AN: Hey. Enjoy.

Pain. That's all that existed. Pain in my thigh. Pain in my hip. Pain in my non-existent knee. Pain in my back. Pain in my neck. Pain in my non-existent foot. Pain in my existing foot. Pain in my entire right leg. Pain in my brain. Pain everywhere.

My first day back at the hospital, three hours in, and I couldn't tell you what I ate for breakfast, my hair color, or the name of the nurse that had been following me around since I walked in. I couldn't focus on anything, except the pain riddling my body.

Each day I was doing better and better with my new leg, but all of that work was nothing compared to walking around the hospital on it all day. All I wanted to do was collapse in a hot bath and sleep for a few days.

To be fair, physical pain remained the worst discomfort plaguing me after starting work again. I was only doing paperwork, reviewing cases, and making a few rounds to familiarize myself with the hospital again, so nothing particularly threatening. And, yes, people stared. People tried to politely ask probing questions about my leg and my recovery. I nearly tripped on a stray wire. Nurses whispered as I limped past. And, all of that was definitely wearing on me, however, so far, I was surviving. I had expected all of those things, and had somehow steeled myself enough to allow those nuisances to merely chip at me instead of obliterate me. Eventually, I knew I'd probably break down, but I figured I could absorb a few more punches before that happened. I still had to master the OR again, but the morning's experiences brought hope that I wouldn't lose as much in my career as I feared.

"Is that her?" A hushed whisper piqued my interest as I walked by the nurse's station. "She's back already?" And, the hits kept on coming.

"Yeah, that's her. I heard she ended up losing both legs."

"Wow, she's walking very well for having two prosthetics."

"No, that's not true. She just lost one, but they found damage from internal bleeding and now she's on the transplant list." Another nurse excitedly whispered back.

"Oh! For what? Heart? Kidney? Liver?" An intern practically squealed.

"Actually, for a brain transplant. And, while they're up there, they're gonna go ahead and transplant her hair. Blonde is so last year."

At the droll and snippy tone suddenly present among the gossip squad, I finally looked over my slumped shoulders. The pale faces of the two nurses and one intern were contorted into matching expressions of shock, fear, and nauseousness as the brunette glared unforgiving at the group. "D-dr. Yang, we were j-just..."

"Yeah, I know what you were doing. But, maybe you could start using some of that staggering intellect to focus on doing your job, before I make sure all of you never see anything but the most disgusting and gag-worthy jobs for the next month." Proving that they truly didn't possess a whole lot of common sense, nobody moved, prompting Cristina to bark, "Now."

Finally moving, the trembling trio scattered, mumbling various sentiments of intent and tasks at hand. Watching their retreat with sadistic satisfaction, Cristina smirked and turned to catch my gaze. We hadn't spoken much since the accident, but as a fellow survivor we seemed to have forged a rare and irreplicable bond. Cristina and I, along with the few others from the crash, were uniquely qualified to understand things about each other that no one else could. So, at her acknowledging nod, I offered her a half grin and returned to my original course.

It took exactly twenty-seven feet before I received yet another sympathetic look and that was my limit for the moment. Glancing to my left, I saw the door to the locker room and made a quick decision to make a temporary escape. Dodging the best a person on a new leg could, I slipped through the door and instantly collapsed onto the nearest bench. Sighing in relief of the momentary seclusion the dim room offered, I rested my face in my hands. Well, almost seclusion, I could hear the shower running, so someone was there, but at least, they were too busy to stare at or whisper about me. A few moments passed before I simultaneously regretted and celebrated my decision to enter the locker room.

Say you will, say you won't make up your mind tonight

Say you do, say you don't wanna be mine

The gorgeous voice didn't reach the usual volume, or contain the usual enthusiasm, but I'd recognize that sultry tone anywhere. I listened to it every morning for several weeks.

Say you will, say you won't make up your mind this time

Say you will, say you will be mine tonight

I craned my neck to peer down the row of showers to the last stall where Callie's voice filtered out through the steam.

Can't sleep, I keep dreamin' I'm losin' you

I feel so alone in the night, scared to open my eyes

I'm in too deep, I'm in over my head this time

I can't get you outta my mind no matter how hard I try

An ironic chuckle nearly escaped my lips as I processed the lyrics. It was as if she knew I was sitting there listening. I knew she couldn't know I was there, but the song hit home. I didn't know what to do. I really wanted to see her, but also really wanted to avoid seeing her. It was my first day back in the hospital and I was already on emotional thin ice. As I sat there contemplating running away and staying to talk to her, I heard the shower tap shut off and froze. Apparently the decision had been made, because I couldn't force myself to leave that spot.

It wasn't exactly how I imagined seeing Callie again, but I certainly couldn't find a way to regret it. The stall curtain opened revealing a towel clad Callie, her hair pinned up in a messy bun and her body glistening with moisture. I took the second and a half of her obliviousness to study her. Her expression wasn't the cheery one I had become accustomed to, but a sort of muted version of it. The dark brown eyes that had always watched me so closely, remained trained on the floor as she approached the bench where I sat, motionless. About five feet from literally running into me, she glanced up and caught my apprehensive gaze. A brief flash of shock crossed her features before dissolving into indifference.

"Someday, I'll get out of the shower and you won't be there staring at me." She quipped in a emotionless voice, her teasing falling flat with the absence of interest.

"One time. I saw you get out of the shower one time...well, now twice." I answered her rhetorical remark with my own half-hearted snark.

She kept her back to me as she rummaged through, what I assumed was, her locker, "I heard you were coming back today. I didn't really think I'd run into you, though." Her tone held a hint of accusation.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to- Wait, what are you even doing here?" I asked with a bit more edge than I intended.

"Taking a shower."

I rolled my eyes at her lame response, "You know what I mean. Why are you at my hospital?"

"Well, first off, it's not your hospital. Second, it's not really your business what I'm doing here." Callie answered hotly as she began to get dressed.

Trying to ignore the perfect skin and enticing curves being dangled in front of me, I diverted my eyes, "Fine. You're right. It's not my hospital and you're not my business. I just thought we could talk."

"That's definitely not been our strong suit." She commented, a small smirk finally making a quick appearance as she caught my gaze trained on her long, bare legs as she shimmied into her jeans.

I cleared my throat, "Yeah, I vaguely remember, but I thought-"

"Are you going to tell me to get the hell out of the hospital now?" Callie's voice had become harsh and cold.

My eyes snapped to hers, "No, I'm not...about that-" I tried to start, but she interrupted me again.

"Nevermind. It doesn't matter. But, since Teddy obviously didn't tell you, I work here now. So, you're going to have to get used to me being in the general vicinity. But, it's a big hospital, and I'm an excellent avoider, so we don't have to pretend to be friends or even speak to each other." Her movements became more angered as her voice steeled again.

"Callie, I never said I didn't want- You work here?" There were way too many thoughts running through my head, and I was finding it difficult to grasp just one.

Her demeanor seemed to calm a bit as she cleared her throat, "Um, yeah. I talked to Chief Webber after you- I left and he said he could use me for consults, teaching labs, and would be interested in giving me a facility to continue my cartalidge research. So, I took it..."

"Isn't that what I told you you should do, like two months ago?" I heard myself say before I could consider not saying it.

"Unbelievable. Some things never change. I can't believe after all this time, the first thing-"

I held up my hands in surrender, "Wait, wait, wait, I'm sorry. That's not what I meant to say. I meant to say that I'm happy for you. I'd imagine that this would make you way more happy than taking care of basket cases like me. And, it's very brave of you to come back to medicine even though you'll probably never operate again."

She huffed before nodding, "I am happier here...with the work anyway..." Her eyes met mine again, and this time they were full of longing. But, without giving me time to react, they transformed to back to something more neutral, and she added in a soft tone, "And, thank you for saying that." We stared at each other for several seconds, opening an opportunity for our last encounter to come crashing down around us. I suddenly recalled every sensation that came with her roughly grabbing my face and connecting our lips. I relived the torrential onslaught of emotions, which mixed everything from excitement to terror. My body flushed at the frighteningly vivid memories washing over me, and I thought I could discern a similar battle raging behind the Latina's dark eyes. Finally, as quickly as it had come, the moment passed, and she broke the silent reminiscence, "So, how's your first day back?"

I shook my head, attempting to return to the present, "Uh...loud."

"Loud?" She asked as she turned to fix her hair in the mirror.

"Yeah, you know, lots of questions, whispers, and sympathetic sentiments." I explained as I subconsciously got up to follow her to the door when I noticed her gather her things.

"Yeah, I under-" She stopped short when she glanced over her shoulder and saw me shuffling behind her. I halted and gave her a funny look as she drug her gaze up and down me, seemingly absorbing every detail.

"Um, what?" I asked self-conciously.

"Nothing...I mean, I'm just...I've never seen you walk before. You look different." Callie stumbled over her words, like she wasn't quite sure what she wanted to say.

"Good different or bad different?" I questioned, even as I wondered why I cared.

"Definitely good different. I'm, uh, pro- I guess, I made a good call with sending Heather." Callie attempted a light-hearted answer, but a faint lilt of contempt marred the intention.

Before I could chicken out, I released a slightly dangerous admission, "It wasn't Heather that got me here, it was you."

For a far too short moment, a dazzling smile took over the Latina's face, clearly surprised that I intentionally credited her with a positive contribution to my life. Then, all too soon, the smile disappeared and an expression of disinterest replaced it. "Great. Well, I need to get going. Maybe, I'll see you around."

"Oh..that's it?" I had to admit, even though I wasn't really expecting a warm reception to my presence, I was a little startled with her sudden departure.

She sighed and looked back at me, "Arizona, you made it abundantly clear that you are not interested in my company...in any capacity...so, I meant what I said. We do not need to see each other, be friends, or speak more than necessary for our job. So, yeah, that's it. Maybe, I'll see you around."

As I watched her stalk down the hall, and opened and closed my mouth a few times to try and stall her retreat, a voice came from behind me, "Oh, yeah. Callie works here now."

Rolling my eyes, I swiped another chart off the nurses' station counter without turning toward my visitor, "Yeah, I got that. Thanks for the timely heads up, Teddy."

"No problem."

"We'll discuss why the hell you didn't tell me later, but for now I just need to survive the day."

AN: I know many of you guessed that I'd make Callie work at the hospital...you win! Well, let me know what you thought, we're slowly getting going...