Title: Unbreakable
Author: saoirsegirl
Pairing: Callie/Arizona
Rating: PG-13
Summary: My way of fixing what happened in 7x07
Disclaimer: Sadly I don’t own Grey's. This was not written for profit and no copyright infringements are intended.
A/N: I never wrote any fics. But something urged me to write this. So this is first. Oh, and english not my first language, so there could be many mistakes :)
Love is madness. Love is power without boundaries. Love is unpredictable. Love can bring us on out knees. Love can leave the deepest scars. And when love hurts us very deeply, we’re trying to hide, to run, to forget, to escape. Trying not to feel.
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Airport
The airport was full of people, moving somewhere, hurrying to someone, not noticing anything around them. So no one paid any attention to a lone figure, sitting in a corner of a waiting room. It seemed like this person was frozen outside time and space. Strikingly beautiful Latina just sat there, looking at something only she could see, and silent tears streamed down her flawless face. And bewitching chocolate eyes expressed only endless pain and desperation.
Later that night. Mark’s apartment
-So what did you do? - finally asked Mark after Callie finished her story of this disastrous evening.
-What could I do, Mark? I was rooted to the floor after her words. I stayed there after she walked away and couldn’t do a thing! She ripped my heart out and I couldn’t do anything about that…
He handed her another bottle of beer. They were sitting in his living room for about an hour. When he earlier opened his door and saw Callie with crushed look on her face, he wasn’t surprised. Mark suspected that this could happen. But he was hoping till the end that everything will be ok. And now he simply didn’t know what to do. What to say to his best friend. Things that she wants to hear or things that should be told. His thoughts were interrupted by Callie’s voice.
-I men, how could she? Break up with me in the middle of the airport! How could she be so heartless and cold? I didn’t deserve it, damn it!
Desire to tell the truth won over.
-Cal… You now I’m your friend. But you need to listen to me. I know that you don’t wanna hear this, but… - He took a deep breath. - Yes, what she did was awful. There is no excuse for that. But… maybe… she was right?
-What?!
-Don’t look at me like that. Deep down you know what I’m talking about. You didn’t want to go to Africa. Last month you were bitchy or sad or indifferent. If I saw this, than Blondie saw this too. She constantly asked you about your mood and your decision. But you… You just locked yourself in some sort of shell. You couldn’t bring yourself to love Africa. And Arizona did only one thing she could. She let you go.
-She dumped me!
-You would be miserable there! She knew this. You knew this. And she gave you an opportunity to be happy.
-You’re supposed to be on my side… - Callie whined. Marl smiled sadly.
-I’m on your side. But I want you to see all sides of this… mess. I know that you’re hurt. But try to understand her. Yes, she broke up with you. In a very hurtful way. She picked wrong time and place. She should have talked to you long before today. She made many mistakes. But she loves you so much that she let you go.
-Can I be you when I grow up? - this sarcastic remark was only thin Callie could say.
Heavy silence hung in the air. Callie was trying to sort everything out. She recalled all little details she said, done during the last month. And Mark was hoping that he made right decision. That he maybe made a difference for this person. Person that was with him during hardest moments of his life.
-What should I do, Mark?
-What do you want to do?
-I don’t know…
She looked so fragile, so confused. But this time only Callie need to decide what to do with her life.
-Then you should sleep. It’s late. And you look like hell.
With this words he thrown her a pillow and a blanket.
-Don’t worry, you’ll figure it out.
-Thanks Mark.
-Anytime.
Two weeks later
During all this time Callie stayed at Mark’s apartment. Sometimes she sat staring at the wall, listening to the sound of rain. Sometimes she danced it out to blasting music like there is no tomorrow. Sometimes she picked her, but after a couple minutes of contemplating put id down. Sometimes Callie and Mark drunk themselves into stupor. Sometimes they talked late into the night about everything and anything. But most of the time they talked about the loves of their life’s. Mark and Lexie steadily built new relationship from the scratch. And Callie was happy for them. Then Lexie started to show at the apartment . With doughnuts. And blabbing non stop about the newest gossips in the hospital. Latina asked question, joked, smiled. But every moment of every day she was thinking about Arizona. Thinking. Analyzing. Contemplating. Trying to make a decision.
And tonight sitting in Mark’s living room while watching football game the decision came. Mark wasn’t prepared for Callie’s cheerful exclamation.
-Mark! - He almost dropped his beer. - I know. I know what I need to do!
-Thanks for almost giving me a heart attack… Soo… what you need to do?
-I need to do a new haircut. Something shorter… Much shorter…
Torres was smiling from ear to ear and plastic surgeon was a little bit worried that his best friend finally lost her mind.
-Mmm… May I ask you, why MUCH?
Now he saw something new in her eyes. Hope.
-Because It’s very hot in Malawi…
4 days later
Callie’s plane took off about 5 hours earlier. It was hot, uncomfortable and just plain uneasy. But any of this couldn’t lessen the smile on her face. Hopeful, giddy, nervous smile.
It took her 4 days to arrange this trip, find out about location of the hospital, pack her things and make a new haircut.
She had a long talk with Mark. No, he didn’t try to talk her out of this. He just made her promise him to be careful. And especially with her heart. Lexie was exited beyond measures. And was already planning a trip to visit them both. But sitting here on this plane, Callie was sure of her choice. In her head and in her heart she knew that this is the right decision. And simple. To be with the love of her life. No matter what. Yes, she knew that there will be a lot of talking, a lot of explaining. But for now no one issue or insecurity could change her mind.
20 hours later
Arizona was sitting in her office. Trying to read a chart. Trying to concentrate. But her eyes didn’t see the letters or numbers. She only saw the face of her ex (it hurt like hell to even think that) girlfriend. Face filled with panic and desperation. Face she saw for the last time when she broke up with Calliope in the middle of the airport. Face she sees every night in her dreams. Peds surgeon desperately tried to forget, to move on. She buried herself in work and researches. She drove herself to the point of exhaustion. But every night, every single night she saw beautiful Latina in her sleep.
She knew that she made a big mistake. The biggest mistake of her life. But how could she mend what was such coldly broken? Arizona wanted so badly to just pick a phone and dial a familiar number. She wanted to hear the most beautiful sound on this earth. Calliope’s voice. She wanted to apologize. She wanted to throw all cautions to the wind and just go home. Home. Calliope. But she couldn’t. She was scared. Scared that Callie would hate her. Scared that she wouldn’t give her a chance. Scared that the most important and needed person in her life just slipped like sand through her fingers. So she worked, worked again and simply existed.
But not today. Today she couldn’t even work. Every second her mind was bringing her back to Callie. So she sat there staring at the chart while hot salty tears ran down her face.
Soft knock at the door sounded like a shot. Without waiting for an answer door slowly opened. And Arizona forgot how to breathe. So much emotions ran through her at the same time. Happiness. Panic. Wonder. Regret. Longing. Uncertainty. Love. She wanted to ask so many question. She wanted so much to say. She wanted to scream and then crush ortho surgeon in her embrace and never let her go. But as she was looking at smiling face of one Calliope Torres, she could squeeze out only one sentence.
-You cut your hair…
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Love is unstoppable force. Because we can’t run from it. We can’t close our hearts and tell then not to feel. Because life always finds her way. Breaks the walls. Makes us hope. Makes us do something insane. Makes us stronger. Makes us vulnerable. Makes us alive. Because love is madness.