs and pull off unbelievably sexy."
Callie smirked as a blush filled her cheeks. "Good to know. As long as you wear yours too."
Arizona laughed into a kiss and reluctantly pulled away. "Now that I've effectively lost all capability of thinking…I should get back to work."
"Always leaving me for work," Callie said wrapping her arms around Arizona tighter.
"It will be worth it when you see me tonight," Arizona murmured against Callie's lips. "8'o clock?" she asked pulling away.
"8'oclock," Callie confirmed with a nod, "But wait, we're not going to see each other before then?" Callie didn't care if she sounded like a whiny teenager. She was completely comfortable with being totally open with Arizona.
Arizona shook her head with a smirk and said, "Nope. It will make it even more special if you don't see me all day."
Callie shook her head and said, "You're evil."
"I'm romantic," Arizona said with a definitive nod. "I gotta keep you coming back for more, baby," she said leaving the room with a wink.
Callie giggled to an empty room and tried to wipe the permanent smile off her face. God, this woman…
Callie nervously paced the kitchen as she waited for Arizona.
"Cal, you're gonna put a hole in the floorboards," Addison said bouncing James on her hip. She had come over once again for some girl help, but it seemed to be completely useless.
"I'll buy new ones. What time is it?" Callie asked biting her nails.
"Same time as when you asked 30 seconds ago," Addison responded, "And stop biting your nails!"
"I'm nervous!" Callie exclaimed.
"So I've gathered. You have no reason to be. She's already your girlfriend, cat's in the bag. It's not like you don't know if she'll like you at the end of the night."
"Yeah, I appreciate the sentiment, but it's not working," Callie said continuing her pacing, "It's still...new. And wonderful. And perfect. And I don't want to fuck this up."
"You're not going to fuck it up," Addison said covering James' ears.
"What time is it?"
"Oh, Jesus woman, it's 7:59!"
At that moment, a knock sounded on the door. Callie's eyes went wide as she felt her stomach drop.
"That's good," Addison said taking a sip of water, "Look just like that when you open the door."
Callie snapped out of it and glared at Addison. "Maybe you should answer the door."
"Are you serious? Just go answer the door, you wimp. You're gonna have to see her eventually."
"What if I pretend I'm still getting ready?"
"So you don't come off as desperate and needy? That ship has sailed, hun."
Arizona was on the other side of the door, pacing as well. What's taking her so long? Am I early? No, no I'm right on time. I made sure. She heard muffled voices on the other side arguing, obviously Callie and Addison's. She smirked as she heard parts of the conversation. Just then a breathlessly breathtaking Callie opened the door quickly with a light, "Hey."
Arizona's eyes went wide at the beautiful sight before her. Callie had chosen a knee-length black dress that did wonders to her body and left little to the imagination. "H-Hi-hi," Arizona stammered while scratching her head, "You look-well-you look. Yeah."
Callie giggled once her brain caught up. She had been unabashedly staring as well at Arizona's tight blue strapless dress choice. She leaned in slightly, pulling Arizona toward her, placing a kiss her on lips. "You look...oh how should I put it...unbelievably sexy," Callie murmured with a grin.
Arizona hummed in satisfaction and left her arms around Callie's neck. "Oh, you too, beautiful...I missed you today."
"That's your own fault," Callie joked lightly. "But I missed you too," she said toothily.
"Barf," came a loud deep voice from inside her house. Callie rolled her eyes and Arizona glanced behind her.
"Hey, Addison," Arizona said chuckling.
"Hey, Blondie. Glad you finally made it."
"I'm not late, am I?" Arizona furrowed her brows worriedly looking back at Callie.
Callie went to answer but Addison cut her off, "No. But she's been ready for like an hour."
"It was not an hour!" Callie replied horrified. "It wasn't an hour," she said more to Arizona this time.
Arizona giggled and gritted her teeth with a smile as she said, "I may have waited for a little bit in my car before I came to get you."
"Aw, you did?" Callie said with awe, "That makes me feel better."
"Ugh, it just gets worse, but I can't look away," Addison commented.
"Let's get out of here, and away from ass face over there," Callie said with a smile.
"Hey! That's not-"
Callie shut the door quickly, sending Addison a wink before grabbing Arizona's hand with hers and interlocking them. Arizona's face lit up at the simple gesture.
"So, are you going to tell me where we're going yet?"
Arizona shook her head with a smile.
"I figured."
Arizona turned around and grabbed Callie's other hand in hers, effectively walking backwards. She pulled Callie roughly into her and whispered, "Patience," against her lips but never touched them.
Oh, Callie was being patient. Her libido however, not the case. Which terrified her. This woman could get her turned on by just...standing. Or sitting. Just breathing, really.
Arizona opened the car door for Callie as they reached it. "And they say chivalry is dead," Callie commented hopping in.
"Have to treat my lady right," Arizona said shutting the door and walking to the driver's side.
She turned the car on and grabbed Callie's hand above the console while she drove. Callie gave Arizona's hand a squeeze and smiled. So far so good. The car ride was filled with light banter and stolen glances. Well, Arizona couldn't really look at Callie because she was driving, but she managed to sneak a few glances in. Callie however, could stare as long as she wanted, especially since Arizona was concentrating on the road. Arizona could feel Callie's eyes on her.
"You know," she said smirking, "It's very difficult and distracting for me to drive when you're looking at me like that."
Callie looked away and blushed before looking back at Arizona smiling and muttered, "Sorry. Can't help it."
Arizona smiled as the light turned red and turned to Callie. "Don't apologize. I'm only jealous I can't do the same."
Callie sent Arizona her mega-watt smile before Arizona continued driving.
When they arrived, Arizona hurried around to Callie's side to let her out and held onto her hand. They couldn't help but marvel at how natural it all felt. How perfectly they fit. Once inside, Callie audibly gasped, "Arizona. This is just..."
There were no words. The restaurant was dimly lit with candles and few lights above, white cloths covered the tables, and everyone was dressed in the most elegant clothing they owned.
"C'mon," Arizona said smiling as she dragged Callie while following the waiter.
Once at their seats and once the waiter had poured each of them some wine, Arizona turned to Callie who had yet to say anything. "So? You like it?"
Callie closed her mouth, only before she smiled and said, "Arizona, I love it. It's beautiful. It's too much..."
"It is not too much," Arizona said grinning, "You deserve a night like this."
Callie smiled with tears in her eyes as the waiter came by to take their orders, effectively interrupting their thoughts and gazes.
Callie looked around the restaurant at all the lights and plants and couples in other parts of the restaurant. They were effectively cut off from the rest of the place, Arizona going for a more private and excluded area.
"What's wrong?" Arizona asked worriedly, "You seem sad. Is it horrible? Did I do something? What can I do?" She was starting to ramble.
"Arizona," Callie said softly but sternly and reached across the small table to grab Arizona's hand in hers, "Stop. I love it. It's wonderful. Perfect."
Arizona sighed with a smile, content with this answer and happy to be holding Callie's hand. "Then...what?"
"It's just..." Callie said with a half smile, "Nobody has ever done something this nice for me. I can't think of anyone. And just the fact that you would...that you cared enough to..." Her voice trailed off, unable to finish each sentence.
Arizona smiled and squeezed her hand, urging her to continue.
"Thank you," Callie said with a sigh, "I've never been treated like this. And I feel like a princess. And it's not the restaurant or the fancy stuff...it's just you."
"You should always be treated like a princess, Calliope," Arizona murmured with a smile, "And wanna know a secret? I've never taken anyone here before."
"No?" Callie questioned, surprised.
Arizona shook her head and said, "Just you. I've always loved this place...My brother Tim showed it to me before he died."
"The one in Iraq?" Callie asked softly, confirming.
Arizona nodded sadly and replied, "Anyway, he took me here one day and I told him it was really weird since it was so romantic. But he told me he wanted me to see the place for myself, and that one day he was going to find someone special enough, just as special as me in a completely different way, to take here. She would be different than anyone else he'd ever met, and he would make sure she felt special and treat her as royalty."
"She would be different," Callie repeated softly in awe.
Arizona nodded as she rubbed her thumb over Callie's hand. "Calliope," she trailed off, "I know we just started off, and I know everything is happening so fast, but it doesn't feel fast to me. It feels right. It feels real. And I just want you to know...that I'm in. I'm all in. And I hope that's okay to say."
Callie sightly shook her head with a bright smile as her eyes welled up again. This woman was amazing. Everything she did just made her heart soar. As Callie was about to respond, the waiter came with food, effectively cutting off their conversation again. They reluctantly released their locked hands as the food was placed in front of them. "Thank you," Arizona murmured, looking at her food and afraid to make eye contact with Callie after what she had just said. It might have been too much. She didn't want to scare the poor girl away.
"Arizona," Callie said lightly as she watched Arizona picked at her food. She could tell Arizona felt embarrassed and was obviously trying to avoid Callie's gaze.
"Hm?"
"Please look at me," Callie practically begged.
Arizona gulped and slowly let her eyes wander around until they met Callie's.
"There you are," Callie whispered so quietly Arizona could barely hear.
Arizona blinked and swallowed one more time, waiting for what Callie had to say.
"I'm all in, too," Callie whispered with a look of awe.
Arizona's smile slowly reappeared.
"So don't...just don't," Callie said shaking her head, "Don't be embarrassed for telling me how you're feeling. That's always more than okay to say. It's refreshing to be with someone who isn't afraid to say how they feel...especially when I feel the exact same way. So just...don't. I'm all in."
Arizona's smile grew impossibly more as she giggled softly, over the moon at Callie's words. They gently held hands again and chose to eat with one. The rest of the meal was filled with banter, stolen glances, and stories of their childhood.
Toward the end of the meal, Arizona watched as Callie ineffectively tried to grab one of her noddles with the fork, proving that using one hand to eat was a more difficult task than others might believe.
"Callie," Arizona said chuckling, "You can let go of my hand to finish eating."
"Naw, I got it," Callie said in deep concentration, the noodle effectively slipping every time she tried to grab it. "Dammit," she muttered.
"Callie."
"It's okay, I'm done eating anyways," Callie said shrugging it off to look back at Arizona.
Arizona smirked slightly and reached over with her own fork to help Callie get the noddle. Callie helped with her one free hand until Arizona had a hold on it, then watched as Arizona gently lifted the fork to Callie's mouth, never breaking eye contact. The look Arizona was giving her was so intense, she had to tell herself to swallow the food. A bit of sauce had fallen from Callie's mouth during this, so Arizona gently reached over and wiped the corner of Callie's lip with her thumb. The intense look Arizona was giving Callie was so contrasting to the loving way she touched her, Callie thought she would melt on the spot.
Arizona cleared her throat lightly and managed to get out a raspy, "You wanna get of here?"
Callie nodded immediately, afraid to speak.
As they walked hand in hand back to Callie's house, neither could contain the sudden rush of butterflies in their stomachs. There was an ever present tension that wasn't there before, but a tension that neither minded and even found comfort it. Callie was dreading reaching that door. She didn't know if it was appropriate to ask Arizona inside, but she really didn't want their date to end.
"I had a wonderful time tonight, Calliope," Arizona said as they reached the door and turned to face each other, still holding hands.
As soon as Arizona spoke, Callie knew she couldn't not ask her. To hell with it. "Come inside," Callie blurted out. Alright, that could have come out better.
Arizona's eyes went wide as she smiled and chuckled at Callie's brazenness.
"I mean..." Callie said biting her lip looking down slightly and tapping her foot, "Do you want to come inside?"
Arizona pressed gently into Callie, connected their bodies and interlaced both of their hands together and lifted them slightly as she toyed with them. "I would love to come inside. You have no idea how much...but..."
"Oh, no," Callie said slightly shutting her eyes, "Not a but. I hate buts. The only butt I like is yours."
Arizona giggled and let go of Callie's hands to wrap them around her and said, "Noted."
"Just five minutes," Callie said chuckling too, "I'm normally not keen to begging...but..."
"Hey, that's a but!" Arizona laughed.
"Another good but," Callie pointed out.
"If I go in there," Arizona said nodding to the door, "I'm afraid I won't come out."
"We don't have to...I mean I'm not ready for anything...I just..." Callie stammered, feeling more embarrassed by the second. "I'm not ready for our date to end yet," she finally managed to get out.
Arizona looked at Callie with wonder and cupped her cheek with one hand, "You're sounding more convincing by the second."
Callie looked at Arizona with big eyes, pulling out her very best.
Arizona laughed and used the other hand to cup both of Callie's cheeks as her eyes darted all over Callie's face. "As much as I don't want our date to end either...I told myself I would do this right. And I'm having a very hard time with self control now...just going in there...I don't think I would be able to keep my hands off of you," she whispered the last part an octave lower while rubbing Callie's arms and hips, "And I don't think you're...that we're...quite ready to be alone in a big...empty...house yet."
Callie's eyes were wide and her throat went dry as she tried to swallow. "Probably not," she admitted. She could barely control herself out here, "But I want to be. And I really want to."
"And we'll get there..." Arizona said smiling, "Hopefully sooner rather than later for my own sanity, but we'll get there."
"You're right," Callie said sighing, "I don't want to skip any steps with you. I want every moment. Every step. I want it all."
"Me too, me too," Arizona murmured.
"I feel like a slut now," Callie said laughing.
Arizona laughed at this and said, "No. No, you're not. Because I feel the same way. I just want to have my way with you right here in this yard..."
Arizona snapped her mouth shut as Callie's eyes went wide, but she was smiling. Arizona scrunched her nose up and said, "Yep, I took it too far. I probably freaked you out too. Jesus, I try to sound all confident and ladylike and then I come out with something like that. And we're so far from that...I didn't think I just..."
Callie immediately leaned in and captured Arizona's lips with her own, effectively cutting off her rambling. Arizona moaned at the sudden contact and Callie caught that moan in her own mouth with a smile. After a moment of a lingering kiss, Callie released and whispered, "Stop. You're amazing. Everything about this night was amazing. Just standing here with you now is amazing."
Arizona smiled brightly and said, "Okay. I'm going to go now. Or try to. Colleen is probably waiting in her apartment across the hall to hear all about the night I just had."
"Colleen lives in your building?" Callie questioned with a sudden jolt of jealousy.
Arizona just looked at her with a smirk.
"I mean...that's cool," Callie said shrugging, "Your hot ex can basically live with you."
Arizona shook her head chuckling and replied, "I don't even see her as my ex. It wasn't even anything. It was a one time thing, and she's just one of my best friends that I talk about stuff with. She's your Addison."
"She's probably a little nicer than Addison," Callie said laughing.
Arizona leaned in to kiss Callie again, and forced herself to pull away, "Remember, just you. I'm all in."
"All in," Callie whispered with a smile.
Arizona pecked Callie one last time before forcing herself to turn around and walk away from the porch. She couldn't even look back out of fear she would run right back into Callie's arms.
Both had bright smiles plastered to their faces the rest of the night at the mere perfection of their first date, and hopefully the many more to come.
Oh, and also, I've been looking for Jessica Capshaw's interview with Jimmy Kimmel (the more recent one) because it's like my favorite interview of hers. But I can't find it anywhere! All the sites say it's been removed or taken down. Anyone have it or know where I can find it? Thanks!