"That was too close," he said over the phone.

"I…I know, but I didn't know that they would find the basement," A scared voice said from the other side.

"What part of… get out of there and burn everything down you didn't get?"

"I was… I was trying to…."

"Trying to what… give in to FBI? You might have got caught if it weren't for…" he took a deep breath controlling his anger… "never mind that now… be careful next time, else your family will be arranging for your funeral" Before the person on the other side could say anything he disconnected the phone.

"I need to do something about her," he thought, rubbing his hands together.

…

To say that Dr. Callie Torres was not a morning person would be a vast understatement. She would always wake grumpy and could not function properly until a steamy cup of java entered her body. But today was a different story; as the sunshine peeked through the curtains, Callie stretched her body and slowly opened her eyes. It took her mere seconds before the events of last night infiltrated her thoughts. The moment the thought of Arizona's lips came to her mind, her heart fluttered, and a bright smile crept to her face. Although she was awake, she made no effort to get out of bed. Instead, she lay there reminiscing about the date. She was laughing at the memories of Arizona's wickedness when the phone chimed from somewhere, startling Callie. She quickly ruffles through the sheets to find her cellphone lying under the pillow pile. As she clicked on the notification, it turned out it was some commercial message for the BP machine. She pouted, threw the phone back on the bed, and got up to get fresh.

"It's so pathetic of me that I hope she will message me first thing in the morning," Callie thought, "as if she doesn't have any other work."

After freshening up, she went to the kitchen and brewed herself coffee. She was sitting on the couch surfing the channels on the Tv when his best friend came barging in.

"MARK!" Callie said startlingly, "How often have I told you not to barge in like this? I have given you that key for Emergencies."

"What?! I was out of Coffee," Mark said, shrugging. "tell me it's not an emergency… I dare you."

"It's not the one you need to use your key for… I might not have been decent," Callie scolded him.

"PFFT! Nothing I haven't seen before," Mark said dismissively.

"Mark!" Callie exclaimed, "you can't talk like that anymore."

"Why?" Mark asked, raising his eyebrows "just because you have a girlfriend now?"

"She is not… my girlfriend," Callie said, rolling her eyes "we went on one date… it too soon."

"On which I am still waiting for details, by the way."

"You will be waiting for eternity… coz I ain't telling you shit," Callie retorted teasingly.

"Come on, Torres, tell me…." Mark said, bouncing on his feet

"You are such a baby."

"Yes, and baby, want the juicy story."

"Mark!"

"Torres!"

"I am not telling you anything."

"pleaassseeeeeeee"

"Fine"

"Yes!" Mark said and ran to the couch to sit next to Callie "spill," he said, plopping down on the couch

"Nothing to spill.. we went to a lovely restaurant… it had a great wine and food, and the dessert was… mmm…." Callie said, remembering the dessert incident

"Seriously? Dessert? If that's the highlight of your date, I seriously doubt this Robbin's capability," Mark replied with a scrunched face.

"Hey!" Callie said, smacking Mark on his arm

"Ow"

"You deserve it...," Callie said, huffing, "there is nothing wrong with her capabilities… she is…. ahem… competent."

"oooohhhhh… Torres… you sealed the deal already?" Mark said, bumping her shoulder with Callie. "Didn't think you had it in you."

"What?!... No… we didn't sleep together."

"THEN?"

"We… kissed," Callie replied, blushing.

"Ohh, kiss," Mark said mockingly and roll of his eyes. "I hope you used protection."

Callie punched his shoulder again.

"STOP hitting me, women," Mark replied, rubbing his arm.

"Stop making fun of me."

"FINE!... tell me I am all ears."

"Oh my God, Mark… I can't even begin to describe how amazing that kiss was…." Callie said dreamingly, "You know the kiss that consumes you, and you still want more… like you never want to stop kissing this person?"

"Mmm, I don't think I know that feeling," Mark said, disappointed

"Well, you will someday…." Callie said, patting Mark's shoulder.

"She is better than me?" Mark asked, raising one eyebrow.

"Sorry to break it to you, Mark… but she is Ah-mazing, and you are just good," Callie said, laughing while Mark gasped.

…

Arizona was having a horrible day. Though she woke up with a bright smile, memories of last night filled her head. For a while, she thought about the softness of Callie's lips, her intoxicating smell, and the blush that crept on her face when Arizona teased her.

Smiling at the memories, she thought of messaging Callie, and she picked up the phone to do the same, but before she could even open the app, her phone started to ring, and the screen displayed the number of headquarters.

"Hello," Arizona said

"Robbins! I need you in my office by 10," Burke said and disconnected the phone without even hearing the reply.

"Ass!" Arizona cussed and glanced at the watch. "Shit, it's eight already," She exclaimed, jumping off the bed, thoughts of certain Latina long gone, and just like that, her horrible day began.

When she reached her office, she was greeted by the curious faces of her colleagues. Her team was still in the hospital or home recovering; she suddenly felt alone. True, she was their supervisor, but without her team to send a wink in her direction or say "give him hell, boss" while she walked towards the burkes office, she felt nervous and alone walking down the bullpen. She needed them more than ever, she knew she was under scrutiny, and with burke in charge, there was no one to support her.

With a fast-beating heart, she knocked on the door.

"Come in," Came Burke's voice from inside. Arizona slowly opened the door and entered.

"Have a seat, Robbins" Arizona nodded slightly and took the seat next to a woman in a grey suit. "Robbins, have you met Ms. Lucinda Gamble?" Burke said, gesturing towards the woman.

"No, I don't think I have..." Arizona said, turning towards the woman and extending her hand for a handshake. "SSA Arizona Robbins."

"Pleasure to meet you, Agent Robbins," Lucinda said, shaking Arizona's hand.

"I am amazed you have not met her before; she is FBI appointed lawyer, and with your track record, I thought you would be best friends by now," Burke said sarcastically.

Arizona clenched her fist to control herself from rebutting, and Lucinda shifted on her seat uncomfortably.

"Thank you for the introduction, Boss," Arizona said with a forced smile, "but may I know why I am meeting the lawyer?"

"Of course, you may," Burke said, and Arizona rolled her eyes. "You see, she is here because an administrative claim has been issued against the FBI for negligence and property damage your team did and caused the gas explosion."

"WHAT!" Arizona exclaimed, shocked.

"Until this claim is either proven or rejected, you and your team would be on desk duty," Burke replied smugly, "and that shouldn't be the problem, as your team is already at home recovering."

Ignoring Burke's lat comment, Arizona roared, "That unbelievable, what these guys think, that FBI does not have any other job? We randomly break open a house and roam around hitting gas lines?"

"Well, apparently they think that," Burke replied,

"And what do YOU think?" Arizona said accusingly

"I don't appreciate your tone Robbins" Burke replied firmly

"You know what you can take..."

"Let's not get worked up and try to solve this issue before the shit hits the fan," Lucinda said, interrupting what seemed to be an impending argument.

Arizona leaned back on the chair fumingly while Burke glared at her with resentment.

"Tell me in detail what happened that day," Lucinda asked Arizona

Next few minutes, Arizona explained the whole incident in detail. At the same time, Lucinda made notes; by the end, Lucinda had only one thing to say, "We would need the informer to testify."

"No… No way?" Arizona said, shaking her head. "I can't reveal their identity… it's not safe for them."

Burke furiously slammed his hand on the table. "Damnit, Robbins, quit playing hero; you realize that you and your whole team's career is on the line, not to mention mine…" he got up from his table and started pacing in his office. "I am already getting a backslash for the low number of closed cases, on the top of that, this administrative claim, and to make things worse, you are acting all hight-mighty."

"I am NOT acting high mighty… it's my duty to protect the identity of my informer… that's how it works… I hope you know that," Arizona replied, huffing and turning towards Lucinda, "you will have to find another way because I am not putting my informant in danger."

"So, you are willing to sacrifice me and your team for your informant," Burke spat.

"I AM NOT sacrificing anything or anyone," Arizona barked back. "All I am saying is to find another way so that my source is secure… if you have not noticed, we still haven't caught the spy or the mole… if I reveal my source… it would be even more difficult to catch them"

"If there is any," Burke mumbled, but both women heard.

"what's the point of doing all this if you don't even believe your team members," Arizona said, standing up from the chair. "Why don't you turn us in and wash your hand off all of this"

"SSA ROBBINS, ENOUGH!" Burked roared, "I will not be spoken like this.

Arizona's issue with authority finally got the best of her, and she slumped back on the seat.

"Say what you want, Robbins, but I was best for my field office; it's my duty to make sure that none point a finger on any of my team," Burked said in a low but angry voice.

"Then stand with your team, not against them… support them, don't just assume that we screwed up just because it was me who was leading it," Arizona said in a low voice, her confidence coming back slowly.

"That's not what I do."

"That's exactly what you do; since the beginning of this… this incident… you have never once trusted me with the information…you presume that we must have done something wrong... even though you know that my team and I have the highest numbers of closed cases," Arizona said in a calm but determined voice.

"Are you accusing me of biasing?" Burke said in a warning tone.

"No of prejudicing"

"ROBBINS! I Will have…." Burked began to shout again but was interrupted by Lucinda, who had enough of their bickering

"I think we are getting sidetracked here," Lucinda said, "we all have the same agenda here… and that is to come out of this situation… let's focus on that." The other two nodded.

"So, where do we land on the informant testimony?" Lucinda asked,

"as I said, I can't reveal them, but if you insist, I CAN ask them… but if they say no… there is nothing I can do?" Arizona replied

"Fine, try to convince them, and meanwhile, we will send a team to talk to the neighbors and try to get some information and hope for the best."

"Alright, I'll be on my desk if anyone needs me," Arizona said, getting up.

"Go home. You are on recovery leave," Burke said dismissively.

"I have some papers to read… I am not working just sitting here for another 2-3 hours" "Nice meeting you, Ms. Gamble," and without even a glance towards Burke, Arizona came out of the office.

She went to her desk and plopped down on the chair. She pinched the bridge of her nose; she could feel the headache coming, not to mention her shoulder was throbbing already. She leaned on the table and closed her eyes. "What the fuck is going on," She thought.

…

It was 4 in the afternoon when Callie scrubbed out of the OR; she went to her resident lounge and made herself a coffee. It was a tiring yet satisfying day; she did two successful surgeries, which the chief himself praised with the hint that after her fellowship, the spot of Ortho attending would be here for her.

She switched on her phone, hoping that a certain blue-eyed, dimpled blonde might have messaged her, but her face fell when there was nothing. Her mind ran many scenarios, from "she must be busy at work" and "must be sleeping" to "Arizona is no longer interested in her." After several minutes of wandering, she got up with a huff and went to search Mark Sloan.

She reached the plastics floor and looked around, and when she didn't find him, she started looking into supply closets and on-call rooms. Not to her surprise, when she opened the third supply closet, her eyes met a scene she wished she had never seen. Mark was holding a woman against the shelf with his pants around his ankles.

Two shrieks and one voice were heard when the door was slammed open. One was of Callie screaming "Ay Dios!" and closing her eyes shut. The second was the woman who had the shirt open and had the leg around Mark's waist, and the third was Mark's saying, "Torres, I'll be with you in a few minutes," like nothing happened.

The sales rep pushed Mark back and ran out of the room, rearranging her dress and mumbling sorry to Callie while mark straightened her clothes. Meanwhile, Callie was still standing with her hand on the doorknob and with a shocked expression.

"Torres, I was just about to finish," Mark said, stepping out of the supply closet and walking beside Callie.

"Eww! Mark… TMI," Callie said, hitting his upper arm,

"First of all - Ouch!" Mark said with a frown, "and secondly, EW? I am telling you, Torres, you have become a prude since you have met that FBI chick… and I don't like it."

"Shut up, Mark! Callie said, rolling her eyes "and speaking of Arizona… she hasn't messaged me yet," she added with a pout.

"And you might have jumped to the worst conclusion," Mark said as they reached the cafeteria.

"Who said I did?" Callie said, avoiding eye contact.

"your face," Mark said, chuckling.

"Ok fine, but I don't understand why she didn't message me?" Callie whined. "I mean, we had a wonderful time together, and the kiss… the kiss was out of this world… so I don't get it… why wouldn't she call me after such a great time…" Callie rambled, "unless… unless she didn't like it… may be the kiss was amazing for me but was horrible for her… maybe she found me dull while I was drooling over her wittiness. Oh my God, mark! What do I do" Callie said with wide eyes.

"Eat!" Mark replied, and Callie looked at him in confusion. "Eat so that you can stop rambling" she said shoving a piece of apple in her mouth.

"Teb be bhat do do," Callie tried to say with a full mouth.

"What?"

Callie quickly swallowed the food in her mouth. "Tell me what to do?"

"Message her!" Mark said, shrugging

"What me? But…"

"But What, Torres, why do you have to make everything so complicated. You would rather sit here and keep wondering what happened than ask her directly."

"But what if she didn't reply or, you know, replies uninterestedly," Callie asked.

"Then you'll know," Mark said, putting a hand over Callie's shoulder. "Before that, don't jump to a conclusion."

"So, you think I should message her?"

"Yes"

"And that would be ok?"

"yes"

"And it would not look desperate."

"Yes… I mean, no. No"

"Are you sure?"

"Oh My god Torres, you are thinking way too much… give me that," Mark said, snatching the phone out of Callie's hand.

"Hey," Callie exclaimed, "give that back."

"You will thank me for this" with that, he clicked on Arizona's name and sent a message saying, "Hey, what's up?"

"Hey, what's up? that's all you wrote?" Callie said, reading the message

"So? what else you wanted to write… I love you?… wanna U-Haul?" Mark said sarcastically.

"I kill you one day," Callie said, clenching her jaw

"Neah! You love me way too much."

Callie scoffed, looked at the message sent from her phone, and waited.

…

"Fuck!" Arizona exclaimed loudly, throwing the pen on the table and then cussing again when it caused the pain to radiate throw her upper body

She has been racking her brain over this case; everywhere she looked was a dead end. The blueprint that Alex saw was burned in the blast. House was spotless. She called her informant but couldn't reach them. She was not getting anywhere, and with this administrative claim breathing down her neck, her team out of commission was making Arizona beyond frustrated.

She leaned back in her chair, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. She was rubbing her forehead when her phone chimed from the table.

She clicked the notification to open the messages, and a bright smile came to her lips when she saw the message from Callie. She sat up straight and quickly tapped reply.

Arizona: You have no idea How much I needed this message.

Callie jumped a little when she felt the vibration on the phone she had been staring at for the last few minutes. She quickly touched the screen to see the reply. Relief spread across her face when she read Arizona's message.

"I see she messaged you back," Mark chimed in, peeking into Callie's phone. Callie smiled brightly in return and quickly typed the reply.

Callie: I really don't; please do tell

Arizona: Well, I was having a horrible day when I was about to give up and go home from work. Your message came in, and that's the best thing that happened to me the whole day.

Callie: first, I am sorry that you are having a bad day... I am here if you want to talk about it. Secondly, Office? I believe your doctor advised you not to work, and you promised your doctor that you would take the rest.

Arizona: Well, I promised I would be off my feet, and I am… :D :D

Callie: Not Done, Agent Robbins. Your doctor is pissed.

Arizona: what Can I do to make my doctor… un-pissed

Callie: You can go home and rest.

Arizona: Or?

Callie laughed at Arizona's antics.

Callie: Or nothing, Arizona. Go home and rest… please

Arizona: I'll do you one better; meet me at Joe's around 6?

Callie felt the butterfly in her stomach and dilemma in her heart. She felt giddy at the thought of meeting Arizona again; on the other hand, she was concerned about Arizona's health.

Callie: As much as I want to… I am not sure it's a good Idea… I want you to rest and get well soon.

Arizona: Well, I want to meet the person who brought a smile to my face for the first time since morning just by saying, "Hey, what's up?" on a message. Tell me how it's a bad idea. You are a Doctor Calliope. You should know Mental health is as important as physical.

Callie: Oh, it's essential for your mental health to meet me.

Arizona: Of course

Callie: You are too smooth, Agent Robbins

Arizona: is that a yes?

Callie: It's a matter of your mental health; how can I say no.

Arizona: Yeyi! See you at 6

Callie laughed at the message; she could feel Arizona's child-like enthusiasm. Smiling, she looked up from her phone and found a smirking Mark staring at her.

"What?" Callie asked

"You forgot I was sitting here, right?" Mark asked, bouncing his eyebrows.

"What?! No"

"Don't be coy with me, Robbins… you did?"

Callie just shook her head and smiled

"I am waiting for my thank you."

"What, thank you?"

The one I said you would say when I send the message.

"Thank you, Mark," Callie said, rolling her eyes but smiling.

"You're welcome… So,… wanna hit joe's?"

"Yes, I do… but not with you."

"Who then?" Mark asked with wide eyes.

"Arizona is meeting me there at 6," Callie replied, blushing.

"Ooohhh, you got a date?"

"No, not a date… we are just going for drinks."

"Sounds like a date to me," Mark said, grinning.

"No, it's not," Callie said, standing up. "Now I am gonna go and finish my rounds, then I am going home bye," and Callie left.

"Well, I guess I am going to the Joes too," Mark thought mischievously, looking around to find someone for his game plan.

Hey all,

I hope you like this chapter.

Sorry for the delay. I shouldn't have started this story when I knew it would be hard to be on track. But I hope you are still with this story.

Please review… It really motivates me.

Stay Safe

Love

~RT