She knows the smell of Amelia even with her eyes closed. It's a good smell, though she can't quite place what exactly it is. She just knows that she likes it. Amelia smells good. Every part of her smells good, she realizes. Her face flushes upon recalling the events from last night, as she remembers Amelia's scent. She smiles as her nose gently brushes against the other woman's neck, and she nudges slightly upward to feel the graze of that soft skin against her own. The movement makes the other woman flinch only slightly, as if not used to the familiar contact.

She wants to feel it. She wants to take it in.

All of her. At least for now.

She wants to embrace the now.

Her eyes flutter open and she looks at the woman beside her, who sleeps with a calm she has never seen before. She's never seen Amelia this calm before, she realizes, and she watches as her face softens.

"Are you waking up?" Arizona asks in a soft voice.

"Mmm," Amelia murmurs.

"Wake up," she coaxes, reaching her hand out to poke her lightly on the cheek. Eyes still closed, Amelia frowns and gently slaps the intruding finger away. She moves now, and turns around on her side so that she's facing the blonde. "Not yet," the brunette replies with a raspy, sleepy voice that sounds surprisingly alluring to Arizona's ears.

Smiling, the blonde leans in closer and brushes her nose against Amelia's, surprised by her own forwardness. She is surprised by this intimate gesture she is making, yet she leans in and grazes her lips against Amelia's, kissing her lightly.

"Wake up," she whispers against her lips. "We have to leave soon."

Amelia reaches her arm out and settles her hand on Arizona's exposed hip, grazing the skin with her fingertips. Her eyes are still closed, but her breathing is steady now, and she seems to be fully awake.

"I have to shower," she tells her.

"Me too," Arizona replies.

She is tempted, for a moment, to suggest that they shower together. She kind of wants it. She knows she does. It's not an exceptionally intimate gesture. She's done it before. With Callie, with Leah.

They were different, though. She can't place what this is.

What is this?

"Do you have an extra towel?" Amy asks again in her raspy sleep-laden tone. And it's that soft, calm voice that makes Arizona realize that she wants to hear this tone more often.

"Yes," she says. She escapes Amelia's grasp and, sitting up, she turns to the side of the bed. She feels Amy's watchful eyes on her back as she fixes her prosthetic on.

"Nice dimples," Amelia notes.

"What?" Arizona laughs, turning her head to look back at her.

Amelia is awake now. She is sitting up only slightly, watching the blonde with her amused eyes, head on hand, and her elbow planted into the pillow. The sheets fall slowly and reveal her chest, and Arizona's gaze drifts to her perfect breasts. She feels the heat from last night rush back to her.

"You're not very subtle, are you?" Amy asks, following her gaze.

Arizona only smiles in reply. "Dimples?"

"Your back," she clarifies. "They're nice on your face too, though." She winks at her and slips out of the sheets now, and Arizona finds a towel to give to her. She picks up her bathrobe too, but Amelia takes it from her hands and wraps it around herself instead, smiling playfully at Arizona.

As she exits the room, Arizona slips back into the sheets, leaning over to Amelia's side of the bed. She takes in her scent and wonders at it - almost marvels at it, and it makes her a little relieved to know that Amelia doesn't want to shower together.

It doesn't take long for Amelia to come back into the room, though. Her hair remains dry and it makes Arizona sit up in confusion.

"What?" she asks. "Is the shower not working?"

"I thought you could go first," Amelia offers. "To… you know, test the waters and stuff. I'll grab you a towel."

Does that mean she wants to… together?

"Oh, okay," Arizona nods and slips out of bed.

Amelia strips off the bathrobe just as quickly and wraps it around Arizona's body, stopping at her back to wrap her arms around her. She ties the front of the robe from behind the blonde's body, with her chin resting on Arizona's shoulder.

"Well, now you're naked," Arizona points out, feeling the warmth of Amelia's skin pressing against her clothed body. The robe already smells like her. She feels the same heat arise in her again.

"Yeah."

"Should I wait for you?"

Amelia finishes tying her robe and releases Arizona from her embrace. "Just go," she says with a wink, swatting her behind in the process.

Arizona is already confused by this woman. Would Amelia join her? Would she come in on her own time? Would she disappear while she's in the shower?

These thoughts don't last long, though, not when she opens the door to the bathroom and finds herself staring at Jo's ass.

She stumbles two steps back, as if in defensive reflex. Jo is sitting on top of-

"Get out!" Alex howls, and she slams the door shut.

She storms back to her room and watches as Amelia bunches up the bedsheets sheets over her mouth in an attempt to mask her laughter.

"Well," Amelia laughs, "Jo's got a fine ass."

"You're a jerk," Arizona exclaims, tossing the towel at her face.

"Don't worry, Robbins," she assures her, "it's not as fine as yours."

She finds the bread in the fridge and contemplates on a cup of coffee. The aroma of it appeals to her as a foreign smell only because Amelia's scent has been totally locked into her senses lately. She hears the brunette shuffle from the bathroom and into her bedroom, and now she stacks some toast onto her plate.

Should she sit and eat? She usually doesn't eat breakfast now.

She used to, but not now. It's too homely. She doesn't know what home is yet.

She's usually rushing out.

She hears footsteps from the stairs, and it isn't long before Alex and Jo enter the kitchen. She clears her throat immediately. "Sorry for-"

"Twice interrupted. Not cool, dude," Alex interjects. "Why is Amelia here anyway? You guys finally bang?"

Jo only giggles at his straight forward comment and reaches for a piece of toast.

"We did," Amelia says, entering the room with a sly grin on her face. Her expression is unabashed, and Arizona only smiles and shakes her head. Charmed? Bewildered? She's still unsure of how she feels about Amelia's attitude. She's mostly charmed, she thinks.

Jo and Alex opt for skipping breakfast and head out of the house, and now it's just Amelia and Arizona standing across from each other in the kitchen.

"I'm wearing the same clothes from last night," she tells her. "This might be my walk of shame."

"Who will notice?" Arizona asks, offering the toast she's stacked on her plate. She hasn't even touched a slice yet.

"Owen," Amelia says, and Arizona hold on the plate of toast wavers for a moment. She knows that Amelia catches it, though, because she watches her hand carefully before taking toast from the plate.

"Oh," Arizona says. He saw her yesterday. He knows what she was wearing, then. "Wait," she realizes, looking up at Amelia, "you didn't… with him, and then me?"

"What?" Amy asks in disbelief. "Seriously?"

"Amelia."

She drops the toast back onto Arizona's plate.

"Of course not," she tells her, her voice low now. "You think I'd fuck him and then come over and fuck you?" she asks incredulously. "Did you forget everything I told you? Do you think I'm like that?"

She feels her heart thundering in her chest. Amy's look of anger is something new and unfamiliar and it scares her a little bit. There's more beyond those eyes. More than she's ever known. "That's not what I meant."

"That's," Amelia says while she picks up her purse from on top of the counter, "Exactly what you meant."

Amelia has surgery. It's usually not in such excess that she does have surgery, but Arizona can't find her. Amelia's absences feel longer now. She doesn't bother waiting for her in the hideout because Herman doesn't give her time to do that.

But Amelia has been on her mind all day. All the time, it seems. And she can't afford to let her heart melt again.

She wonders what it would be like to have sex in Amelia's office. And in the shower. And in Alex's kitchen.

Once isn't enough. Once is far from complete.

She wants it again, but she wants it to be hers alone. Not anyone else's.

And when she rushes out of the cafeteria as Amelia enters, she realizes that she needs to say something.

"Are you focused?" Herman asks her as she is scrubbing for a surgery.

"I am."

"Robbins, I need you to be focused."

"I am focused, Doctor Herman."

"Keep your personal drama out of this surgery. Get it off your mind. Avoid it. Now's not the time."

"I am focused," Arizona repeats.

"I've seen you run away from Shepherd," she notes. "Whatever scuffle you have with her, you can save it for later."

Arizona looks over to Herman now, "I'm not running away from her."

"You are," Herman says, "and it isn't encouraging. You said she was the best."

"Listen," Arizona tells her, "Whatever I feel about her personally doesn't change the fact that she is your best bet."

"We'll see later," Herman says, seemingly satisfied. "You ready?"

"Yes."

"Listen," Arizona says and she grabs at her arm, startling the shorter woman.

"Oh, there you are," Amelia says. She has two coffee cups in her hands and offers one of them to Arizona. "Coffee."

"Listen, I wanted to-"

"You gonna take it?"

Arizona rolls her eyes and takes the coffee, and tightens her grip on Amelia's arm. "I wanted to apologize. I didn't mean to imply that. I was just-"

"Doctor Shepherd, Doctor Robbins," she hears behind her, and she feels anger flare inside of her. It's quick to arise and quick to dissipate, though, and he tries to settle himself in between the two of them, but mostly just stands to the side, his eyes narrowing at Amelia before turning to Arizona.

"Make sure you're prepared with the surgical plans for our meeting with Herman."

"Of course," Amelia says.

"What?" Arizona asks, surprised.

"Doctor Shepherd informed me this morning," Owen says, checking his pager. "We can talk about this later."

"That's what I was just going to tell you, actually…" Amelia admits to Arizona.

Owen clears his throat, and they both turn their attention to him again. Now he looks shy, almost like a young boy, Arizona thinks. He darts his eyes quickly at her before turning his gaze to Amelia.

"Also, do you mind if we talk tonight?" he asks.

"Sure," Amelia says, and it's that simple approval that makes Arizona's stomach twist again.

Why? She wonders. He smiles shyly at Amelia, nods at Arizona, and saunters away.

"I thought you were getting around Owen, not telling him directly."

"Arizona," Amelia warns, "Don't you know? The scale of this surgery is phenomenal. There is no way to hide something like this. It's not even something you'd want to hide. It's something that's never been done before," she explains, and Arizona can hear the rising excitement in her voice, the way her hands jump, the way the coffee she holds threatens to slip from her grasp.

It's not about him or her or anything like that. It's about the surgery.

She remembers the magic she worked in the OR today and the bravery it gave her, and it makes her smile at Amelia's excitement as she continues to ramble.

"Okay," Arizona says, nodding her head and putting her coffee down to grasp Amelia's shoulders. The escalation of her excitement is starting to make her a little too bouncy, Arizona thinks, and though "bouncy" seems unfitting for Amelia, that's how she'd want to describe her in this moment.

She settles her hands on the younger Shepherd's shoulders and Amelia grins widely at her. It makes her want to kiss her. She pulls away from her and is tempted to admit what she was feeling again, so she tries to.

"So you told him about Herman?" Arizona asks.

"Yeah," Amelia admits. "But I haven't told him about us yet."

Us, she thinks. That word. A combination. More than one. Us.

"But he wants to see you tonight."

"Yeah," Amelia nods, "I'll clear it up then."

"Right," Arizona says, and something about her tone makes Amelia watch her carefully. She picks up her coffee again and turns to leave, but Amelia stops her.

"What," she laughs, "are you jealous?"

Spot on. "Forget it."

"What?" Amelia asks, grabbing onto her sleeve. She pulls her closer to her, and gently entangles her arm with her own. "Arizona, tell me."

She turns around to look at her properly, and the concern in Amy's eyes makes her admit it. "Yes."

"What?"

"Yes, I'm jealous."

"See?" Amelia grins, "It's not hard to admit."

The thumping starts again. She pulls away. "I have surgery."

"Wait."

"Amelia-"

"Come here."

Coffees forgotten on the nurse's station, Amelia pulls her to an on-call room faster than she expects her to. Arizona feels her back thump hard against the door as Amelia leans into her, her lips close, but not close enough.

"I can do it, you know?" Amelia assures her, "I can save Herman." She takes her cheeks into her hands and draws Arizona close to her, and now Arizona can smell her again. That smell, that scent of hers is too alluring, and she allows herself to be drawn into the searing kiss that Amelia leads her to with her lips.

Their tongues meet amidst the silence, and Arizona can taste the coffee on her tongue, she can feel Amelia's hot hands reaching into her scrub shirt to feel her skin. Amelia's hands are hot and eager, and the graze of her fingertips prompts Arizona to grind against her. She pulls her in tighter now, wrapping her arms around Amy's body as she slips her hands into her scrub pants.

"I do," Arizona gasps out as Amelia slips her fingers inside of her, "have a surgery, though," she breathes out, the last word tampering into a soft, breathless moan. Amelia leans forward and finds her lips again and she finds herself having a hard time breathing. Amelia is devouring her breaths and her moans and her mouth, and Arizona can feel herself clenching around her fingers. She can feel her inside of her, searching deeper, plunging harder.

"It's hot that you were jealous," Amelia rasps out, when they separate their lips to breathe. "I like it a lot," she says, and Arizona feels Amelia slip her thigh in between her legs to spread them further apart. She feels Amelia slightly change her angle, and then she feels her slip deeper inside of her. "I've always wanted to fuck you against a door," Amelia gasps out, her thrusts causing Arizona to thump against the door. "Or a wall," she adds.

She wants to ask how long Amelia's wanted to fuck her in general, but she can't seem to verbalize anything. Not with Amelia doing this to her. Owning her, in a kind of way.

Arizona wonders if people can hear them, she wonders if people can hear her gasping. But she doesn't care, she can't really think. All she hears is Amelia's raspy voice against her ear and her own breathlessness. All she can feel is Amelia's lips against her neck and mouth and her fingers plunging inside of her.

She comes against her and it's hard and fast and breathless, but she likes it. It feels good. She leans against Amelia as she comes, breathing hard against her cheek. She feels Amy's lips graze her neck, and then her cheek. They find her lips and she kisses her softly, releasing a soft moan as Amelia's fingers slip out of her.

She takes Amelia's hand before she pulls away, and slips her fingers inside of her mouth. It's strange tasting herself on another woman's fingers, but she is still unsure how Amelia feels about the act, so she licks herself off of her fingers and kisses her instead.

There are no complaints when Amelia tastes her, though, just a soft sigh and an excited Amelia and it makes Arizona smile. She reaches out to fix her lab coat and smiles softly at Amelia, who in return, only watches her with soft eyes.

"You're the perfect height," she tells her.

"Are you calling me short?" Amelia asks, collecting herself.

"I'm calling you perfect."

She wonders about Owen. She wonders what Amelia will tell him. She's not really dating Amelia, but he isn't dating her, either. She's not sure about dating.

It hasn't even crossed her mind.

And it doesn't, even in the meeting. Even when Owen and Amelia and Herman are all in the room, talking about her brain tumor. Even then, it doesn't cross her mind. Because they are surgeons. First and foremost.

Owen assumes his warning chiefly tone when speaking to the three, and Herman only responds the same way she always does. Owen nods at her from time to time, and she only nods back, and she wonders what will be the outcome of all of this.

Amelia presents her case confidently. Brilliantly. She is absolutely brilliant, Arizona thinks.

But Herman makes her decision.

She will wait right until the last moment.

She sits with Amelia now, in the silence of her office with only the soft buzz of the computer in the background. The glow from the computer screen lights up Amelia's face, and Arizona can tell there's something different about it.

This is Amelia Shepherd, the brilliant neurosurgeon she sees now.

"Once it reaches the optic nerve, it's…"

"She'll know before then, won't she?" Arizona asks.

Amelia smiles. It's not soft, though, it's more like a smile she often sees when people force themselves to put on a smile when nothing is really going to go the way it's supposed to.

"Amelia?"

"Right," Amelia says. The word comes out shakily and now she can see the wavering confidence in the woman.

She is not convinced.

"You can do it, right?" Arizona asks, her voice softer than Amelia's forced smile. She takes her hand and tries to meet her eyes. She wants to tell her that she just said she could. Today, she said that. Before she kissed her. But the reality seems to draw nearer, Arizona realizes, and it makes her wonder, too.

These are different sides to Amelia, and she adores each one of them.

This is what it's like to see Amelia vulnerable, she realizes.

"Yes."

Arizona moves closer to her, and Amelia finally looks up at her. She blinks twice, and her eyes soften, and her smile comes back.

The softness is back.

"Yes."

There is a knock at the door, and Arizona lets go of Amelia's hand. She draws back when Owen enters, clad in street clothes.

"Hey," he says. He clears his throat when he sees Arizona standing there, but he only nods at her before he looks back at Amelia. "Are you leaving now?"

Amelia looks at Arizona, her eyes still soft, her voice cool. "Yeah, just give me a minute."

"Sure," Owen says, and leaves the room.

"Well," Arizona says, "Tell me how it goes."

Amelia grabs her hand before she has a chance to leave and pulls her down to her. She grabs her cheeks and kisses her softly.

"I will."

She is reading a journal in bed when Amelia enters her room. It's fairly early in the evening, and she hasn't even been home long, so she's surprised to see her. The brunette looks out of breath, carrying an overnight back and a bunch of files in her arms. She rushes over and dumps them at the side of the bed.

"Uh," Arizona starts. "Hi?"

"Hey," Amelia says. "I told Owen."

"Told him what?"

"What do you think?" Amelia grins at her, slipping off her clothes.

"That we're…?"

"That we're a thing. Some kind of thing," Amelia explains. "I don't know what kind of thing it is yet, but it's something, right?"

She digs through her bag as she says this and smiling, Arizona sits up to watch her.

"Right."

"I brought my bathrobe," she says, presenting it to her. "I need a shower."

"Okay."

Arizona watches as she hurriedly strips off her clothes and wraps her bathrobe around her. She prefers to stare at her naked, she realizes. Amy bundles her towel in her arm and watches Arizona curiously.

"What?"

"You're not coming?" she asks.

Arizona grins and slips out of the bed as Amelia heads for the shower.

It doesn't have to mean anything.

Showers are fine. She could do showers.

If Amelia is there, she could do showers all the time.