Someone Like You [5B/?]
Someone Like You
Authors: camerashy06 & kennedysbitch (Team Couch Potato Chip Squared)
Pairing: Callie/Arizona, Callie/Erica
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer
Summary: When Gary Clark dies before he can reach his final destination, the future of Seattle Grace’s surgical team is unknowingly altered. Without a push to find their way back to each other, Callie and Arizona find their lives rolling in opposite directions. Nearly three years and half a world later, circumstances find them crashing together again while old feelings begin to resurface amidst a host of new complications.
Click to view---
The sharp chirp of The Archfield’s landline startled Arizona out of a deep sleep around eight o’clock that morning. Clinical trial papers lay scattered across the bed and several had spilled onto the floor; more crinkled beneath her body as she sat up, still dressed in yesterday’s clothes. A pair of reading glasses slipped sideways down her nose, obscuring her vision, but not enough to hide the embarrassing puddle of drool staining her pillow.
It was a few seconds before she realized the reason for the abrupt awakening and dove across the bed to get grapple with the phone. “Hello?”
There was a loud crackle, followed by three or four seconds of silence. “Arizona?”
Arizona blinked sleepily, pulling off her glasses and rubbing her eyes. “Speaking.”
A soft chuckle greeted her ears. “I know we haven’t seen each other in a while but I’m a little insulted.”
The voice clicked all of a sudden and Arizona abruptly sat up. “Teddy?”
Teddy was laughing. “Is this a bad time?”
“No,” Arizona said earnestly as she threw back the covers and stumbled out of bed. “Sorry, I was up all night pouring over a ridiculous amount of paperwork and just woke up covered in drool and yesterday’s clothes. I’m kind of a mess right now.”
She padded to the dresser and pulled out a sweater, stretching the phone cord as far as possible while she pulled it on. “I’m glad you got my email. Does that mean you’re back in civilization, or are you still set up in some super-secret location?”
“We’re back at base now,” Teddy replied. “It’s dinner time here. I throttled two men and one diplomat to use the phone first. What time is it in Seattle, anyway?”
Even though she had a clock beside the bed, Arizona automatically glanced out the window. “The sun is barely coming up,” she said, getting back into bed and scooting up against the headboard.
“How are things in Seattle?” Teddy asked. “I can’t believe how long it’s been. It must be weird going back after all this time.”
Arizona chewed on her bottom lip, thinking about the fight she’d had with Callie. “It’s been...interesting to say the least. Not what I expected.”
A patient sigh filtered through the line. “‘Interesting’ is your way of saying terrible without wanting to worry anyone. Spill it, Robbins.”
The last thing Arizona felt like doing was thinking about Callie right now. “Isn’t your dinner getting cold?” she hedged. “Or do you need to go sharpen your knives, or pack your bullets or something army-like?”
“Pack my bullets?” Teddy echoed. “Come on, tell me what happened with Torres. I’m not leaving this conversation until I hear all the dirt. I live in a desert surrounded by men, throw me a bone here.”
Arizona scowled into the phone. “Who said it has anything to do with Callie?”
“Who else would it be? You never got worked up over your multitude of short-term girlfriends like you did with Torres.”
“There was no ‘multitude’,” Arizona whined, pouting. Teddy had a point, though. She had never been one for creating drama, somehow it just seemed to find her and her ex. Three years hadn’t changed much.
Teddy kept pushing. “When I ended things with Andrew, you adopted me into your clinic for a month just so I could take my mind off of things. I owe you a whole slew of long stories in return for all the ranting I did while we vaccinated orphans.”
Arizona snorted loudly and closed her eyes, resigned. “Everything about coming back here has been weird. I knew it would be but it’s only been a couple of days and I’m already at the end of my rope.”
“Callie still with Hahn?” Teddy asked hesitantly.
“She is, but that’s not really the issue,” Arizona sighed. “She has a kid now, by the way.”
“No way,” Teddy blurted. “She and Hahn had a baby?”
“Technically no, Callie had a baby and she’s been seeing Erica for a year.” The corner of Arizona’s mouth twitched into a half grin. “The kid’s cute. Her name is Sofia. She looks just like Callie.”
Teddy didn’t say anything yet.
“Anyway, we had a really nice breakfast together,” Arizona continued. “We talked for a few hours, catching up about her and her daughter and work and the clinic. I thought things were going better and it wouldn’t be so bad for the next couple of weeks, only it turns out Callie lied to Erica about us meeting up. Hahn flew off the handle and now working with her is going to be a nightmare. Not that it was a picnic to begin with,” she added. “Hahn thinks I’m paving over her territory with a supermall or something. I guess Chief Webber didn’t give her any choice in the trial and my involvement with her patient.”
“Ouch,” Teddy replied. “Sounds like you’re off to a rough start.”
“You have no idea,” Arizona mumbled into the phone. “Callie doesn’t seem to understand why I’m just as upset as Erica. I have to work with her and she’s already unhappy about it, so factor in supposed ‘secret meetings’ with her girlfriend, and…”
Teddy cringed on her behalf. “Maybe it’ll just take everyone a couple of days to settle in and get on with their lives?”
“The last time Callie and I spoke, we tore each other a new one,” Arizona said, closing her eyes again. “I’m pretty sure she doesn’t want anything to do with me. Quite frankly, I’m not too sure I want to re-open that can of napalm.”
There was silence on the other end of the line and Arizona started to wonder if they had been cut off. Background noise told her otherwise and she fidgeted while waiting for her best friend to bring clarity to the situation - advice she was taking her sweet time in conjuring up.
When Teddy still didn’t say anything after a dozen or so seconds, Arizona cracked. “Okay, this is the part where you deliver your sage advice and tell me what to do.”
“I don’t even know where to start,” Teddy said with a short laugh. “You have a knack for getting yourself in deep, early.”
Arizona groaned and beat her head against the wall. “Not helping.”
“I mean, she’s got a kid,” Teddy said, “with Hahn, sort of, and you’re working with Hahn, and you’re Callie’s ex, and it got complicated and messy towards the end. Maybe staying in your own little world isn’t such a bad idea while you’re in town.”
“And I’m on board with that,” Arizona said earnestly, “except I could be stuck here for a few months. What am I supposed to do, avoid breathing the same air as Callie? It’s not like I can avoid Hahn when she’s the physician of my patient.”
“Just go about your day and if you run into Torres, you run into her,” Teddy suggested. “Let the fight roll off your shoulders, it won’t do anyone any good to keep harping on it. She messed up, so move on and hope it doesn’t happen again. Hahn can deal with your presence and you can finish up with your trial and go home.”
Sometimes the simplest answer eluded Arizona, even if it was the most sane and logical one. “Yeah, maybe…”
“What does Gwen think about all this?” Teddy continued. “Y’know, the whole you being back at work with your ex and one-time love of your life. I can’t imagine she’s puking rainbows over the situation.” The line went dead silent again. That said more to Teddy than words ever could have. “You didn’t tell her about Callie, did you?”
“She knows that I had a serious girlfriend when I lived here,” Arizona allowed, speaking slowly so as not to get herself into trouble. “When I left I told her I didn’t even know if Callie was still around.”
Teddy sighed patiently into the phone. “Arizona...”
“‘It was true!” Arizona argued. “I had no idea if she was one-hundred-percent for sure still at Seattle Grace. And besides, that was three years ago, it’s not like it’s a big deal or anything. Rehashing old relationship crap with new girlfriends always ends in flames, read the lesbian handbook of drama for reference.”
To her credit, Teddy didn’t beat her over the head with the inconsistencies in her logic. “Is she okay with not seeing your for a few months while you’re across the country working with your ex?”
“One, I’m not working with Callie,” Arizona said sharply, “and two, we’re not even...our relationship isn’t...it’s complicated, okay?”
“Is that what your Facebook page says?”
“Shut up,” Arizona grumbled. “She’s busy being a lawyer and I’m busy being a doctor. We’re...seeing each other without any pressure. That’s not exactly the point and time to reopen the book on my past life and tell her about how much damage the break-up with Callie did. It’s not worth rehashing the details.”
“You’re happy with her though, right?”
The nano-second pause before Arizona answered was missed by both of them. “She’s the first person I’ve really dated since Callie. Malawi wasn’t exactly a hotbed of lesbian activity, being illegal and all. We like each other a lot.”
Teddy’s laughter rang through crisp and clear. “I’m sure your spiral of hot but crazy women while state-side kept the sheets warm for a few months.”
“There was not a multitude of women,” Arizona snapped for the second time in the conversation. “And you’re one to talk, missy. Do you remember Gabriel, the tall, dark and gorgeous OB you schmoozed all over for the month you stayed with me?”
“How could I forget,” Teddy sighed happily. “God, that was nice.”
It was Arizona’s turn to giggle; she really missed having Teddy around to be so candid with. “Anyway, enough about me and my problems. What’s new with you?”
Teddy shuffled something around on the other end of the line and the background got quieter when she moved into a different room. “I called to let you know that I’ve got a few weeks of leave coming up and I wanted to know if I should fly out to Seattle.”
“Oh my god!” Arizona sat up so fast she popped her neck. “Yes! You have to come here! Please come here!”
The sheer enthusiasm had Teddy grinning from ear to ear. “Cool, I’ll let you know the dates when I’ve figured everything out. It could be anywhere from a couple of weeks or more from now.”
Plans for all kinds of epic adventures were already shooting through Arizona’s mind like a slideshow on fast-forward. “We need to have a girls night again, it’s been ages.”
There was excitement in Teddy’s voice, too. “I haven’t even stepped foot in an airport and you’re already planning on getting me drunk? Aren’t we too old and wise for that?”
“You have no tolerance anymore, two glasses of wine with dinner and you’re hammered,” Arizona beamed. “Besides-”
The screen on her cell phone lit up, alerting Arizona to its presence for the first time. She reached across the bed and fished it out from a crevasse of sheets, then flipped it around to stare at the call display. Gwen’s name and a short message blinked up at her.
“Arizona?”
Arizona blinked and swiped her thumb across the lock screen while she tried to talk. “Yeah, sorry, I’m here.”
I know you’re out there kicking ass and saving babies, but I miss you. Call me later. -- G
Something akin to butterflies erupted in Arizona’s stomach, only they spread guilt instead of happiness. She had barely given any thought to her sort-of girlfriend in the few days since being in Seattle and only texted Gwen once since the first night. The crazy scheduling of her presentations and meetings had taken up all of her time and it genuinely had it slipped her mind, but that didn’t stop her from feeling bad about it.
“Robbins!” Teddy barked a second time.
Arizona jumped and hurriedly set the phone down. “Sorry! Sorry. What?”
“Am I boring you?” Teddy smirked, lifting a brow even though nobody could see her.
“No,” Arizona said, squeezing her eyes shut. “Sorry, I just got another message on my cell. From Gwen. She wants me to call her later.”
Teddy’s smirk grew and it was audible. “Ooh,” she drawled.
“‘Oh’ what?” Arizona asked, perhaps more sharply than necessary. “I will call her, just not until tonight. I need to get my ass in gear and get back to the hospital. She knows that, we talked about how busy I’d be when I left Baltimore.”
Teddy let her head drop in defeat, sighing heavily into the receiver. “Oh, honey,” she started. “Your nights consist of you sitting in your hotel room alone, watching romantic comedies and eating a gallon of ice cream, don’t they?”
“What?” Arizona demanded. “No! I’m spending all my waking hours at work, genius. There is no conspiracy here.”
“Fine, fine,” Teddy relented, choosing to back off for now.
“Besides, I have enough involuntary girl drama for now, thank you very much,” Arizona said hotly. “I still don’t know how I’m supposed to sort out this Callie situation. I’m really pissed at her for putting me in this position with Hahn.” The exasperation and accompanying stress ball in her stomach were only too familiar.
“She is still the only person on this planet who can make me that angry,” Arizona added after a moment. “Which usually means I care too much for my own good.”
“Introspective and deep. Thank you for acknowledging it so I don’t have to point it out to you myself.”
Discussing Callie was starting to head in a direction that Arizona just didn’t want to go in. She decided to change the subject, even if it was as subtle as a freight train. “This is the part where I politely decline any further talk about certain people and ask you about your life instead,” she pushed. “Are you being careful out there? And is there enough man-candy to keep you satisfied in the no-touching kind of way until you get back?”
“They’re smelly. And sweaty,” Teddy answered. “Army boys aren’t really my type. I can’t wait to come back for a few weeks, I haven’t seen a clean-cut, showered man in so long.” Arizona started giggling and Teddy smiled nostalgically. “I miss the smell of cologne, or even aftershave. I miss no facial hair. No one shaves around here. And I just - I lost you with the icky boy talk, didn’t I?”
“Hell no,” Arizona grinned. “Are you kidding? I am officially making it my mission to get you laid while you’re on leave.” She perked up despite the noise of protest from Teddy. “You will not leave American soil again until a clean shaven, non-sweaty, muscular man has seen you naked, so help me god.”
“You’re taking ‘patriotic duty’ to an uncharted level,” Teddy said, laughing. “Thanks but no thanks. Whenever we go out to ‘straight’ bars together, more guys end up hitting on you than me.” She paused. “Will you wear a bag over your head?”
Arizona started snickering and collapsed onto her side, hugging a pillow. She felt way more relaxed talking to Teddy than she had in days. “You know that’s not true. I’m just a little more open and friendly looking. You tend to give them this ‘Look’ the moment they get within ten feet of you, like you’ll skin them alive if they so much as breathe on your neck. Lose the hostility and you’ll be fine. And your pants,” she added for good measure.
Rolling her eyes and re-adjusting her position on the bunk, Teddy allowed her mind to wander into the world of possibilities. “Can you at least pick someone you think I would like? Your version of man-pretty is a little too rugged for me.”
“If he’s ugly, I’ll put a paper bag over his head and make sure he keeps his mouth shut,” Arizona agreed. “But I’m a good wing woman, I don’t set friends up with ugly men. Or women.”
“I guess I’ll just have to trust you. Maybe I can return the favour someday.”
“Yeah, how come you’ve never been my wing woman before?” Arizona pouted. “That hardly seems fair.”
They devolved into a ridiculous talk of sex and their lack-of these last few weeks, steering the conversation away from Callie and Hahn, and eventually coming to a stop on the subject of Teddy’s tentative arrival date.
“Let me know when and where. I’ll be at the gate with bells on,” Arizona agreed.
“Thanks, Robbins. I look forward to it.
Realizing they would have to get off the line soon, Arizona felt a lump form in the centre of her chest. “I miss you so much, Teddy. I don’t like having my rock thousands of miles away. Aren’t they sick of you over there yet?”
Teddy snorted. “No, not yet, but there’s still hope,” she relayed with a smile. “I should get going, lots to do.”
“Yeah, me too,” Arizona said quietly, her spirits sinking. Every time they spoke, she left the conversation with worry knotting itself deeply in her gut. “Please, please be safe, I really want to see you in a few weeks.”
Teddy smiled tenderly into the phone. “I will, promise. I’ll call again soon.”
“Good,” Arizona said. “Bye, T.”
“Bye.”
Arizona hung up and stared at the phone. She had to force the worry for Teddy out of her mind and make herself to dwell on the present instead - she had a busy day ahead and god knew what awaited her once she got to work.
***
Callie hadn’t dealt with a hangover in well over a year, almost two. There was pre-pregnancy testing, pregnancy itself, and now caring for her little bundle of joy took priority over continuing to live like she was in her twenties. Back in the day, she had been able to shake even the worst hangover within a few hours, but that didn’t count when she had to work.
With great effort, Callie extracted herself from the car, dark, saucer-sized sunglasses shading her eyes from the sun. Everything hurt. Even her eyelashes felt like they were throbbing just because of their proximity to her brain. Her mental faculties were clear enough to practice medicine but her mood certainly wasn’t going to do anyone any favours.
Cristina was waiting as promised via text message and fell into step beside Callie. “Where’s your kid?” she asked, looking around as though Callie had left Sofia to crawl in behind her.
Callie had yet to remove her sunglasses despite looking ridiculous wearing them inside. “I got paged,” she grumbled, “and Sofia is with Mark, so calm down.”
Cristina cast a critical eye over Callie’s physique. “You look worse than when I left.”
“I feel like a five-hundred pound person has been sitting on me for the last three hours,” Callie lamented.
“Need a puke bucket?”
“Bite me,” Callie grunted. “This is all your fault anyway.”
“If you’re still drunk, I’m pretty sure that means you can’t practice medicine,” Cristina said as they turned a corner. “Could be an excuse to go home. Let them call your residents in.”
“Dr. Torres!” Speaking of, Callie’s newest ortho intern came barrelling towards them, oblivious to his mentor’s mental state. “Your peds patient, Casey, her knee is the size of a basketball and there’s an MVA on the way, trauma might need a hand.”
A slew of patient stats, all thrown at her in a shrill squeak, set Callie’s teeth on edge. All she could do was press her fingers into her temple yet again and close her eyes while she willed the buzzing in her ears to stop. Cristina happened to notice and stepped in.
“Shut up,” she barked, “go inform the parents Dr. Torres will be right up. Scram. Now.”
Fear of Dr. Yang was prevalent among the first years and he scampered like he’d been struck by lightning. Cristina’s smugness lasted all the way to the elevator, which Callie quickly slipped inside and blocked the door.
“No,” she announced, firmly planting her arm across Cristina’s path. “You’re taking the next one.”
Cristina blinked, confused. “But I need to-”
“No,” Callie echoed, waving at her to step back as she hit the button. “I need some peace and quiet, even if it’s only for ten seconds. You’re taking the next one.” Cristina flashed her a rude hand gesture before the doors slid closed and sealed her in.
Callie moved to the back of the elevator and slumped into the wall, losing herself in the dull hum of the engine cranking upward. She had no idea how in the hell she was supposed to make it through the rest of the day, especially not if her first patient involved emergency surgery with Arizona. One more fight and the pounding in her brain would push into sledgehammer territory.
***
Arizona was slow on her feet that morning, worrying about Teddy and Callie alike. With her best friend practically in the ‘Nam and a promised visit in several weeks’ time, she was having a hard time focusing on her surroundings. Her hair and makeup suffered as a result, leaving her dishevelled and slightly manic in appearance. The bloodshot eyes and major bags garnishing her face gained her few admiring glances at the coffee cart.
Since she was already at work when Casey’s intern paged his concerns, she had briefed the parents and viewed the latest x-rays before Callie even stepped into the building. The best course of action was immediate surgery, which she still had to confirm with the Copelands. First, she needed to consult ortho and confirm they would bring the girl into the OR later that day.
Stifling a major yawn, Arizona chose to replenish her office supplies and dig through their stores for post-op care. Anything to keep her mind off of talking to Callie and how many more hurtful jabs they could throw at each other given an entire surgery to work through. She was so busy being grumpy and brooding that she just flung open the supply closet without thinking, startling when it rebounded off of something hard.
“Jesus Christ!” someone bellowed from behind the door. “Do you go around flinging doors open just for fun?! My god! I think I’m bleeding!”
Oh, hell. Not even rage could disguise that voice from Arizona.
Sure enough, when she gingerly pushed the door open a second time, she came face to face with a very pissed off looking Callie glowering at her through watery eyeballs.
“Oh god, I am so sorry,” Arizona gushed, heat flaring in her cheeks. She slipped inside and let the door close behind her, half reaching out as if to steady Callie should her balance waver. “I swear I had no idea you were in here.”
Callie groaned as Arizona tried to pry the hand from her forehead. “No, I’m fine,” she said hotly, jerking away.
Undeterred, Arizona craned her neck to have a look at the injury. The centre of Callie’s face looked angry and red, much like a bullseye Arizona had inadvertently hit. “Looks like you’re going to have a nasty bruise. Callie, I’m so sorry, I wasn’t even-”
“Don’t,” Callie snapped, knocking Arizona’s hand away when she tried to poke the wound. “You’ve done enough damage already, thanks.” It sounded harsher than she meant it to, but the concussion wasn’t making her receptive to apologizing any time soon.
Arizona’s mouth fell open, surprised at the hostility despite their circumstances. The last thing she wanted to do was make things worse, but then hitting her ex in the face with a door had probably done the trick. “I don’t think you’re bleeding,” she offered, grimacing at such a feeble response.
Callie snorted and turned away, trying poorly to hide her embarrassment. “Thank god for small miracles,” she mumbled. “I need an ice pack if you can manage without maiming me.”
Arizona bristled. “Overreact much? It’s not like I expected you to be hiding in a closet.”
Callie stopped rubbing the knot protruding from her face and glared at the blonde. “And it’s not like I expected to get knocked on my ass by someone barrelling through the door. You’ve already made it pretty clear you hate me, no need to hammer it home so hard.”
“Callie, I don’t hate-”
“It’s fine,” Callie said shortly, waving it off. “Nevermind.”
Exasperated, Arizona spotted a chemical ice pack on the nearest shelf and tossed it into Callie’s chest, letting her fumble to catch it. She’d had enough of the passive-aggressive crap between them these last two days. Yanking open the door, she gestured for Callie to go through. “Fine. I’ll meet you down the hall to go over Casey’s x-rays; she needs surgery today. Your intern has the updated file.”
“Fantastic,” Callie retorted, breaking the seal and slapping the ice pack to her forehead. “Can’t wait.” Feeling like a moron with the giant bag squished against her face, she brushed by Arizona, tempted to let an elbow drop casually into her ribs. She thought better of it.
Arizona sighed to herself once Callie was gone and went about getting the supplies she needed for Casey’s pre-op hours. It was supposed to be a quiet five minutes to herself, time alone to think and step away from the craziness of a busy surgical unit, but ramming her ex-girlfriend through a door had quashed the ritual pretty thoroughly. Even picking out a colouring book and crayons to keep Casey occupied before surgery wasn’t as fun as it should have been. Arizona chose not to take one full of farm animals - reminding the patient of her dead horse would only make Casey’s day even worse than Arizona’s was turning out to be.
***
The more Arizona tried to follow Teddy’s advice and not to be angry with Callie, the more she really was. Whatever adjustment period she’d assumed they would have was turning out to be so much worse than she’d ever considered. Callie’s attitude just seemed like overkill, considering the source of their disagreement and whose fault it was in the first place. She was acting like Arizona had run over her puppy.
Another text message from Gwen in Baltimore arrived as she headed for Casey’s room. Arizona paused mid-step, stealing a quick glance at her phone before stuffing it back in her pocket. She had patients to deal with, personal calls could wait until later.
Callie was rifling through the peds desk for something, looking about as thrilled as she had moments after the door incident. Arizona thought about going elsewhere, anywhere to avoid another confrontation, but she refused to be chased out of her own department - her old department, even.
Callie barely looked up when Arizona came to an abrupt halt on her right. “Can I help you?”
The coolness in her voice grated on Arizona’s nerves. “What is with you today?” she whispered, glancing sideways at her ex-girlfriend while flipping through Casey’s patient file. “I’m not the one who pulled a lying excuse out of my ass yesterday, so if anyone should be cranky, it’s me.”
“I cannot deal with this right now,” Callie said heavily, closing her eyes and pinching the bridge of her nose before grimacing in pain for the umpteenth time that day. “Please, just go away. I’m begging you, Arizona.”
At first Arizona was stung, wondering how on earth it could have gotten this bad between them, only there was something off about the way Callie was carrying herself. The closer Arizona studied her, the more pronounced it became. There was a desperate edge in her voice and a silent begging in her eyes, coupled with the witch-like attitude and the lack of colour in her complexion. If Arizona didn’t know any better, she would have thought Callie was coming down with something.
The pieces suddenly fell into place. “Are you hungover?” she asked, totally incredulous.
Callie did a sharp double-take and abruptly turned away. “What? No!” she fired back, bristling with insult. “Of course not.”
“Oh my god, you totally are,” Arizona hissed, leaning closer so others didn’t overhear. “You’re hungover and you’re taking it out on me! I can’t believe you!”
Callie’s bloodshot eyes did a sweep of their immediate surroundings. They were relatively alone. “I am not - how dare you!” she said with an indignant huff, slamming her case file shut. “That would be totally unprofessional and I resent you asking me that in the first place. I’m fine. I am not - there’s no - nothing!”
Arizona was biting back a triumphant grin. Suddenly everything made sense and the anger at her mistreatment started to melt away. Callie was a bear when she was hungover, even if you happened to be the one sleeping with her at the time. She remembered those mornings well.
“Calliope, I know you,” she pointed out, her tone softening significantly. “I lived with you, I drank with you. You’re hungover and pissed off. That’s why you’re breathing fire over anyone who looks sideways at you.”
Callie teetered on the edge of denying it, pride and reputation and all that bullshit, but she exhaled a massive burst of pent up air before collapsing into the pediatric desk. “Everything hurts,” she moaned pitifully. “And thanks to you, it hurts a lot worse than before.” She even attempted to laugh at herself but it quickly turned into a whimper when she struggled to stand upright again. Every last ounce of energy had been going into keeping her condition hidden, and now that it was out in the open, all she wanted to do was curl up in the corner.
Arizona really wanted to dig it in after the way Callie had treated her but those big, brown doe eyes got her every time. Callie looked so pained that she opted for silence instead, waiting patiently for her to finish her mini-tantrum first.
“Yes, I’m pathetic,” Callie announced, gesturing wildly at Arizona. “Get your shots in now because in about two and a half seconds, I’m reverting to a grumpy bitch for the rest of the day and you can deal with it.”
It was impossible for Arizona not to smirk, so she dropped her gaze to her nails, studying them instead. “No, I’m good. Watching you suffer is enough. Also, the whole door-to-face thing,” she added, chuckling when Callie scowled. “Unfortunately for you, Casey’s surgery can’t wait until tomorrow, but I do think it can be pushed back to later tonight. The OR schedule is pretty busy this afternoon anyway. That should give you some time to recover.”
Callie closed her eyes in relief. “Oh, thank god,” she moaned, collapsing into the desk again. Her spine might as well have been made of marshmallows. “Have you talked to the real housewife of Seattle yet? I can’t deal with her today, I’ll snap a bitch.”
“She wasn’t there when I came in earlier,” Arizona mused. “I went over the liver repair with her father. Casey’s a really sweet kid, especially when the mom isn’t squashing her personality. She seemed pretty upbeat considering.” She cast a look to the girl’s room down the hall. “I think Mom’s in there now. There’s a dark cloud blotting out the sun.”
Callie looked pained at the idea of dealing with patients and their problems. It involved a lot of talking and actual caring, something she wasn’t physically capable of right now. “Let’s go get this over with before I turn into a monster,” she sighed, stepping around Arizona and reaching back to grab a fistful of the blonde’s lab coat to tug her along. “C’mon.”
Arizona chose not to enrage the angry bear any further and went without protest, entering the room behind her. She offered the parents a friendly a smile; Mrs. Copeland, dressed in a pinstripe business skirt and blouse, slid off her daughter’s bed and faced them with a sour look. “Great, we finally made it on your to-do list. Jesus, it’s like service at Denny’s in this place.”
Callie inadvertently bit her tongue and tried to hide the tiniest smirk resulting from the image of a woman of Mrs. Copeland’s self-perpetuated stature and refinement setting foot inside a Denny’s, let alone sticking around long enough to actually eat the food.
Arizona kept the fake smile plastered to her face for both their sakes. She could practically feel Callie hiding behind her and knew it would be up to her to break the news. “Mr. and Mrs. Copeland, I’m sorry to keep you waiting. Dr. Torres and I have decided that your daughter’s surgery can’t wait until tomorrow. We’ve got staff looking into the first available OR and expect to have her in by this evening.”
She turned her focus away from the parents and fixed it on the scared preteen. “Waiting is always the scariest part, so this is a good thing. Dr. Torres and I will make sure you’re asleep through the whole thing.”
“I don’t wanna,” Casey pouted, crossing her arms. “Mommy, you can’t make me.”
Arizona felt a pang. “I know it’s so scary to talk about, but I promise you the surgery itself is not-”
Mrs. Copeland interrupted with an impatient scoff, pulling her phone out again when it beeped twice from her purse. “Eyes over here, honey. We’re the ones footing the bill. Tell me what we’re looking at.”
Callie pursed her lips and stole a glance at Arizona; her posture was stiff as a board. Arizona hated being addressed that way by anyone, especially arrogant and condescending parents. Headache or not, Callie sucked it up and stepped forward, subtly squeezing Arizona’s arm to let her know she could take over from here.
“Casey’s kneecap isn’t so severely dislocated that we need to make a large incision to realign it. Instead, we can perform what’s called an arthroscopic patella realignment-”
Mrs. Copeland threw up a hand, cutting Callie off. “An arthro pat-a what? What the hell does that mean?”
There were dark shadows under her husband’s eyes as he spoke for the first time, standing up from his daughter’s bedside. “Will you let her explain and stop butting in, Cheryl? They’re just doing their job.”
The surgeons exchanged exasperated stares. Neither one of them really wanted to deal with this woman but Callie knew she owed Arizona one after this morning.
“As I was saying...this surgery will be performed arthroscopically,” she said patiently, turning back to Casey, whom she was less likely to throttle. “Which means you’ll only have a teeny tiny scar. It’s really cool, actually, it’s like a robot helps me fix your knee so I don’t have to make a big cut.”
The robot thing always got kids’ attention and it worked with Casey, who now looked more intrigued than afraid. “Will it hurt?” she asked Callie.
Arizona noticed her ex’s demeanour melt just a little bit. Kids had a calming effect on her when they were well behaved.
Callie was quick to shake her head. “Oh no, not at all. You’ll be asleep having nice dreams, so you won’t feel it one bit.”
“Not many kids your age get to say that a robot helped fix their knee and their liver,” Arizona added with a conspicuous wink. “You’ll have some pretty cool stories for when you get back to school.”
Casey looked lighter than when the conversation had started, which made Callie happy. A sharp stab in her brain, however, reminded her that she was on the brink of collapse. The parents and patient were reassured, which was all she could really ask for, and Arizona seemed to clue in that she was barely hanging on. They manage to excuse themselves with promises to update the surgery time and took their leave before anything else could go wrong with Cruella De Vil.
Arizona was careful to keep her eyes forward, counting to ten before she let herself breathe again. “I need coffee before I punch something,” she muttered now that they were out of earshot. “Of all the stubborn parents I’ve ever dealt with, that woman, I swear…”
“I think we’re finally agreeing on something,” Callie smirked, although it was short-lived. Every step she took caused her shoulders to hunch and the spots start to form behind her eyes again. There was a very real possibility that she would need to wear sunglasses in surgery if things didn’t start to improve.
Arizona heard Callie moan subtly in distress and studied her with a skeptical eye. “Okay, we need to fix you,” she announced, looping an arm through her ex’s and veering off to the right.
Callie didn’t have the strength or the patience to fight with Arizona. “Where are we going?” she asked, stumbling alongside her captor.
“You look pathetic and you’re grumpy as hell,” Arizona chastised, glancing into windows and doors as they went past, searching for an empty room. “ I’m fixing you before someone gets killed. And so you’ll stop making that face.”
Callie scrunched her brow. “What face? I don’t have a ‘face’.”
“Mm-hm.” Choosing to ignore her, Arizona finally found an empty exam room and abruptly steered Callie inside. She closed the door behind them and pushed her toward the rolling bed, empty of sheets and signalling that the room wasn’t needed for a while. “Sit. Stay.”
Callie’s eyebrows shot up. “What am I, your dog?” she argued, staying in place. Arizona narrowed her eyes and simply glared until Callie shrank under the scrutiny; her resolve was really weak thanks to the remnants of alcohol still floating through her system. Begrudgingly, she parked her behind on the bed.
“Seriously, what are we doing in here? Are you gonna have your way with me or something?” she half-laughed, joking, but the look on Arizona’s face shut her up really quickly.
“Do you remember how well that went the last time?” Arizona said dryly, the memory making her feel a little awkward but also kind of amused. “Mark walked in, followed by Alex because neither one of us were answering our pagers. That’s why we made the ‘lock the door’ rule a thing.”
Heat flushed Callie’s cheeks and she couldn’t stop herself from smiling. “And we decided on-call rooms were a bit more covert than empty exam rooms, even if the danger made it more exciting.”
Laughing, Arizona purposefully averted her eyes. “So that would be a ‘no’ to your question, then. Less having my way, more getting you hydrated and rested before your brain explodes.” She checked her watch to make sure nobody was expecting her presence any time soon and figured she could manage an hour of Callie duty undisturbed. “Sit tight and I’ll be right back, okay?”
Callie nodded without a word and soon found herself alone in the dark room. Her fingers tapped absently against her thigh, mind wandering to what Arizona could possibly be doing. The act of thinking made her head hurt even worse, so eventually she pulled her legs onto the bed and laid back.
She was almost asleep when Arizona came bursting in minutes later, startling her. Arizona was too busy fussing with an IV pole that had a sticky wheel and carrying a bag of clear, yellow fluid in the other hand to notice the way Callie’s eyes followed her across the room. A plastic-wrapped IV cord was clamped between her teeth and kept her from saying anything.
Grunting, Arizona finally arranged the IV pole next to the bed and dropped the supplies on Callie’s lap. Without a word, she started rolling up Callie’s right sleeve and pulled on a pair of gloves.
Callie’s brow rose again and she propped her other arm casually behind her head. “Am I allowed to know what you’re injecting me with?” she asked as Arizona scrubbed her forearm with disinfectant. “I think there’s something in the friendship handbook about not letting your ex shoot you up with drugs unannounced.”
Arizona rolled her eyes, mumbling her defense as she worked, but Callie couldn’t understand a thing with that stupid IV cord in her mouth. She reached over and yanked it out in one swipe, nearly taking the blonde’s bottom teeth with it.
Glowering, Arizona snatched the cord back. “I said, ‘I’ve got it, you big baby’,” she clarified, smirking when Callie started to pout. “Just lie still for a minute and close your eyes, I won’t hurt you.” The sentiment sounded rather sweet, until she added, “Unless you puke on me, then I will hurt you.”
Callie faked a dry heave and made Arizona recoil. “I’m not going to puke, okay?” she said patiently, watching her ex work. Even with something as simple as administering a hydration bag to an idiot with a hangover, she was laser-focused and extremely careful. No matter how awful Callie felt, the care Arizona took as she inserted the needle made her smile. The gloved hand cradling her forearm was warm and comforting.
A few seconds passed. They were comfortable, lacking any of the tension from the last twenty-four hours. “Thanks,” Callie said, “you didn’t have to...you know, do this. ” She found herself staring up at Arizona, waiting until the flash of blue met her own gaze before catching herself and smiling sheepishly. “I promise I won’t make a habit of being a moron on a work night. One time thing thanks to Cristina.”
Arizona’s smile was relaxed while most of her attention was still focused on Callie’s arm. “Yeah, well, it’s mostly damage control,” she teased while taping the IV in place and making sure there were no kinks in the tubing. Once she was sure the banana bag was flowing, she stripped off her gloves. “I don’t want you murdering some poor intern and ending up in jail. That would just be tragic.”
“Still, thank you,” Callie said quietly, allowing herself to settle back and get comfy. It felt nice, being taken care of for a change, even if she was a royal jerk who didn’t deserve it. Arizona had never been one to hold grudges; she was more the type to kill with kindness and take the high road without making it obvious. The thought made Callie bite back a goofy smile.
She opened her eyes to find Arizona frowning at her, concerned. “I’m good,” she confirmed. “You can go if you need to. You probably have more important things to do than sit here and babysit me.”
“Like what? I don’t technically work here,” Arizona chuckled, gathering the discarded supplies and tossing them in the trash. “Casey and Allison are really my only two patients. And you,” she added with a crooked grin, finally making eye contact. “Can I get you anything? An ice pack for your forehead or jello for your hunger pains?”
Callie matched Arizona’s grin, wondering if it was the placebo effect or if the hydration fluid was already working after a few minutes. Everything hurt a little less. “Jello? What am I, ten?”
“I’m trying to be nice,” Arizona shot back. “I did smack you in the face with a door. That earns you one free trip to the cafeteria - or the supply closet for an ice pack. Pick your poison.”
Callie took a second to debate her options. “If you don’t want me to puke on you - ice pack. If you do want me to puke on you - jello. No, wait, pudding. Or cake. They have cake, right?”
“You want cake?” Arizona asked skeptically.
“Forget it. I can’t even look at food right now,” Callie bemoaned. “Ice pack, please.”
It took a lot of effort to only laugh once; there was no sense in making fun of someone already in a significant amount of discomfort. It bugged Arizona how utterly adorable she found pathetic, hungover Callie to this day. Nothing had changed, she still wanted to nurse the helpless little puppy back to health. That woman had a way of making even the most horrible of feelings wear cute.
“One face-sized ice pack, coming right up,” Arizona confirmed, turning her back on Callie. “You should probably put it over your nose, too. I hit you with that door pretty hard.”
Re-adjusting her position on the bed, Callie craned her neck up and grinned. “Yeah, my face thanks you for that. Better hope your insurance covers nose jobs.”
“I pick my targets carefully. You have a pretty face, I spared the best parts.”
Callie let out a short laugh as Arizona reached the door. Something triggered and made her call out. “Wait, hang on a sec.”
Arizona paused, looking over her shoulder.
Callie swallowed thickly, a plume of butterflies bursting in her belly. “I need to say something before I chicken out or make an ass of myself again.”
Arizona turned back around, careful not to look Callie directly in the eye for fear of what was about to come out of her mouth. She was enjoying the light and funny, she didn’t want it to get bogged down by serious issues. “Calliope-”
Holding up a hand, Callie continued first. “I’m sorry for lying to you - because I told myself I would never do that. Together or apart,” she added, licking her lips. “That whole mess with Erica was my fault and I’m so sorry I dragged you into it.” it amazed her how hard it was to say those words. Even now she blushed furiously and felt like an idiot.
“I really want to make this...situation work somehow, having you here and you two working together,” she added. “It would be a shame to let something stupid like my brain get in the way of it.”
Arizona didn’t respond right away, which automatically made Callie nervous. She glanced sideways at her IV and tugged on the cord. “Wow, what do they put in this stuff?” she half-laughed, hoping it hid how much of a mess she was.
Arizona started to smile, letting her gaze hover. “Thiamine, folic acid, magnesium sulphate and multivitamins.” When she received an eyeroll, Arizona ducked her face shyly. “Thank you, Callie. That means a lot.”
The light mood was replaced with an awkward silence, during which Arizona fiddled with the thick metal watch on her wrist, gravitating back to Callie’s bedside. “For the record, I want to make this work, too. I can’t say I wasn’t afraid of how things might be between us when I got on that plane.” She bit her bottom lip. “I don’t want things to be awkward.”
Callie flashed Arizona a soft smile. “I think we’re on the same page then,” she agreed, absentmindedly reaching out to fiddle with the blonde’s laminated name tag dangling from her lab coat. “Also, for the record? I missed this, just spending time together. You’re pretty much the only person who could’ve rescued the world from me in this condition.”
Arizona felt a pang of affection for Callie and dropped a hand to her forearm. “I missed spending time together, too,” she spoke softly.
The butterflies in Callie’s stomach erupted again; Arizona’s touch still had that effect on her. At least until she squeezed Callie’s IV, causing her to jolt forward without warning. “Ow!”
“Oh!” Arizona jerked her hand away and grimaced. “Sorry! I’m not having a good Callie-injury day, am I?” she groaned, blushing furiously at her latest mistake.
Callie massaged the tender wound and managed to laugh it off. “No, you’re really not, but I probably had that coming.”
Embarrassed, Arizona tucked a stray hair behind her ear and stepped away from the bed. “I think that’s my cue to go get you an ice pack. And maybe a blanket, since you have to stay here until you’re re-hydrated.” She stuffed both hands in her pockets and retreated to the exit. “Then you should head home for a few hours, get some sleep before surgery. See your baby, read the newspaper. You know, all the things you’re supposed to do on a day off.”
“Yeah, until I get paged in for another emergency and you accidentally run me over in the parking lot on my way in,” Callie teased relentlessly.
Waving her off, Arizona opened the door. “Yeah, yeah,” she grumbled, pouting. “Ice pack, coming up.”
Callie sighed contently as she was left alone again, settling into the bed and letting the IV do its thing. Alone and unashamed, she couldn’t seem to stop grinning, feeling monumentally better with every passing minute.
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