Chapter 2 – Mistakes

Mark and Callie staggered together through the chilly Seattle night air. Spring was officially on its way and along with it only slightly warmer evenings that held a sharp coolness, keeping jackets a necessity. She breathed in the smell of fresh rainfall mixed with a faint ocean breeze that was uniquely Seattle and smiled. The rain that had fallen this morning had now turned into a beautiful evening with only a few clouds to blot out the starry night sky. This far into the city, you couldn't see that many stars, but she knew a spot from Shepherd's land that had an absolutely brilliant view. On a night clearer than this, she would go with Mark or Arizona or both of them and just absorb the gorgeous night sky… as well as a bottle of tequila or wine.

Mark's elbow in her rib broke her from her thoughts. "Ow! What was that for?!"

"I'm talking to you," Mark chided, a feigned expression of hurt on his face.

She chuckled and brushed the hair the wind had blown into her face behind her ear. "Sorry, what were you saying?"

"I was asking if you knew that blondie was into the ladies," he responded.

Her eyebrows shot up and her mouth opened momentarily before she shut it purposefully and creased her brow in concentration. "I had no idea. I'm not so sure she is though, Mark."

"Are you kidding? Or did you not see the sexy girl on girl action back there?"

Callie stopped to punch her companion on the arm, eliciting a weak 'ow' from his lips. "Don't talk about Arizona like that, Mark. She clearly did not want that kiss, and you know it."

He scratched the back of his head. "I'm not so sure... I can't figure out why a random stranger would just walk up to her and kiss her, you know? There's gotta be some sort of history there."

"Maybe," she mumbled. The truth was she hadn't been able to stop thinking about what kind of history there must be for the redhead to be so comfortable kissing Arizona in public.

"Cal, there's no maybe about it." Mark shook his head slowly side to side. "Everything makes so much sense now!"

Callie looked at him curiously. "What do you mean?" She grabbed his arm, drawing his attention to her. "And choose your words wisely. This is Arizona we're talking about." She glared at him protectively.

He knew how close the two women were and that he would definitely regret upsetting Callie, but he couldn't help a smug grin from pulling at his lips as he explained. "She wouldn't sleep with me. I tried…" confusion leaked through his voice. "Several times, actually."

Callie's mouth fell open. "Mark!"

He doubled over in laughter. "What? She's hot!"

Hesitation stopped her voice, not sure whether it was okay to agree with him or not. She was suddenly very glad for the cold night air hiding the blush rising in her cheeks.

He glanced over, taking in the awkward stance of his best friend. "Cal?"

Her eyes shot to his and returned quickly to the sidewalk in front of her. "Yeah," she mumbled. "I guess she's pretty hot or whatever."

He stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, his mouth hanging wide open. "CALLIE," he gasped.

She looked over her shoulder and groaned when she saw the shocked look on Mark's face. "What? Come on, it's cold. I want to get back to the apartment already."

"No! Callie Torres, you like her!"

Callie reddened, embarrassment flooding across her face. "Shut up, Mark! I do not!"

His eyebrow rose teasingly. "You do! I can't believe this."

Callie stormed towards him and grabbed his arm, dragging him farther down towards the apartment. "Drop it, Mark."

"So you don't deny it?"

Callie spun on her heel to stare him in the eye. Anger rippled across her skin, arcing in a fiery spark between her nerves. She glared at him, but broke almost immediately when she saw the teasing eyes of her best friend. She let out a deep breath and released the tension in her shoulders.

"I was just kidding, Cal," his eyebrow rose, "but hey, I'm all for it. You're hot, too… you guys should just be hot together." He winked and chuckled to himself.

She rolled her eyes and grabbed his hand, pulling him towards the door to their apartment building. "Come on."

She tried to force Arizona out of her mind, but the entire elevator ride up to their floor, she was the only thing she could focus on. Mark hadn't stopped talking, but she honestly had no idea what he was mumbling about. She didn't hear his words, she could only see Arizona, alone at the bar drinking her way through the aftermath of that random kiss. She had never seen Arizona like that before, and it broke her heart to think of her normally perky and happy best friend so upset.

Before she could register what was happening, she felt Mark's lips crash against her own. She hesitated, but returned the kiss, willing it to erase the thoughts of Arizona from her mind. This was simpler. Everything about the blonde just confused her and she wanted to stop being so confused. Mark was simple. Mark was easy. God, why couldn't she just turn her mind off for one second?

"Stop thinking," Mark growled as his lips latched onto her neck. They hadn't slept together since they had a friends-with-benefits deal two years ago, but he still knew exactly what turned her on. She swore she would never sleep with him again, but today had been a particularly shit-tastic day so when he offered a night with no strings attached to distract her, she caved.

Moments later, Callie careened into the apartment across the hall from her own, her body colliding against the strong physique of her best friend. His muscles tightened with the sudden contact and his hips surged to meet hers. Their lips crashed together, moans rippling through them both and echoing through the apartment. She slammed the door closed behind them as they stumbled backwards, crashing into the couch. Mark fell first, Callie falling on top of him. She leaned back and reached to the hem of her shirt to pull it off.

His hand landed on her stomach, holding her shirt down. She paused to look at him with a confused expression. "What?"

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

She had the memory of George haunting her, and the more recent memory of Arizona's lips on another woman incinerating her mind. She hadn't expected her stomach to flip in on itself with anger and jealousy at the sight of Arizona kissing another woman. She didn't want to connect the dots as to why she had reacted so strongly; the answer terrified and confused her. What she did need was to remember that she was a fan of penis, a huuuuge fan of penis, so she nodded frantically in response to Mark's question and ripped her shirt off.

He met her lips in a hungry passion and turned her hips to match his movements, showing her that he was ready too. "Bedroom," she moaned into his mouth. He lifted her off the couch and they danced together towards his bedroom, shedding clothes along the way.

Arizona sat at the bar, tracing circles around the coaster underneath her third empty glass of scotch. She didn't usually drink scotch, but she found it had a wonderful numbing effect. She had never expected to see Kim again, but the second she locked eyes with the green eyed beauty, all of the pain and haunting memories flooded against her, crushing her. Just the memory of the encounter emptied the air from her lungs. Needing a distraction, she reached into her purse, pulling her phone out and setting it on the aged wood of the bar top so she could bring up her conversation with Callie from earlier that day. She re-read the texts and found that her breathing finally started to come a bit easier.

A glass of water appeared in front of her, and she glanced up to see Joe's kind eyes and a small smile on his lips. "We're gonna close in a bit. You should get some water in you before you head home."

"Thanks," she said with a weak smile. He nodded and headed towards the opposite end of the bar.

She spun the phone in her hands, trying to decide whether to text Callie or not. The Latina had told her to text her if she needed her, and she did. She just had to decide whether to admit that or not. She knew she would have questions about Kim, and she wasn't sure if she was ready to face that yet. Callie's face filled her thoughts and finally, she made the command decision. With a renewed confidence, she tapped the screen and picked up her phone.

Silence pierced the air of Mark's bedroom, broken only subtly by the gentle snoring of her bed companion. Silk sheets draped perfectly across her chest, hiding her naked form underneath. She stared at the ceiling, counting the number of shattered cracks that hung above her.

Callie took a deep breath as her mind wandered again back to Arizona. Dr. Arizona Robbins. The woman that made her heart race and her mind go blank. The woman that cared about her more than anyone in her life ever had. She loved the way that Arizona knew how she took her coffee, what her favorite lunch was, what kind of drink to order her after a long day, and somehow always knew exactly what to say to make the stress of a terrible day disappear.

Mark shifted onto his side, revealing his bare back to the Latina. She glanced over and smirked at the claw marks she had left to scar his otherwise flawless skin. She rolled her eyes and shifted her gaze back to the ceiling. She knew sleeping with Mark was a bad idea; she should have just called Arizona so they could finish off a bottle or two of wine together. She had decided to take the easy way out instead, though and she hated herself for it.

Guilt washed through her at the memory of Arizona sitting at the bar before she left. How often had Arizona found her in that same state and ushered her home and erased the pain? Never had the blonde ever asked for any help, and yet, the one time it was obvious she needed it, Callie had left her alone to her problems… and why? To go fuck Mark?

Thinking about the blonde only fueled her concern for her. When she couldn't take it anymore, she shifted out of the bed, careful not to disturb Mark and tiptoed out into the living room. She picked up her clothes on the way, slowly redressing herself. Finding her jeans, she grabbed her phone from the front right pocket where she always kept it. Her face contorted in confusion when she saw the light indicating a new message blinking. Unlocking the screen, a text from Arizona from nearly an hour and half earlier popped into view.

I need you.

It was short and simple, nothing like their usual texts. She didn't know who this redhead was that was causing her best friend to be so upset, but she didn't like her. This wasn't her Arizona. She scrolled to the next text.

Joe cut me off and told me to go home :(

She checked the time stamp to see that it was only half an hour earlier. Silently thanking Joe for taking care of her friend when she wasn't there like she should have been, she scrolled to the next text.

I don't want to go home. I know I don't usually do this, Callie... but I really think I need you. Please answer?

Worry flooded her mind and her heart started racing as she glanced from Mark's bedroom back to the screen of her phone, silent tears building behind her eyes. How could she be so fucking selfish? Arizona needed her, and she hadn't been there. Mark's voice called for her from his bedroom, but she didn't care. Mark didn't matter, Arizona did. Arizona was everything. She found her contact ID and hit send just as she opened the door to Mark's apartment and saw Arizona across the hall staring helplessly at her own closed apartment door.

She had been standing outside of Callie's apartment, knocking softly for nearly ten minutes. Finally defeated, she had just decided to wander back to her own apartment, but she hadn't been able to convince her feet to start moving yet. A flash of raven hair caught her eye, and she turned to see the Latina she had been hoping to find all night. "Callio—," her voice caught as she took in the full appearance of her best friend. Her hair was wild and her eyes held a tinge of post-sex haze that was impossible to miss. Her stomach dropped as a wave of darkness fell on top of her like a ton of bricks. No… this can't be happening. "Oh, God," she muttered as tears fell down her cheeks. She turned quickly and took off running in the direction of the stairs.

Callie stood frozen in the middle of the hallway, her arm outstretched towards the fleeing blonde. "Arizona!" Her voice echoed into oblivion as the last streak of golden hair flew past the staircase door as it swung shut.

AN: Thank you so much for the overwhelmingly awesome response from the first chapter! I hate writing our ladies not together and happy, but a little bit of angst never hurt anyone, right?

Keep the reviews coming! They really encourage me and give me great ideas :)