Chapter 12

Arizona woke with a start, scaring both women into full consciousness. Arizona went rigid as memories of the day before flooded back into her head. She rubbed her sore eyes and took a deep, cleansing breath.

"Good morning, beautiful," Callie said gently.

Arizona winced. "I ruined our date."

"Hm?" Callie said as she stretched.

"Oh god, I did. I ruined our date! We were supposed to go to dinner and then..." Arizona scooted backwards on the bed, away from Callie. "Calliope, I am so, so sorry."

Callie's face fell as she momentarily considered Arizona's words. "We still ended up in bed, maybe not the way I imagined, but I'll take it," she said with a wink.

Arizona blushed and ran her hand nervously through her hair.

Callie smirked, happy to still have the ability to make her best friend blush. She leaned in and tried to give Arizona a kiss, but the blonde turned her head at the last minute, offering up her cheek instead. Callie paused and leaned back with a concerned look, but Arizona wouldn't meet her eyes. She was looking everywhere except at the beautiful woman in her bed.

Callie sighed deeply and got up, pushing the sheets off of her lap. "Well, since we're up, I'm just gonna grab my stuff and head out."

Arizona sank into her bed. "Really? What about coffee?" Suddenly the idea of being alone terrified her.

"I'll grab some on my way home." Callie paused in the doorway, "unless you want to talk about what's going on?" She offered.

Arizona's heart raced. She wanted to tell Callie everything, to unlock everything she had been holding on to and to trust her to know what to do with the pieces of her heart she never could quite figure out how to put back together. The thought of saying anything at all though, if she were honest with herself, scared the living shit out of her. She spent a minute looking into Callie's eyes. This woman had become a rock for her over the last few years. She had been the only reason she had been able to put her life back together, and she didn't even know it. She didn't even know how much she had already helped... here she was standing in the doorway, her doorway, looking all adorable and sleepy-eyed with messy hair that was still somehow perfect and she was absolutely clueless to how much she had done for her already, and she still wanted to do more. "I don't deserve you." The words were out before she knew she said them.

Callie smirked. It was an odd answer, but it wasn't no, so she was willing to accept it. "I'll wait for you in the kitchen."

As Arizona sat in her bed contemplating what exactly to say, the sound of coffee beans grinding echoed through her empty apartment. She didn't know what to say, but she needed to say something. Should she start with the big stuff? Or should she tell the whole story? She took a deep breath and collapsed back onto her bed. Life shouldn't be this hard.

A/N:

For those of you who are still with me and have left kinds notes of encouragement, specifically those of you who have said they trust me to do this topic justice, thank you, thank you, thank you. I appreciate you and your beautiful faces.

This is just a short update, but there is another chapter headed your way shortly! :)

Until next time,

-Tina