I Thought I Just Saw A Ghost (1/?)
Title: I Thought I Just Saw A Ghost (1/?)
Author: asirnay
Pairing: Callie/Arizona, Mark/Lexie, Arizona/Teddy (friendship), Callie/Mark (friendship)
Rating: PG-13
Summary: What happened after the end of episode 7.10
As Callie Torres poured spaghetti sauce over cooked angel hair pasta, she heard a familiar knock on the door. Immediately, she placed the pot back down on the stove.
“Mark”, she called out her roommate’s name after sucking her teeth. “Did you forget your keys?”
The ortho surgeon went over to let Sloan in, only to find someone else instead. Someone she thought would never see again.
“Okay. So, picture this. I’m in Africa, and everything is great. And the people are so nice. And the clinic is amazing. And I’m doing work that actually feels important.”
The raven haired beauty stood in the doorway, not believing what she was seeing and hearing. There, in the hallway, was Arizona Robbins. She spoke quickly, as if her life depended on it. Such a display knocked the wind out of Callie’s sails.
“I can... I can actually see that I’m making a difference. But, I’m crying.” Her raspy voice was more than enough evidence of the pain she felt while she was away. “Like, constantly. And then, this guy that I work with at the clinic finally asked me what’s wrong. And I say that I miss my girlfriend. Like, I really miss her. So, then he asks me if I want to go back, if they could replace me. And then I open my mouth to say no. But, what comes out weirdly instead was yes. And so I did. And then I came back”.
As Arizona found herself on the verge of shedding tears, she paused to catch her breath. Her beloved Calliope just stood there, trying to process it all. The peds surgeon took note of Torres’ new hairstyle. She missed running her fingers through that jet black mane. She longed for the moment when she would get to do it again.
“You look really pretty.” Robbins hoped to finally get a reaction of Callie. She hoped to find herself back in her arms and start all over again.
All the ortho surgeon did was simply look at her ex-girlfriend, who stood before her making silent pleas. But, Callie just didn’t have it in her to deal with Arizona that night. She slammed the door shut right in her face.
To say that the blonde haired beauty was heartbroken would’ve been an understatement. But, she didn’t come that far only to give up.
“Calliope!” She knocked on the door again. Her raspy voice cracked as she began to cry. “Calliope, please!”
Callie stood on the other side, frozen. She began shaking her head, as her ex continued to knock. Not knowing what to do, she sat down on the couch. Her gaze was fixed on the hardwood floor, hoping that Arizona would go away.
Robbins knocked one final time. Her forehead pressed against the door, she succumbed fully to the tears she tried so desperately to hold back. Callie shed a tear herself, angry at the fact that she allowed this to affect her.
Suddenly, the door to the apartment across the hall opened. The same apartment Robbins and Torres used to call home before deciding to leave for Malawi.
“Look, lady.” A man, in his mid thirties, stepped out into the hallway. “It’s too late for this. Some of us gotta get up early in the morning for work.”
“I’m sorry.” Arizona turned towards him as she wiped away tears from her eyes. “I...I was just leaving.”
At that moment, he recognized the blonde haired beauty as one half of the couple that he and his wife subletted the apartment from. Seeing Arizona made him a little angrier since her ex kept harassing them about ending their agreement earlier than they intended. Robbins quickly made her retreat down the hallway.
Mark Sloan felt like the luckiest guy in the world. After he and Torres once again put an end to their friends-with-benefits status; he finally managed to win back the woman he truly loved, Lexie Grey. For months, he had been persistent in telling her that he missed her and wanted her back, only to be shot down again and again. He was disappointed, yet he didn’t waste his time desperately pining for her. Sloan did what he normally would do with his free time. He had sex. With nurses. And drug reps. And with Amelia Shepherd, the last of Derek’s sisters he had yet to sleep with. When Callie admitted that she missed Arizona after sleeping with him, Mark felt relieved. He didn’t feel as guilty about thinking of Lexie. He knew it was time to try again. Things hadn’t magically healed themselves once he kissed Little Grey. There were many things they had to discuss. But at least, this time she was willing to hear him out.
The plastic surgeon was eager to share the news with his roommate. After dropping Lexie off, he immediately headed home. As he approached the apartment building, he noticed a blonde haired woman quickly walking out of the front entrance. She looked familiar. Perhaps she was someone he had slept with before, but couldn’t place her name. Maybe it was the new neighbor that subletted Callie’s apartment. But no, this woman was too short. The blonde glanced back at Sloan as she brushed away a tear from her piercing blue eyes. She quickly turned her head and proceeded to walk across the street towards Seattle Grace-Mercy West Hospital.
“Hey, Torres.” Mark entered the apartment and removed his leather jacket. “You’re gonna think I’m crazy, but I thought I just saw Robbins leaving the building.”
“You’re not crazy”.
Sloan turned towards his best friend after hanging his jacket on the coat rack. “What?”
“I said, you’re not crazy.” Callie took a swig of wine straight from the bottle. “She was here.”
“Did you at least talk to her? It looked like she was crying.”
“No, I didn’t.” Torres drank more wine.
“You didn’t?! You told me this morning that you missed her!”
“I did. I mean, I do. But...”
“But?”
“She just waltzes back over here, and gives me this speech about how miserable she was over in Malawi and now she’s back. Like I wasn’t miserable here in Seattle.” Mark sat beside Callie on the couch. She passed the bottle of wine to him. Sloan immediately took a sip. “Then, she told me I looked really pretty. Like that’s going to magically make things right.”
“First of all, she didn’t just waltz back over here. Malawi is 18 hours away, remember?” Callie looked over at Mark as he put his arm around her. “Second, you are really pretty.”
Callie smiled.
“I thought this is what you wanted, Torres. I thought you wanted to make things right with her.”
“She left me, Mark. She. Left. Me. Suppose I take her back? Suppose we do make things right? Who’s to say she won’t just up and leave me again once we hit another rough patch?”
“Well, I can’t answer that for you, kid. But, I’ll tell you this. She made a huge sacrifice. A huge one. The biggest opportunity she’s ever had, and probably ever will have, in her whole entire career. And she gave it all up. For you. In my book, that’s got to count for something.”
Deep in her heart, Callie knew that he was right. George certainly wouldn’t have made such a sacrifice. Erica wouldn’t have either. But the reality of it all was just too painful to deal with at the moment. She needed time to figure things out.
Teddy Altman, finally done with her shift, waited anxiously in the hospital lobby to hear from her good friend Arizona. The cardio goddess was the first person she contacted once her plane landed in Seattle. Robbins told her of her intentions to win back the love of her life. It gave Altman a warm feeling inside. It made her believe in the possibility of finding that kind of love for herself again. She wanted someone to look at her the same way Callie and Arizona did each other, full of adoration. Her thoughts returned to Henry, a patient who was discharged from the hospital since had no insurance. She offered to marry him so he could have some coverage. Teddy rarely made such impulsive decisions, but she felt that she couldn’t allow him to go back home only to wait around to die.
Altman glanced at her phone for what had to have been the hundredth time. All must’ve been well between Arizona and Callie. Finally, she grabbed her purse and headed for the parking lot. As soon as she exited the building, she saw the peds surgeon approaching. The look of defeat was in her eyes.
“Aw, sweetie.” Teddy sighed. “What happened?”
“I poured my heart out. I really did. And she slammed the door right in my face.”
“Come here.” Altman stretched out her arms to give her friend a much needed hug.
“Maybe I shouldn’t have come back.” Arizona took comfort from Teddy’s warm embrace. “Maybe I should’ve just stayed in Malawi and honored my commitment to helping the tiny humans over there.”
“But, you would’ve still been miserable.”
“She hates me.”
“No, she doesn’t. She wouldn’t be upset right now if she didn’t love you. Callie still loves you, Arizona.”
“I deserve any animosity she has towards me. The way I left things...the way I left that gorgeous woman standing in the middle of an airport, crying and broken. I mean, who does that? Who does that to someone they love?! I did! I’m a heartless, soul-less monster!”
“No, you’re not!” Teddy placed her hand firmly upon Arizona’s shoulder and looked her directly in the eye. “Listen to me. You made a mistake. We all do. So, stop beating yourself up, okay? ‘Cause, you and Callie? You two are made for each other. You’re going to work things out.”
Robbins was caught off guard by Altman’s pep talk. “How could you be so sure?”
“I just know.” The cardio goddess smiled, beaming with confidence that picked up her friend’s spirits. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”
Alex Karev stepped off the elevator, extremely tired. Dr. Stark paged him to assist with a surgery after he finished helping Dr. Torres with a hip replacement. He let out a yawn that could wake up the dead. All he could think of was heading back home to Meredith’s crowded house and crashing in his bed. He noticed two blonde haired women walking towards the parking lot. One was Dr. Altman, but the other couldn’t have been who he thought she was.
A nurse who walked past them entered the building. Karev quickly walked over to her.
“Excuse me?”
“Yes?” The nurse had a crush on the 4th year resident and was a bit nervous when he approached her.
“Was that Dr. Robbins with Dr. Altman?”
“Oh.” The nurse was disappointed. “Yeah, she met with the Chief about an hour ago. I think she’s coming back.”
“She is?”
“Yeah, I think she is.”
Karev firmly grabbed the nurse by the arms and planted a kiss right on the lips. When he pulled away, she was flustered.
“Thank you! Thank you!” Alex couldn’t hide his elation even if he tried. “Yes! She’s back! She’s back! Wooo!”
Instead of going home, Karev headed straight to Joe’s to have a celebratory drink.
“Hey!” The nurse yelled out in vain after him. “Call me!”
Author: asirnay
Pairing: Callie/Arizona, Mark/Lexie, Arizona/Teddy (friendship), Callie/Mark (friendship)
Rating: PG-13
Summary: What happened after the end of episode 7.10
As Callie Torres poured spaghetti sauce over cooked angel hair pasta, she heard a familiar knock on the door. Immediately, she placed the pot back down on the stove.
“Mark”, she called out her roommate’s name after sucking her teeth. “Did you forget your keys?”
The ortho surgeon went over to let Sloan in, only to find someone else instead. Someone she thought would never see again.
“Okay. So, picture this. I’m in Africa, and everything is great. And the people are so nice. And the clinic is amazing. And I’m doing work that actually feels important.”
The raven haired beauty stood in the doorway, not believing what she was seeing and hearing. There, in the hallway, was Arizona Robbins. She spoke quickly, as if her life depended on it. Such a display knocked the wind out of Callie’s sails.
“I can... I can actually see that I’m making a difference. But, I’m crying.” Her raspy voice was more than enough evidence of the pain she felt while she was away. “Like, constantly. And then, this guy that I work with at the clinic finally asked me what’s wrong. And I say that I miss my girlfriend. Like, I really miss her. So, then he asks me if I want to go back, if they could replace me. And then I open my mouth to say no. But, what comes out weirdly instead was yes. And so I did. And then I came back”.
As Arizona found herself on the verge of shedding tears, she paused to catch her breath. Her beloved Calliope just stood there, trying to process it all. The peds surgeon took note of Torres’ new hairstyle. She missed running her fingers through that jet black mane. She longed for the moment when she would get to do it again.
“You look really pretty.” Robbins hoped to finally get a reaction of Callie. She hoped to find herself back in her arms and start all over again.
All the ortho surgeon did was simply look at her ex-girlfriend, who stood before her making silent pleas. But, Callie just didn’t have it in her to deal with Arizona that night. She slammed the door shut right in her face.
To say that the blonde haired beauty was heartbroken would’ve been an understatement. But, she didn’t come that far only to give up.
“Calliope!” She knocked on the door again. Her raspy voice cracked as she began to cry. “Calliope, please!”
Callie stood on the other side, frozen. She began shaking her head, as her ex continued to knock. Not knowing what to do, she sat down on the couch. Her gaze was fixed on the hardwood floor, hoping that Arizona would go away.
Robbins knocked one final time. Her forehead pressed against the door, she succumbed fully to the tears she tried so desperately to hold back. Callie shed a tear herself, angry at the fact that she allowed this to affect her.
Suddenly, the door to the apartment across the hall opened. The same apartment Robbins and Torres used to call home before deciding to leave for Malawi.
“Look, lady.” A man, in his mid thirties, stepped out into the hallway. “It’s too late for this. Some of us gotta get up early in the morning for work.”
“I’m sorry.” Arizona turned towards him as she wiped away tears from her eyes. “I...I was just leaving.”
At that moment, he recognized the blonde haired beauty as one half of the couple that he and his wife subletted the apartment from. Seeing Arizona made him a little angrier since her ex kept harassing them about ending their agreement earlier than they intended. Robbins quickly made her retreat down the hallway.
Mark Sloan felt like the luckiest guy in the world. After he and Torres once again put an end to their friends-with-benefits status; he finally managed to win back the woman he truly loved, Lexie Grey. For months, he had been persistent in telling her that he missed her and wanted her back, only to be shot down again and again. He was disappointed, yet he didn’t waste his time desperately pining for her. Sloan did what he normally would do with his free time. He had sex. With nurses. And drug reps. And with Amelia Shepherd, the last of Derek’s sisters he had yet to sleep with. When Callie admitted that she missed Arizona after sleeping with him, Mark felt relieved. He didn’t feel as guilty about thinking of Lexie. He knew it was time to try again. Things hadn’t magically healed themselves once he kissed Little Grey. There were many things they had to discuss. But at least, this time she was willing to hear him out.
The plastic surgeon was eager to share the news with his roommate. After dropping Lexie off, he immediately headed home. As he approached the apartment building, he noticed a blonde haired woman quickly walking out of the front entrance. She looked familiar. Perhaps she was someone he had slept with before, but couldn’t place her name. Maybe it was the new neighbor that subletted Callie’s apartment. But no, this woman was too short. The blonde glanced back at Sloan as she brushed away a tear from her piercing blue eyes. She quickly turned her head and proceeded to walk across the street towards Seattle Grace-Mercy West Hospital.
“Hey, Torres.” Mark entered the apartment and removed his leather jacket. “You’re gonna think I’m crazy, but I thought I just saw Robbins leaving the building.”
“You’re not crazy”.
Sloan turned towards his best friend after hanging his jacket on the coat rack. “What?”
“I said, you’re not crazy.” Callie took a swig of wine straight from the bottle. “She was here.”
“Did you at least talk to her? It looked like she was crying.”
“No, I didn’t.” Torres drank more wine.
“You didn’t?! You told me this morning that you missed her!”
“I did. I mean, I do. But...”
“But?”
“She just waltzes back over here, and gives me this speech about how miserable she was over in Malawi and now she’s back. Like I wasn’t miserable here in Seattle.” Mark sat beside Callie on the couch. She passed the bottle of wine to him. Sloan immediately took a sip. “Then, she told me I looked really pretty. Like that’s going to magically make things right.”
“First of all, she didn’t just waltz back over here. Malawi is 18 hours away, remember?” Callie looked over at Mark as he put his arm around her. “Second, you are really pretty.”
Callie smiled.
“I thought this is what you wanted, Torres. I thought you wanted to make things right with her.”
“She left me, Mark. She. Left. Me. Suppose I take her back? Suppose we do make things right? Who’s to say she won’t just up and leave me again once we hit another rough patch?”
“Well, I can’t answer that for you, kid. But, I’ll tell you this. She made a huge sacrifice. A huge one. The biggest opportunity she’s ever had, and probably ever will have, in her whole entire career. And she gave it all up. For you. In my book, that’s got to count for something.”
Deep in her heart, Callie knew that he was right. George certainly wouldn’t have made such a sacrifice. Erica wouldn’t have either. But the reality of it all was just too painful to deal with at the moment. She needed time to figure things out.
Teddy Altman, finally done with her shift, waited anxiously in the hospital lobby to hear from her good friend Arizona. The cardio goddess was the first person she contacted once her plane landed in Seattle. Robbins told her of her intentions to win back the love of her life. It gave Altman a warm feeling inside. It made her believe in the possibility of finding that kind of love for herself again. She wanted someone to look at her the same way Callie and Arizona did each other, full of adoration. Her thoughts returned to Henry, a patient who was discharged from the hospital since had no insurance. She offered to marry him so he could have some coverage. Teddy rarely made such impulsive decisions, but she felt that she couldn’t allow him to go back home only to wait around to die.
Altman glanced at her phone for what had to have been the hundredth time. All must’ve been well between Arizona and Callie. Finally, she grabbed her purse and headed for the parking lot. As soon as she exited the building, she saw the peds surgeon approaching. The look of defeat was in her eyes.
“Aw, sweetie.” Teddy sighed. “What happened?”
“I poured my heart out. I really did. And she slammed the door right in my face.”
“Come here.” Altman stretched out her arms to give her friend a much needed hug.
“Maybe I shouldn’t have come back.” Arizona took comfort from Teddy’s warm embrace. “Maybe I should’ve just stayed in Malawi and honored my commitment to helping the tiny humans over there.”
“But, you would’ve still been miserable.”
“She hates me.”
“No, she doesn’t. She wouldn’t be upset right now if she didn’t love you. Callie still loves you, Arizona.”
“I deserve any animosity she has towards me. The way I left things...the way I left that gorgeous woman standing in the middle of an airport, crying and broken. I mean, who does that? Who does that to someone they love?! I did! I’m a heartless, soul-less monster!”
“No, you’re not!” Teddy placed her hand firmly upon Arizona’s shoulder and looked her directly in the eye. “Listen to me. You made a mistake. We all do. So, stop beating yourself up, okay? ‘Cause, you and Callie? You two are made for each other. You’re going to work things out.”
Robbins was caught off guard by Altman’s pep talk. “How could you be so sure?”
“I just know.” The cardio goddess smiled, beaming with confidence that picked up her friend’s spirits. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”
Alex Karev stepped off the elevator, extremely tired. Dr. Stark paged him to assist with a surgery after he finished helping Dr. Torres with a hip replacement. He let out a yawn that could wake up the dead. All he could think of was heading back home to Meredith’s crowded house and crashing in his bed. He noticed two blonde haired women walking towards the parking lot. One was Dr. Altman, but the other couldn’t have been who he thought she was.
A nurse who walked past them entered the building. Karev quickly walked over to her.
“Excuse me?”
“Yes?” The nurse had a crush on the 4th year resident and was a bit nervous when he approached her.
“Was that Dr. Robbins with Dr. Altman?”
“Oh.” The nurse was disappointed. “Yeah, she met with the Chief about an hour ago. I think she’s coming back.”
“She is?”
“Yeah, I think she is.”
Karev firmly grabbed the nurse by the arms and planted a kiss right on the lips. When he pulled away, she was flustered.
“Thank you! Thank you!” Alex couldn’t hide his elation even if he tried. “Yes! She’s back! She’s back! Wooo!”
Instead of going home, Karev headed straight to Joe’s to have a celebratory drink.
“Hey!” The nurse yelled out in vain after him. “Call me!”