A/N: I'm sorry that this chapter is so short. I'm in California on vacation, but I wanted to give you guys at least something to read. After this chapter, there will be probably two chapters that don't have any Calzona interaction. Yes, I know, I don't like it either. But it's necessary. One will focus on Callie, and one will focus on Arizona.
As always, read, enjoy, and review :)
-K.
"Are you sure you don't need a ride to the airport?" Arizona slammed the trunk of Addison's car shut.
"Yes, Arizona, I'm sure. It's a rental car; it has to go back anyways." Addison couldn't help rolling her eyes. When she'd arrived in the morning, things seemed to be...better between Callie and Arizona, for lack of a better word. And when Arizona had offered to help carry Callie's overly heavy suitcase down the stairs of their apartment building because the elevator was broken, Addison didn't miss the look her friend had given the blonde. There was still tension in the air, but they were speaking to each other. She wasn't yet sure if it would be a good thing in the end that Callie had been so quick to let Arizona back in, but at least something was changing.
They had been ready to go half an hour ago, technically, but Addison decided to let Callie and Arizona keep stalling. She wasn't worried about the flight, since it was a private jet that she'd called in some favors for to get so quickly. The pilots could wait an extra ten minutes. Though they'd begun to push it, so Addison figured it was time to speak up. "Callie, get the hell over here and give me your baby so you can say goodbye to Arizona." Addison's voice was purposely raised just enough for Arizona to hear, and Callie glared.
"Don't curse in front of my baby. We're already waiting to see what kind of effect Yang had on her from the last time she needed to be watched."
Arizona chuckled. "That was a terrible idea, Calliope."
"Five minutes shouldn't have been long enough to scar a child! And I really had to pee. Yang said she'd be okay…," Callie responded sheepishly.
Addison snapped her fingers, cutting the women off from the banter that was only beginning. "Hand her over."
Callie begrudgingly handed Sofia to her 'aunt' after a kiss on the cheek and a mumbled, "Be good to momma while I'm gone, okay?"
Addison smiled despite the strict demeanor, and shifted her weight when Sofia was placed in her arms. When Arizona looked to the ground awkwardly, not sure how to say goodbye, Addison poked Callie in the arm and gestured toward her. "Go talk," she whispered. "I'll be...somewhere as far as I can go with a baby on my side." The redhead winked, and walked away.
Arizona watched, and when she deemed Addison to be far enough away, she leaned against the car and looked at Callie, unsure of what to do. "So..." She was caught off guard when Callie stepped in front of her, pinning her between the car and her wife. "Callio-"
Callie cut her off with long, passion-filled kiss. Their lips seemed to ignite at the slightest brush, and they both sighed happily, knowing that if nothing else, at least that hadn't changed. Callie's hand slid through Arizona's hair and then tightened its grip, pulling them closer. Arizona let Callie lead, and when the latter finally pulled away, her heart stuttered. "Um...?" Arizona bit her bottom lip.
"Don't," Callie stated. "It just feels like I'm sort of... doing the "Africa thing" right now. Leaving you here and running away. And I know it's different, you don't have to tell me that. But I couldn't go without that."
Arizona looked at Callie's shaking hands that were now on her hips. "You can do this, you know. I want you to do this. California will be good for you...and it's only four days." Arizona tucked a strand of Callie's hair behind her ear in an attempt to reassure her.
"Then why are you so nervous?"
Arizona coughed. "Why would I be nervous?"
"You're tapping your fingers against anything within reach."
'Damn.' Arizona wished Callie wasn't able to read her so well. "It's...Lauren." Seeing the color disappear from Callie's face, she grabbed her by the shoulders. "No, no, not that! She just...refuses to leave." Lauren had corned her the night before just as she was about to go home. "She says she won't go until we figure it out. We don't have anything to figure out! It was a mistake. But she won't leave. And I don't know what to say; it's not like I can tell her that you and I are okay, because we're not. And she won't listen to 'I'm trying to fix it' because she thinks I'm some...some charity case and that everything I say means that I'm a control freak and that it's her job to change that. Callie... What am I supposed to say?" Arizona looked on the verge of tears.
"Look..." Callie took a deep breath. "Tell her that you have a wife who loves you more than her own life and would have put herself on that damn plane instead of you if she would have known what was going to happen." Callie pulled Arizona in for a tight hug. "If she's not gone by the time I'm back, I'll talk to her myself."
"Why do you trust me?" Arizona asked. She'd been afraid to mention it to Callie because she thought she'd blow up on her.
Callie saw the hopeful look in Arizona's eyes and responded, "I don't."
The hope instantly dimmed, but Arizona's smile only flickered for a second. "I didn't expect you to. Thank you, Callie. For... at least thinking about this."
"It's not for you." Callie had done many things for Arizona, but this was for her. She knew she had to at least give it time; she didn't have a choice. She knew that from the few times she'd tried to get away from Arizona in the past.
"I know," Arizona responded. "I truly do want to be a better person for you, Calliope, but I don't know how."
"I know." Callie closed her eyes. "I'm just... I'm not angry right now, Arizona. I'm confused. When you left for Africa and I slept with Mark, you almost murdered him. Now…I mean, I knew that you blamed me; I knew that losing your leg was a lot to take in and you were going to end up lashing out, but this was never you. You never would have done this. So you've changed, but I never wanted that. I just wanted...regular Arizona." Callie shrugged. "So you run a lot. I'd rather have you run than...sleep with someone other than me."
Arizona nodded, attempting to keep her tears at bay. There had been enough crying in the past day or so already. "It was a mistake... I love you."
Callie frowned, and kissed Arizona's cheek softly. "I know you do."
Suddenly, a mess of red hair blocked their view of each other. "Come on, Callie! We gotta go."
Both women silently decided to give in. Sofia started to reach for her mother, but Callie just kissed the little girl's outstretched palms. Arizona took over, and soon Sofia was clinging to her blonde hair like a lifeline.
"Have a great trip, Calliope." Arizona could barely get the words out.
Callie couldn't help wrapping her arms around her family one last time. She couldn't think of anything to say to her beautiful, heartbreaking wife, so instead she held her again, and kissed the tip of her earlobe.
After a few seconds, they were forced to pull away. Callie pushed her sunglasses onto her face and slid into the car, too afraid that if she looked behind her, she'd go running back to Arizona, and she knew that she needed time to think without relying only on her instincts this time.
Addison hung back. "Arizona... Don't fuck this up. Please." By Addison's eyes, Arizona could see that the woman was not only looking out for her friend, but remembering her own past also. "I've done it before. And Derek and I... maybe we would have lasted, maybe we wouldn't have. But he found Meredith, and he's so much happier now. You better hope that you're really "the one" or whatever, because Callie doesn't have to deal with your shit, except that she has so far, which has to mean something. Callie is giving herself this chance to figure out what she wants. Maybe she won't come back, maybe she will. Either way... don't even think about getting near Lauren again, or anyone else for that matter. I'll personally see to it that Callie finds someone better."
Arizona couldn't look Addison in the eyes. She knew she needed to hear it from someone else for it to really sink in, but she now realized that there was more than a chance that she would lose Callie. "...I know," she murmured.
"Good." Addison nodded towards where Callie was sitting. "Better not keep her waiting."
"Yeah...keep her safe, okay?" Arizona's eyebrows scrunched together in worry.
"She'll be safe," Addison confirmed. When she saw Callie impatiently waving at her from inside the car, she grumbled, "I know, I know," and made her way to the driver's seat.
Arizona froze as she watched the scene in front of her. And in that moment, she understood what Callie had been through when she'd left her in the airport for a flight to Africa. 'Callie will be back', she kept repeating to herself, but she still couldn't help feeling as if everything she ever wanted would be driving away in that car and never looking back. Just as Addison was about to speed away, Arizona jumped into action and raced towards the passenger side. Callie was startled by the knock on the window, but rolled down her window.
Arizona felt as if she couldn't breathe. "Tell me I'll see you soon," she blurted out.
Callie's features softened even as she felt her chest constrict. "I'll be back in Seattle before you can say 'there are no other decent orthopedic surgeons in the hospital to take over anyways.'"
Arizona let out a pained laugh. "That's...a lot to say."
Cracking a smile, Callie responded, "Well it is a four day vacation."
Arizona felt the slightest bit better and backed away from the car. "I love you", she mouthed again, but with Callie's sunglasses on, she couldn't tell if she'd been looking or not.
