**WARNING - CONTAINS THE SUBJECT OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE**
Thanks for the recent reviews, guys. It's good to know that this new fic of mine has been well received.
Just a few things… firstly, the guest who stated that they would 'love Suzanne to track down Callie and beat her up', I can only hope that you are not in a relationship right now. Please don't bother trolling my fic, it doesn't interest me or my readers. You are only wasting your own time.
Also, a few people asked why Callie didn't just up and leave? Thankfully, I have never been a victim of DV, but most people know that it is not as simple as just upping and leaving. Maybe some people find it easier to leave, but a lot of people don't. It can be struggle, whether you have the money or the resources to support yourself or not.
Thanks again for all of your reviews.
I do not own anything. All characters/storylines belong to Shonda. I'm simply 'borrowing' them.
Chapter Three
Stepping out of the shower, Callie felt the cool air hit her naked body. Arizona had left her a robe out, and although she had her own things with her, the blondes things smelt too good to pass up. Slipping it on, she checked her body out in the mirror. The bruising to her stomach had turned a deep shade of purple, and although the pain wasn't as severe as it was two days ago, she still felt the ache which refused to subside.
Wrapping herself up in the white fluffy robe, she opened the bathroom door and peeked around the apartment for the blonde. Satisfied that she wasn't about to see her in nothing but a robe, dripping wet, she tiptoed out and made her way down the hallway and into the guest bedroom. Finding a note on the bed, she smiled.
Callie, I had to leave and get some groceries in. We have nothing in the cupboards. The door is locked but I have left you a key in case you want to go out anywhere. I will be back soon.
Arizona x
Sitting down on the soft king size bed, Callie thought about the past two days. She couldn't fault the blonde, she had been amazing, but she had closed herself off a little and she felt terrible for it. Arizona had made it clear that she was there to help the brunette, and although Callie had told her that she trusted her, she still had some little issues with trust. Her biggest fear right now, was pushing Arizona away. She didn't want that. She wanted to get to know her, and she would be lying if she said she didn't want something more with the blue eyed surgeon. Yes, Arizona had told her that she was beautiful but that didn't mean she had feelings for her. So she had closed herself off some.
Not wanting to scare the blonde off, she had kept her thoughts, and her feelings to herself. She had tried hard not to stare at Arizona when she was sipping on her morning coffee, or when she was chewing on the end of her crossword pen, but it was becoming hard. She wasn't feeling like this because the blonde had helped her, no, she was feeling like this because she wondered what they could have together if Callie allowed herself to open up.
Arizona was a breath of fresh air in the brunettes life. She had never had someone care about her like that in such a short space of time, and it felt nice. It didn't matter if she left her shoes in the middle of the room, or if she got the floor a little wet after her shower. She wouldn't receive a beating for that. Not in this apartment.
Slipping on some comfortable jogging bottoms and an oversized hoodie, she checked herself out in the mirror. Before Callie had met Suzanne, she would dress however she wanted. She would wear beautiful revealing dresses, and no one would give her a smack for it. She would drink and party with her friends at Joe's and it didn't matter what time she got home. It certainly never resulted in her being choked in bed. Wondering if she could get back to her old ways soon, she wrapped her arms around herself and sighed. I look fat and frumpy. I look like no one freaking owns me. Closing the guest bedroom door behind her, she made her way down the hall and stood in the kitchen. Fresh coffee brewing, she heard a key in the lock. Freezing, her heart rate increased. "I, um, I'm sorry I was just making some coffee. I-I should have called y-you and asked if it was o-okay."
Furrowing her brow, it was clear that Callie was about to have some sort of meltdown. Closing the door behind her, Arizona moved closer to the brunette and smiled. "Make all the coffee you want, Callie. As long as there is some spare for me to join you with a cup."
"Y-Yes, I swear I've only used a little. I can give you some money to replace what I've used. I just have to get to the-"
"Hey, it's okay." Baby blues instantly calmed Callie. "Help yourself to anything here."
"I'm sorry, I just panicked." The brunette watched as Arizona left the kitchen. Following her, she stopped the blonde in her tracks. "Please stay. I'm sorry."
"Callie, I was just changing into something a little more comfortable."
"Oh, okay." Callie dropped her gaze. "I'm sorry, I just either push people away, or make them beat me. I can't freaking win."
"Stay here. I'll be five minutes." The blonde smiled as she continued down the hallway. "I was wondering if we could talk?"
"Um, okay." Tanned shoulders shrugged. Worried about where this conversation was going, Callie began pacing the floor.
Watching the peds surgeon come back into the room, she swallowed. Hard. "I, um, I'm so sorry for freaking out then."
Watching as the taller woman continued to pace the floor, Arizona thought about how to approach the conversation she was hoping she could start. She wanted to talk to Callie about her past. If Suzanne was going to be back soon, she needed to know what had happened over the last two years of their relationship. Deciding to just get straight to the point, she made her way into the kitchen and poured two large cups of hot black liquid. "Callie, really it's fine. Would you mind if we spent the afternoon getting to know each other a little better?"
"Sure. I don't know why you want to know anything about me but if that is how you want to spend you day then sure." Callie shrugged.
"I want to get to know you, Callie. I want to know all about you. I like you, and I want to know what is behind that broken smile of yours." Blue eyes held their gaze. "If that would be okay with you?"
"Y-You like me?" The brunette furrowed her brow.
"I mean I don't want to push you away, but I also want you to know that I like you. I've liked you since I first laid eyes on you, and sure, it's probably not what you want, or need right now, but still, I'd like to get to know you."
"You do? You actually like me?" Callie let a small smile grace her bruised face. Never had she felt like this, not with any other woman. Sure, she had fallen hard for Suzanne, but as the time went on, she knew that she would never truly love her again. She couldn't. She had hurt her, and she had made her feel worthless so that was a ship that had well and truly sailed. She didn't want to feel like that anymore, and although she was a little wary of the blonde, she had already been nicer to her than Suzanne had in a long long time.
"I do, Callie." The blonde gave a small nod. "But that isn't what this is about. This is about you feeling better about yourself and letting out anything you may be desperate to get out. Any emotions, or feelings, or things you want to say. I'm here to listen."
"Okay."
"Okay?" A dimpled smile appeared on Arizona's face.
"Yes." Callie instantly calmed when she caught sight of the cutest dimples in the world. "Oh god."
"What?"
"What?" Callie shot back.
"You just said oh god." Blue eyes narrowed.
"Uh, I-I did?" The brunette hadn't meant to say it out loud, but she had, and now she had been caught.
"Yes, you did. Look, if you don't want to talk right now, I understand."
"No, it's not that. It's just, um, y-you have dimples." Brown eyes darkened.
"So?" Arizona questioned, confusion written all over her face.
"Nothing. They're cute." Callie laughed for the first time in a while. "Sorry."
"Um, thanks?" The blonde shook her head and smiled.
Settling down on the couch, Callie waited for Arizona to join her. It felt good to be looked at by someone else. Someone who didn't accuse her, or belittle her, or make her feel worthless. Taking a seat on the opposite end, Arizona watched as the brunette sat thinking. She would wait until she was ready to talk and she would wait for her to be ready to open up. Gaining her trust was important to Arizona, and even though Callie had told her she trusted her a couple of days ago, she knew it wasn't that simple. She knew that it would take more than cleaning up a couple of cuts to make things okay, and she was okay with that. She was perfectly happy to work at gaining the trust of the beautiful woman in front of her.
"I don't do this." Callie blurted out, startling Arizona out of her thoughts.
"You don't do what?" The blonde sat back and crossed her legs underneath her.
"This. Have friends. I mean I do, but I haven't had much friendship in two years."
"She stopped you from seeing your friends?" Arizona sighed.
"Yeah. After work, I had to get home. I couldn't go for drinks, or attend parties, or catch a movie with anyone. I had to go home. If I didn't, well, you seen what happened the other day."
"She done that because you were out with me?"
"Yeah. She accused me of trying to sleep with you. I told her she was wrong, but once she has something in her head, it sticks, and no matter what I say, it doesn't matter."
"Oh, Callie. I'm so sorry. I pushed you and kept nagging at you. All because I wanted to spend some time with you, and this is how it ended." The blonde placed her hand over her mouth. She felt awful.
"No, this isn't your fault. It's mine." Callie gave the blonde a sad smile. "If I hadn't gone back last time, this wouldn't have happened."
"You are not to blame, Callie. If she can't see how beautiful you are, and how lucky she is to be with you, then that is her problem. No one should ever raise their hand to you, no matter who they are." Arizona grit her teeth. She couldn't bare to even think about the woman who had beaten the brunette and now, she had herself riled up.
"But I could have prevented the situation if I'd just done what she wanted. I knew she wouldn't be happy about me going out after work, but I still went anyway."
"So? That doesn't give her the right to lay a finger on you." The blonde furrowed her brow. "You do realise that it's wrong for people to do that, right?"
"Yeah, but she said people didn't care about my business and that my friends weren't really friends. They're just co workers she would always say." Tanned shoulders shrugged. "I never told anyone because I didn't want to bother people with my problems."
"Don't ever keep things like that from anyone, Cal. You matter to your friends, and I'm sure if they'd have known, they would have helped in any way they could."
"It just became routine. I'd come home on time and she would complain about something, I'd come home late, and she would complain. I just couldn't win. She would tell me she loved me in one breath, but in the next, she was telling me I make her sick."
"I'm sorry, but she sounds like an absolute bitch." Blonde curls shook. "I would never… ever… hurt anyone I loved. I'd never hurt anyone period, but her, I could definitely make an exception."
"Well, we can't all have an Arizona Robbins to come home to every night." Callie sighed. "Why haven't you settled down yet?"
"I just got out of a pretty shit relationship myself. Nothing quite like this though." Arizona stated. "We split about eight months before I left for Seattle."
"Can I ask what happened?" The brunette raised an eyebrow. The more she spoke to the Peds surgeon, she more she was intrigued by her, and her beautiful smile. Her deep blue eyes made her feel safe, and she felt like she could tell her anything, but she didn't want to sit here talking only about herself. She too wanted to get to know the other woman.
"She cheated. With my best friend of fifteen years." Arizona scoffed.
"Wow, that's horrible. I hope she isn't your best friend anymore." Callie smiled.
"Hell no." Blonde curls shook. "I'm done with both of them. They are welcome to each other."
"How long had you been together?"
"Eight years." The blonde ran her fingers through her hair. "I fall hard. That's my problem. So when I thought something was going on a year or so before, I brushed it off and figured I was just being paranoid. I loved her enough to let myself doubt myself."
"Falling hard is not a problem, Arizona. I just means you are open. I fall hard too. It's just a shame I fell hard for a women who didn't love me back." Callie snorted. "What I'd have given for her to take me to dinner once in a while, or to just sit and hold me."
"S-She never held you? Never snuggled?" Blue eyes softened.
"Nope. When we met, it was all about sex. She would hold me after sex, but then she would get up, get dressed, and go to sleep. She wanted sex all of the time. Which, yeah, I wasn't complaining about, but once she had worked her way in, it got rough. That's when the overprotective side of her came out."
"Hmm, a woman who thinks her entire relationship consists of sex. I hate that."
"That is all it consisted of, and the when she got bored of that, the angry streak came out." Callie laughed. It was funny, far from it, but if she didn't laugh, she would cry, and right now, crying would do her no good. "I asked her if we could watch a movie one night. You know what she done? Told me no and tripped me up so I smacked my face into the floor."
Tears forming, Arizona closed her eyes and took a breath. She hated this woman. She hated her, and she couldn't believe how she had treated her so called fiancé. "The other week, I, um, I asked you about the bruises on your neck?"
"I'm sorry I lied to you. I just didn't know you, and I didn't know if I could trust you with my problems."
"What makes you think you can trust me now?" The blonde questioned.
"You have been nicer to me, and more caring towards me than anyone has in a long time. Your presence makes me feel safe, Arizona, and I'm kicking myself for not telling you when you asked me about my bruises. I just, I guess it had to get to this point before I realised I couldn't stay any longer. She choked me because I went to Joe's and although I knew I was home on time, she was adamant that I was late. So she choked me."
Moving closer to the brunette, Arizona took a hold of her hand. Unsure of how Callie would react, she kept it still for a moment. No signs of Callie pulling back, the blonde ran her thumb over the other woman's knuckles. "Callie, you have to promise me that you will never go back to her."
"I'd like to believe that I never will, but what other choice do I have? I have no one. I mean, yeah, I'm living here with you, but I can't stay here forever, and she won't be away forever."
"Please, Callie. You are better than her. You deserve better. You deserve someone who will treat you the way you should be treated. With huge amounts of love and respect."
"I haven't felt love or respect in some time, Arizona, so I don't miss it."
Shaking her head, Arizona couldn't believe what she was hearing. Callie didn't miss the feeling of being loved? She didn't miss a significant other who would shower her with kisses and cuddles? Flowers and gifts? "You will, I promise. Someone who can love you like you should be loved will come along, I know it."
"I hope so. It would be nice to watch a movie without being accused of eying up the actress and receiving a slap for it." Callie smiled. "Or go to dinner and enjoy a romantic meal. God that would feel so good."
Smiling, Arizona knew exactly how that felt. She missed it too. She would take her girlfriend out at least once a week for dinner, and movie nights were common place in their home. The thought of Callie not experiencing that for the past two years broke her heart.
"She wouldn't take me out to dinner because she said that I disgusted her."
"Well, she disgusts me. Don't listen to what she has told you, Callie. You are beautiful and one day, someone will come along and really show you what love is."
"I hope so." The brunette sighed and placed her head back against the couch. "C-Could I make some lunch? I can make some for you too."
"Sure. Help yourself to anything you want." Watching as the brunette removed herself from the couch, Arizona stood too. "How about we make it together?"
"Sure. That would be nice." Callie smiled as she stepped into the kitchen. Suzanne never offered to help her with anything and being in the presence of Arizona Robbins was showing her that she had missed quite a lot in the time she had wasted with the redhead. "You know I, um, I don't tar everyone with the same brush."
"Huh?" Arizona furrowed her brow as she stepped up behind the brunette.
"I mean, I don't think all women are like Suzanne. I know there are good people out there, and you are one of them."
"I, um, I-"
"You don't have to say anything. What I'm saying is… thank you. For being a friend and for being honest with me. Honesty is important to me right now, and you have been great, Arizona. I know I have a long way to go, but I feel like I'm safe when I'm around you. There is something very calming about you."
"I promise she won't hurt you while you are here with me." Arizona smiled as she placed her hand on the brunettes shoulder. "She doesn't even know who I am, so you will be safe here."
Later that evening, Callie found herself lay on the king-size bed she had spent the last two nights in. Checking the clock, it was almost 7pm. She had spent the afternoon cooking with Arizona, and although they had been getting on pretty well, she decided she could use a little alone time. Now, two hours later, she was ready for some company. Removing herself from the bed, she stepped out of the bedroom and quietly made her way down the hall.
Finding Arizona slouched on the couch, catching up on some TV, she cleared her throat. "Would, um, would it be okay if I joined you?"
"Sure. Come sit." The blonde smiled.
Taking a seat, Callie groaned and held onto her stomach. Her ribs beginning to give her a little pain, she had taken some pain relief a short time ago.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah, just a little pain." Callie closed her eyes as she sat back.
"Can I take a look?"
"Arizona, I'm an Orthopaedic surgeon, so I know about my bones." The brunette laughed.
"Oh, yeah. Sorry." Blonde curls shook. "Is it bad? I mean the bruising?"
Lifting her top, Callie shivered as the cool air hit her dark skin. "See for yourself."
Swallowing hard, Arizona knew she shouldn't be looking at the other woman the way she currently was, but it was hard not to. Not only did the brunette have a beautiful smile that matched her beautiful eyes, she also had a gorgeous body. "Wow, that's pretty bad, Callie."
"I know, but it's just bruising. It will heal soon." Callie smiled as she pulled down her top.
"So I was thinking before, about how you said you'd never had the chance to catch any movies with your friends."
"Yeah, I miss that."
"How about we watch one tonight? You can choose." The blonde shrugged. "If you want to. I don't want you to think you have to sit here with me."
"I like sitting here with you, and I would love to watch a movie." Red lips curled into a smile as Callie sat back and made herself a little more comfortable. "God it's been so long since I've had a normal, fearful night in."
"Well, if you're happy, so am I."
"I am. I'm very happy right now." The brunette stated. "That doesn't mean I will be feeling the same way in a few days, but right now, I'm good."
Handing the controller to Callie, the blonde watched as she flicked through the various movies on offer. Callie was a wonderful person, with a heart to match. Happy that she could take her mind off of things for a little while, Arizona felt good about herself. Her intention had been to get Callie to open up, and she had successfully done that. Anything else from here would be a bonus.
Settling down into a comfortable position, she smiled at the other woman and let her mind drift off to the potential the brunette had. She wasn't lying when she said that someone would come along and love her right. Although she hoped she could be that person, she wasn't about to do anything to spook Callie and she wasn't about to ruin the friendship they had began slowly building.
Thanks for reading, guys. I look forward to any new reviews that may come up. Much appreciated.