Midnight Oil: Special Assignment - Episode Six: Afterglow
Disclaimer: We own nothing and borrow lots. No, really... lots. Like the characters of Callie Torres, Arizona Robbins, Mark Sloan, Cristina Yang, Lexie Grey, Miranda Bailey, Derek Shepherd, George O'Malley, and possibly every other character past or present on Grey's Anatomy which are the sole intellectual property of Shonda Rhimes, Shondaland and ABC. All ideas for this story are from our collaborative brains and influenced by many other TV shows and movies, most notably Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The X-Files, Castle, Law and Order and CSI. This is purely for entertainment purposes and sadly, no profit is being gained.
Ratings: Overall rating of this story is PG-13ish to R. This story will likely contain adult themes, activity, and language; violence; suspense; torture; drug abuse; and sexual situations or sexually-oriented nudity. But not all at the same time or all in this episode.
Feedback: Yes, please. I mean... we're not that needy. Much. We'll totally love you forever if we know you're reading and even marginally enjoying it. Without feedback, there is no love for you and less enjoyment in writing for us.
Story Information: This is Alternative Universe fanfiction. None of the characters have the occupations that Shonda Rhimes intended. We simply asked ourselves how career choices can change the directions of the characters' lives, but not who they are as a person. Callie Torres, Mark Sloan, and Miranda Bailey work for the Seattle Police Department. Captain Arizona Robbins and Cristina Yang are paramedics. Lexie Grey is a crime scene technician. Crime, injuries, and death occur in their city as Callie and Arizona get to know one another on a more personal level.
Episode One: Every New Beginning
Episode Two: Everyone Is Waiting
Episode Three: Inhale Exhale
Episode Four: Connection
Episode Five: Pinch Me
Episode Six: Afterglow
Callie woke in a dark room. The only light came from the red numbers of a digital clock; the candles had burnt out of their own accord long before they had even gotten around to sleeping.
Every time you've finally gotten something right, there's always that perfect moment where you can sit back and reflect, and feel great about yourself, your life, and the direction it's going in. Often times we miss that moment. Which is why it's even more special when we notice it.
She was afraid to move. Arizona was soundly asleep, on top of her left arm. Callie wiggled her fingers, surprised that the limb wasn't completely asleep. Shifting slightly, she rolled to get a better view of her sleeping partner. She watched the rise and fall of her body in the dim red light of the clock as she breathed in and out.
The thin sheet covered them partially in places, and not at all in others, as it tangled around limbs and fell halfway to the floor. Callie smiled. The night could not have been more perfect.
Arizona's nose crinkled and she raised her hand to her face to scratch lightly at an apparent phantom piece of hair. She took a deep breath and curled towards the warm part of the bed, but when she felt naked skin, her left eye opened slowly to see a woman grinning down at her. Her right eye opened and adjusted to the lack of light in the room. As Callie came into focus, she let out a breath of relief.
"Yay, it's Callie." Leaning forward, she tried to sneak a quick kiss, but Callie pulled back.
But it always is gone in an instant.
"Were you expecting someone else?"
Arizona shook her head vigorously, "No, no, I didn't mean it like that." Running her arm slowly down Callie's side, she tugging her hip to get her closer. "I mean - you stayed!" her eyes shot up as she thought for a moment, "All night, and morning, too."
Suddenly paranoid, Callie pulled her arm from under Arizona as she shifted to sit up. "You're right. Why did I stay all night? I shouldn’t have stayed all night. That makes me weird and clingy. But I just woke up, so I couldn't have left. Go back to sleep," she babbled.
Callie tightened the sheet around her chest, while at the same time, Arizona let it fall. "What? No." Her confusion was unmistakable. "Callie," she said quietly, reaching out to her arm to calm her nerves. "I'm really happy that you stayed."
"You are?" Callie looked coyly at Arizona.
"Yes, very much." Arizona scooted closer and smiled widely, "Very much."
Her head dipped down as she caught Callie's lips for a slow kiss and she pulled away giggling, "I'm so sorry, I didn't even ask about morning breath." She cupped her hand in front of her mouth and huffed a couple times in her hand.
"Arizona," Callie pulled her hand away from her face and smiled back at her, "it was okay," her eyes squinted in thought, "Actually, more than okay."
A grin blossomed across Arizona's face, "Well, yay."
Living in perfection though, isn't needed for more than a moment, because the day to day is better.
* * *
Arizona squeezed Callie's arm and leaned into her as they walked out into the cool, late evening air. "What do you want for breakfast?"
"Our schedules really suck, you know? I would love to actually get a good breakfast at this time of day." Callie turned the corner toward the police car and stopped dead in her tracks.
"Oh no."
Arizona was jerked to a stop with Callie. "Oh no, what?"
"Oh no," Callie repeated. Her hand instinctively went to her hip, forgetting that she had locked her firearm in the trunk of the squad car.
Arizona followed Callie's sight line and whispered out slowly, "Oh. No."
She watched Callie double time it to the cruiser and surveyed the scene herself. The driver’s side window was broken, with glass on the road and gnarly pieces still encased in the window frame. Arizona scanned the sidewalks and nearby alley. The street was silent, so she walked closer, peeking into the car.
“What are you doing?” Callie approached her with her sidearm pulled, “Get back inside.”
Arizona’s brow furrowed, “Did you just order me into my house?”
Fully into cop mode, Callie quickly ran through the realities, “We don’t know if the vandal is still here, what has been taken, or planted. So go inside your apartment and wait for me to clear the scene.”
“The scene is clear, Callie,” Arizona crossed her arms and raised her eyebrows, “Trust me, I know city warfare. We’re fine.”
"Then you should know that if there is a bomb planted in this car, it could be a used as a secondary device that will blow once I have backup here, so that it causes maximum damage." Callie looked at the radio in her car and decided that she didn't want to move it.
"Don't you think you're over-reacting?" Arizona asked. "Are you telling me you're going to call the bomb squad?"
Callie sighed. "I don't know!" She reached for her phone. "We don't have a protocol for this!"
Arizona stared at her calmly. "Yes you do, Detective Torres. Think."
Reaching for her cell phone, Callie closed her eyes. She knew what she had to do and dreaded the call more than the one she would have made to the tactical team. She took a deep breath, went to her recently called list, and dialed her partner.
"Sloan," she heard on the other end.
* * *
Lexie twirled her fiberglass brush over the interior smooth surfaces of the car, looking for any latent fingerprints. She felt kind of guilty doing so, as this was one of the newest patrol cars and she was making it probably one of the dirtiest in the whole fleet.
She'd already swabbed some things for DNA, but doubted whoever vandalized the car was likely to have been inside.
The exterior only had a few prints, and they were in places likely to be the normal drivers and passengers. She doubted she was going to get anything useful and thought the whole process was a waste of her time. Over the radio, she was hearing about more interesting sounding scenes that she could be processing.
She looked up and could see Detective Sloan sipping a hot cup of coffee, and decided it wasn’t a total loss because she was sure that he was the most handsome man she had ever seen. And yet, there she was, in her stupid ugly uniform, covered in black fingerprint powder, without a chance in the world.
Mark leaned toward Arizona and grinned widely at her, "I notice that we are at your apartment, Rocketeer, and that my partner is wearing the same clothes she left the station in yesterday."
"Ugh," Arizona rolled her eyes in disgust, "You are immature."
Puffing his chest out, Mark laughed, "That is all the answer I needed, thank you. I'm going to go and yell at my partner now." He took a long gulp from his coffee as he felt a hand tug back on his arm forcefully.
"No, no yelling. No chiding. You will be supportive because you are her partner and this all sucks." She caught the twinkle in his eyes before she released a slight whine, "I was going to have pancakes."
Leaning towards her, Mark smirked, "All that syrup didn't fill you up last night?" He couldn't stop chuckling until he was punched squarely in the shoulder by the petite Marine. "Ow, what have you got hidden in that fist, Robbins?"
She raised her eyebrows at him, "No jokes, Mark. Supportive and understanding partner."
He waved at her as he ventured toward Callie. "Torres," he grunted at her, "I give you Amelia and you let this happen?"
"This wasn't my fault, Mark." She shook her head. "I don't know how this shit happens to me."
"You're a shit magnet, Torres."
Callie could tell that his tone was jovial, but it didn't help her feel any better about it. She had moved on to anger from disbelief. She started ranting at him in Spanish.
"Hey!" Mark grabbed her arms, "Stop speaking Spanish. I don't speak Spanish! I hate it when you do this!"
Callie took a deep breath. "Okay, listen," she said more slowly in English, "there's something I have to tell you."
"What? You finally boinked the pilot? I already know that."
"Mark!" He could see her anger boiling up and quit his usual humor.
"Okay, what?"
"The two unsolved cases we're working?"
"What about them?" he asked.
"The files were stolen from the front seat. It's the only thing missing. All my gear in the trunk was fine."
Mark's lower lip jutted out in thought, "Huh, that's an interesting development." He leaned to his right, catching a glimpse of Lexie crouching near the car, and felt a hand smack his chest.
"Focus Sloan. I need you to focus." Callie pointed to her eyes and then tapped on her forehead.
He snorted and looked back at the squad car, "I was focusing, uh, was it both files taken?"
"That's what I said Mark, nothing else is missing. I've done the inventory, even the cash in the front bench, still there."
The radio in the car crackled and Lexie popped up quickly to her full height as she took in the chatter. They were calling for CSU to respond to a murder scene. Her heart beat in double time and she turned to the two detectives, "Well, I'm done here, so I'm going to go to the scene with the dead body."
She grinned widely as she snapped off her gloves before taking in Detective Torres’ face, "Not that I didn't feel useful here at this also important scene, which I was very happy to have been called to, to be at... Detective."
Callie nodded. She understood how rote this processing must have been for the eager crime scene tech, "I appreciate it Lexie, and you can call me Torres."
"Thanks, Torres," with that, Lexie packed up her kit of supplies and jogged off scene carrying two small bags of evidence. Callie thought she was almost skipping.
She looked up and rolled her shoulders, sighing heavily. "I should have never gotten out of bed this morning," she said wearily. Arizona slipped her hands over Callie's shoulders.
"You're right. Let's go back to bed," she whispered in Callie's ear.
Nodding in agreement, Callie turned to face her and saw Sloan gesturing in a wait a minute motion as he held his phone to an ear. Callie's face downturned and she did as she was told, holding her breath without realizing it.
A few moments passed before Sloan replied, "We'll be right there."
Callie wasn't especially fond of the plural form he just used and gripped Arizona's hand tightly.
"Okay, let's book it. Shepherd wants us on scene, and we might as well take your crime scene to the next one." Mark trotted away towards his Mustang and called over his shoulder, "We're going in civvies Torres, just bring your shield."
Callie's head fell forward with a groan and she laced her fingers through Arizona's, "I'm so sorry, I know this is supposed to be weekend time today with pancakes and--" she felt a finger shush her as Arizona leaned in for a quick kiss.
"Don't worry. I'll just hang out here in my big bad neighborhood all by myself and wait for you to return." Arizona leaned forward, adjusting the collar of Callie's jacket.
"Mmmhmm," Callie's eyes narrowed as she took in Arizona's poker face, "so what you mean to say is that instead of that, you are going to…?"
"Don't worry about me. I might call Cristina and see what she's up to. Nothing big. We'll be laying low." Arizona dropped her hand and winked. "Call me later."
Torres nodded, "I will."
"Torres! Let's go!" Sloan yelled from the cruiser.
Callie gave Arizona a quick kiss and walked to the car. She opened the door and pulled the sleeve of her coat over her hand, brushing broken glass to the ground before getting in the passenger seat. "Shepherd, huh?"
"Another homicide."
"It's our day off, though. Where is everyone else?" Callie asked as Mark turned on the sirens and pulled away from the parking lot.
"We were requested," Sloan shrugged.
* * *
Callie rolled her eyes as they pulled up beside Emerald City Bar, "Mark, if you drug me away to your bar to try and get me to spill about Arizona..." She stopped complaining when he tugged his shield out from under his leather jacket and opened the door.
"I was serious, Callie. Now step to it and let's get this over with so you can get back to Maverick."
Callie pushed open the door and jogged lightly to catch up to him, "You're never going to knock it off with the nicknames, are you?"
"Not until you spill some of the stories about her helping spin your rotary blades." His wolfish grin spread across his face for a moment until he lead them closer to the dank and ripe smelling alley between Joe's and a bargain bookstore.
Callie stopped dead in her tracks when she made it to the other side of the big green dumpster. The victim in front of them had lost a very large volume of blood, which was starting to separate into serum and a weird looking gelatinous mass of dark red goo. His clothes were also covered in blood and there were several very deep looking cuts to different parts of his body.
"Ouch," Mark said from her side.
Callie looked around the very narrow alleyway. "Doesn't look like there was much of a struggle here."
Just then Lexie stepped out of the back door of the bar, "There wasn't," she replied as she put new batteries in her camera. "There are absolutely no signs of a struggle at all. No shoe prints, no good surfaces for prints, no murder weapon."
Mark rubbed the heel of his hand on his forehead. "So we have nothing to work from, again?" he asked frustrated.
He looked up through his eyelashes and realized his mistake too late as Lexie was stepping back in apology. "Lexie, I'm not upset with you. You're the best damn tech I've worked with lately. You're great."
Derek interrupted the trio smiling smugly, "I know I am." He sipped lightly from his latte and hummed to himself, "So people," he zipped up his morgue jacket and winked at them, "It's a beautiful day, let's solve crimes."
"What do you see, Doc?" Callie asked, trying not to look at the dead body in front of her. She was actually quite pleased that she didn't eat breakfast this morning.
"At least three deep lacerations targeting what appears to be the axillary artery," he pointed to the left underarm of the victim where a large bloodstain saturated his shirt, "the femoral artery," he motion to the groin, “and the brachial artery," this time he pointed to the victim's right bicep. "There might be some other incised or stab wounds, but I'd have to get him back to the lab to confirm."
"Targeting?" Sloan asked, slowly raising his brow. "That's intriguing."
Derek nodded and looked up at Lexie, "Grey, are you finished processing? I don't want to step on your crime scene."
A short laugh and Lexie nodded at him as she put together her kit and collected her samples, "We're good Dr. Shepherd, although you've already stepped on it, but I appreciate the appearance of concern."
A hand hitting his heart, Derek staggered back a couple of steps, "Appearance, Grey?"
Shaking her head, she pushed past the detectives and medical examiner, "Later guys."
Watching the interaction between Lexie and Shepherd was interesting to Callie, but not as much as watching Mark watch them. His hands had started to ball up into fists and then he released them slowly while pushing his chest out and rolling his shoulders back to appear bigger. She was sure she had seen this before in a documentary on the Discovery Channel about the mating behaviors of gorillas.
"So Shepherd, you were saying about targeting?" Callie tried to drag the men back to the actual task at hand, "The amount of blood that we have on the ground. That's due to the targeting of the arteries, right? By someone who knows where they are, not just someone who is taking a stab at it." Even though she wished she could have those last few words back, Callie waited for Derek's answer.
"That's exactly right, Torres." Derek grabbed Sloan's elbow firmly as his eyes followed Lexie Grey's exit. He pulled him to the side and smiled apologetically at Callie. Turning away from her, he hissed at Mark.
"Do not even think about it. You will not pursue my wife's little sister. Lexie Grey is out of bounds."
Mark's eyes widened, "Out of bounds? Derek, since when do you have a say over who I date?"
A blast of a laugh came out of Derek, "Since when do you date? I mean bedding, Mark, and I have a say since you bedded all of my sisters--"
"Now, wait a minute, I never did anything with Amy."
Raising a finger, Derek told him to be silent, "And don't even get me started on Addison. You need to keep yourself out of the women in my life, and Lexie Grey is a woman in my life."
Turning quickly back to Callie, he patted Mark's back, "Great. Glad we agree." He smiled widely, "Now as for suspects, I think we're looking at someone not only with medical knowledge, but perhaps since we're next to Seattle Grace…"
"Are you implying that one of the doctors came over here on break and slashed up this guy?" Callie asked.
"Well, not exactly. But I think you should keep your options open," he said simply. Then his eyes shot over at Mark, "Given the right motive, I wouldn't put it past any of my colleagues."
"Ha, ha," Sloan deadpanned. "Is that the only thing you had to show us on our day off?"
"I called you so you'd be the detective on the case, Sloan. It's in your beat and I thought that looking at the build of the victim," he motioned back to the body, "It's just intriguing isn't it? A man in his mid-thirties. Six foot two inches, with a muscular build, ended up in an alleyway bleeding out. No witnesses. No cry for help." Derek looked up at Mark, "You are welcome for the call."
Callie agreed with Derek. The scene was a bit mystifying and exciting for the cop who liked to think outside of the box, but she had really wanted an open and shut homicide today.
Mark brought his hand up to his chin in thought and for the first time since arriving, actually considered the scene before him. He needed more information.
"Do we have an ID on this guy yet?"
Derek replied, "His wallet was still on him. Name listed as Vincent Wells. He lived a few blocks from here.” He pointed vaguely down the alley. “He was found dead right here, no paramedic intervention. Rigor mortis has set in, so I'd put his time of death roughly 10 to 12 hours ago. With his injuries and the amount of blood, I'd say he was killed right here. No way is this a body dump," Derek brushed his hand through his hair and reached for a pair of gloves in his back pocket.
"You two want to help me move this guy to the morgue? I'll get you more answers when I get back there."
* * *
The whirring of the doors sliding open caused Arizona to snap out of her daze and enter the ER hospital bay as she edged towards the nursing station. She was bored, which should be welcome on a day off from work to lay back and relax. Arizona hated it. She had already worked on her motorcycle, run errands, and worked out. After that came the sitting, which led to a lull when she would remember the sandbox.
“Excuse me," she leaned onto the counter and smiled warmly at the young nurse, "Have you seen a medic wandering around here? Kinda surly and blunt." Arizona's eyes darted up for a moment in thought before she flashed another smile at the nurse, "The opposite of me, really."
The cute nurse leaned in towards her and played with her red hair lightly, twirling it around her forefinger. "Well, I did see Yang wandering around here earlier. She was finishing up notes on the desk, but I think she might have headed back to the station."
Arizona's face wrinkled up for a moment, "Aw, really?" She jutted out a hip and looked behind her as her hair started to fall out of her messy ponytail. "Well thanks, Olivia, it's nice seeing you. If Yang wanders by, let her know I'm bored. She'll get it."
Dropping her eyes for a moment, Olivia nodded and then looked back at the pilot, "Will do," she paused and bit the inside of her lip, "Arizona."
Her eyes widened as Arizona realized that she thought she was having a friendly conversation, but Nurse Olivia had taken it in another way. She laughed shortly before coughing, "Actually, it's Robbins."
She watched as the young nurse’s face fell before Arizona turned on her heel and slid her phone out of her coat pocket. "Where are you, Cristina?"
* * *
"Yang," she answered the phone. Caller ID said it was Arizona. Usually when she called on her day off, it meant that she was in need of something to do. Which meant her little girlfriend had ditched her.
"After you skipped out of here, I thought I wouldn't here from you until start of shift two days from now. Are you kidding me? Do you need me to kill her? What did she do?"
On the line, she could hear Robbins laughing lightly. "It's nice to know that you have my back, partner. It's nothing like that - she just got called into work unexpectantly."
"On what?" Cristina raised a brow. Work was always a good excuse for all sorts of things in their field.
"Homicide. Sounded pretty big."
Cristina yawned. "So you're calling me because you need something to do?"
"Yes. Please, God, yes." Arizona was standing outside of the hospital in the ambulance bay. "You sound really tired. I bet you're tired, aren't you, Yang? You're on a 24, right?"
Cristina leaned against the locker as she sighed deeply, "Where do you want to go?"
"Really? Is the shift over?" Arizona skipped lightly until she received a couple of strange looks.
She spun her keys around her finger. "Yeah, it can be. I was just pulling a half for Alex on foot. He's here now so I can..." her eyes narrowed, "Robbins where do you want to go?”
* * *
"Are you kidding me?" Yang pointed at the sign for K1 Speed Kart Racing, "They can't even spell cart correctly. I'm saying no to this."
Arizona grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the building. "Noooo! You'll like it, I promise. They go really fast. And I bet you can't beat me!" Arizona knew if she played Yang's competitive streak, she would have to stay and prove her worth.
"Of course I can beat you. Are you kidding? Half of my rotation is on the streets." Yang tugged her hand out of Arizona's reach, "You may be an ace in the sky, Iceman, but I've got you beat on the asphalt." Rolling her shoulders back, she opened the door and waved Robbins in front of her, "Age before beauty."
"I'm not that much older than you," Robbins mumbled under her breath.
A cackle erupted from Cristina, "Oh this is going to be fun." She looked at the tracks twisting around the inside of the building and the small go cart engines purring at the starting line. "I'm so going to kick your ass."
"Are you kidding? These things corner more like motorcycles than giant ambulances," she smirked as she paid at the counter. "I'm going to beat you and every other teenage boy here," Robbins smiled as she picked up a helmet.
Cristina nodded at the cashier as she signed her credit card slip and put her arm through the opening in the bright pink helmet handed to her. "You think you're the only one that owns a motorcycle?" She flipped the helmet off her arm and tugged it onto her head, "Bikes aren't just for the dykes, Captain."
"You own a moped, Cristina," Arizona said, yanking her helmet on.
Cristina plopped into the go cart and strapped in as she looked over at her partner, "Did I hit a nerve, Robbins?"
She floored the gas pedal and yelled back at her, "You're already behind!"
* * *
Mark paced back and forth in front of the white board they had set up by their desks to help visualize the current unsolved murders. He ran his hand along his stubble and hummed deeply before turning back to Callie as she worked on the notes for the murder in the alleyway. "They don't make sense."
"I think the universe is out to get us. I mean, is it too much to ask that we be able to solve a murder? Sure, we can't solve them all. I can learn to live with that. But really, universe!? Seriously?" Callie shook her hands at the ceiling.
Mark raised his eyebrows and looked back at white board, "Seriously." His hands clapped together and he laughed, "The reason we can't figure out one is because it's not one murder."
"Mark."
He raised his hands and then brought a finger to his mouth to beg her to stay silent, "No, just hear me out. What if we work them as multiples?"
Burying her hands in her hair, Callie groaned, "There is nothing to indicate that they have anything remotely in common. Remotely, Mark."
"They have a lot in common. They were all killed recently by brutal attacks and have an unknown suspect. And although the MO is different in every single case, we know that they were all alcoholics," Mark pointed out.
"Wait, even the last guy?" Callie had a little glimmer of hope that someday they could solve these murders, then was quickly deflated because not only was Mark withholding information from her, but Seattle might have a serial killer, and it would be her job to catch him. "How did you know that? About Vincent Wells?"
Sloan turned to Callie and smiled, "When you were chatting up the ME, I took at look through our dearly departed's wallet and found an AA chip, so I ran him when we got in and," he trotted over to his desk and turned his computer monitor towards her, "Bamphf! Priors where our vic blew over the legal limit."
"So not only are they all alcoholics, they all also have rap sheets because of it." Callie pondered that for a moment. "Look him up on the Washington Courts website. Was he charged with anything?"
Mark leaned over his keyboard and pecked at the keys slowly. He squinted for a moment before the database pulled up Wells’ charges in correlation with one of his DUI tickets. "Well," he pointed at the screen, "it looks like he was charged with assault on the same night of his DUI ticket, roughly two years ago."
Shaking her head, Callie ran her finger along the line, "No, the assault charges were dropped, it looks like, a week after the incident by the vic."
"Did they even lawyer up?" Mark sat down roughly in his chair and leaned back before rolling towards the coffee cart. He snatched the creamer and scooted back to his desk.
"I don't know," Callie said softly as she scanned the page. "Let me look up the victim in our system." She turned to her desk and logged on the department's report management system, pulling up the case in question.
"The victim's name is Darryl Miller," she called over to Sloan as she typed the name into google.
"You're letting the internet do your detective work now, Torres?" he asked skeptically.
Callie smiled, "I'm using resources, Mark, and look at this - Darryl is the sous chef at Seastar Restaurant and Raw Bar."
A long groan came out of Sloan as he patted his belly, "The last time I ate there my date practically had to wheel me out to the car."
"So you were down for the count?"
He raised his eyebrows, "Oh no, I don't give up that easily, Torres. I rallied." He waggled his finger at the webpage, "Does it say how long he's been there? The assault was about two years ago."
“So you said.” Lips pursed for a moment, Callie clicked around on various links and went back to her initial search, "No, it doesn’t, but I do think that it's worth stopping by the restaurant."
"And eating, right?" Mark leaned forward smiling widely, "You're not going to make me go there and see all that food and not eat, right?"
"Mark."
He pouted, his bottom lip extending like that of a small child told they can't play in the park, "Please."
Rolling her eyes, Callie’s grabbed her jacket and headed for the door. “Fine, but only if you’re paying,” she said as she left.
* * *
Mark answered his cell phone as he drove the cruiser to Seastar. Callie was silent, looking out of the window as parts of the city blurred past her, thinking about Arizona, the break-in to the police car overnight, and how quickly things change.
"Sloan," Mark said simply into the receiver.
"It's Derek. Listen, I thought you'd probably want to know this right away."
"You broke my case for me? How thoughtful," Sloan replied.
"Maybe not quite that important, but important enough. I found an injection site on Vincent Wells. On his neck."
"What does that mean for me, Derek?"
"It means that something was injected into this guy. From the toxicology screen, I can tell you it was a really heavy tranquilizer. Probably knocked him right out."
"That would explain why there was no struggle," Mark nodded his head and turned right at a stoplight.
"And why he died right where he did."
Callie ran her finger down the window along the seam as she heard a one-sided conversation that actually sounded like a lead, which was nice, but her head hadn't really been focused on work all day long. It had been focused on the loss of a weekend with Arizona. As the car headed down another side street, they passed by the KING 5 station and she pulled out her phone.
Pressing it to her ear, she hoped that Arizona would accept her apology; what she had hoped would take an hour had turned into an entire shift. The shrill ringing stopped as it flipped to the chipper voice of Arizona's voicemail, "Hey, Arizona, it's me... Callie, I'm sorry about the--" hearing a beep Callie pulled the phone back and smiled as she saw a picture of a helicopter, "and you're calling me so I'll talk to you soon."
"And here I was worried that you were ignoring my phone call." Callie smirked as she leaned back in her seat.
"It was just hard to get to!" Arizona yelled over the racing go karts in the background. "Hang on, lemme get outside."
"What's that noise?" Callie asked.
"Oh, nothing, don't worry about it. How is work?" Arizona asked, stepping outside of the track.
"Terrible. Great. We might have a lead. But horrible." Callie shook her head and embarrassed, smiled to herself. "I just... well, I miss you. I'm sorry I had to leave."
Juggling her helmet to slip onto her arm Arizona glanced back at Cristina racing a seven-year old boy, "Oh, that's sweet, but I understand the world we work in. I'm sure I'll have to do the same thing sometime and you'll just have to be as understanding."
She grinned and whispered into the phone, "And it's not like you left me naked in bed."
In the day to day, we can always find ourselves caught in a memory or a moment.
"You didn't just say that to me," Callie giggled into the phone.
"I did." Arizona breathed, "In fact, I'd like to meet you there later."
Callie swallowed, paused for a moment, and then said, "Okay, you have to stop talking. I mean, I know I called you, but you have to not say those things because I like those things and I'm supposed to be working. And I wish I wasn't working because you keep saying those things and I really, really, really want those things."
Or daydreaming about the future things to come, because when we aren't caught up in the afterglow of what was or what is happening right now, we give in to making plans for tomorrow, which can be dangerous in our world of chaos.
Her eyes fluttered shut for a moment and Arizona sighed, "Mark me down as well for wanting those things. Do you have any clue when you might be wrapping up?"
The restaurant came into view and as Sloan pulled the squad car into a parking spot, he nodded to Callie and exited the car, only to lean on it waiting for her to finish her phone call.
"Ugh," Callie pinched the bridge of her nose, "I'm not sure. I promised Mark that we'd grab a bite after we check out some leads." She could hear Arizona's light humming, which she had learned she would do as she tried to think of how to say what she wanted to say, "Out with it."
"I just... thought you'd want to grab a bite with me, seeing that I'm hotter than him."
"Understatement of the year," Callie mumbled into the phone. "Do you like sushi?"
A loud laugh barreled through the phone, "Oh, Calliope, you need to work on your pick-up lines." Silence greeted Arizona and she inhaled, "Oh, you're serious." She paused for a brief moment then said, “Of course, I love it."
"Can I bring some home to you?"
Arizona smiled. "You better. I'll be waiting," lowering the phone, she pressed end.
Callie opened the car door and started walking quickly to the restaurant. "Let's go, Mark!"
But we don't back down from chaos. We take the step forward into tomorrow and the unknown.
"Finally, Torres, I thought you were reciting poetry or some nonsense." Mark grinned and punched her lightly in the shoulder. "Now, let's get some answers, get some food, and get you home."
Moments are just pieces that we look at for leads, for breaks, and to keep in our memory. The day to day though, that's what we keep coming back for...
Ratings: Overall rating of this story is PG-13ish to R. This story will likely contain adult themes, activity, and language; violence; suspense; torture; drug abuse; and sexual situations or sexually-oriented nudity. But not all at the same time or all in this episode.
Feedback: Yes, please. I mean... we're not that needy. Much. We'll totally love you forever if we know you're reading and even marginally enjoying it. Without feedback, there is no love for you and less enjoyment in writing for us.
Story Information: This is Alternative Universe fanfiction. None of the characters have the occupations that Shonda Rhimes intended. We simply asked ourselves how career choices can change the directions of the characters' lives, but not who they are as a person. Callie Torres, Mark Sloan, and Miranda Bailey work for the Seattle Police Department. Captain Arizona Robbins and Cristina Yang are paramedics. Lexie Grey is a crime scene technician. Crime, injuries, and death occur in their city as Callie and Arizona get to know one another on a more personal level.
Episode One: Every New Beginning
Episode Two: Everyone Is Waiting
Episode Three: Inhale Exhale
Episode Four: Connection
Episode Five: Pinch Me
Episode Six: Afterglow
Callie woke in a dark room. The only light came from the red numbers of a digital clock; the candles had burnt out of their own accord long before they had even gotten around to sleeping.
Every time you've finally gotten something right, there's always that perfect moment where you can sit back and reflect, and feel great about yourself, your life, and the direction it's going in. Often times we miss that moment. Which is why it's even more special when we notice it.
She was afraid to move. Arizona was soundly asleep, on top of her left arm. Callie wiggled her fingers, surprised that the limb wasn't completely asleep. Shifting slightly, she rolled to get a better view of her sleeping partner. She watched the rise and fall of her body in the dim red light of the clock as she breathed in and out.
The thin sheet covered them partially in places, and not at all in others, as it tangled around limbs and fell halfway to the floor. Callie smiled. The night could not have been more perfect.
Arizona's nose crinkled and she raised her hand to her face to scratch lightly at an apparent phantom piece of hair. She took a deep breath and curled towards the warm part of the bed, but when she felt naked skin, her left eye opened slowly to see a woman grinning down at her. Her right eye opened and adjusted to the lack of light in the room. As Callie came into focus, she let out a breath of relief.
"Yay, it's Callie." Leaning forward, she tried to sneak a quick kiss, but Callie pulled back.
But it always is gone in an instant.
"Were you expecting someone else?"
Arizona shook her head vigorously, "No, no, I didn't mean it like that." Running her arm slowly down Callie's side, she tugging her hip to get her closer. "I mean - you stayed!" her eyes shot up as she thought for a moment, "All night, and morning, too."
Suddenly paranoid, Callie pulled her arm from under Arizona as she shifted to sit up. "You're right. Why did I stay all night? I shouldn’t have stayed all night. That makes me weird and clingy. But I just woke up, so I couldn't have left. Go back to sleep," she babbled.
Callie tightened the sheet around her chest, while at the same time, Arizona let it fall. "What? No." Her confusion was unmistakable. "Callie," she said quietly, reaching out to her arm to calm her nerves. "I'm really happy that you stayed."
"You are?" Callie looked coyly at Arizona.
"Yes, very much." Arizona scooted closer and smiled widely, "Very much."
Her head dipped down as she caught Callie's lips for a slow kiss and she pulled away giggling, "I'm so sorry, I didn't even ask about morning breath." She cupped her hand in front of her mouth and huffed a couple times in her hand.
"Arizona," Callie pulled her hand away from her face and smiled back at her, "it was okay," her eyes squinted in thought, "Actually, more than okay."
A grin blossomed across Arizona's face, "Well, yay."
Living in perfection though, isn't needed for more than a moment, because the day to day is better.
* * *
Arizona squeezed Callie's arm and leaned into her as they walked out into the cool, late evening air. "What do you want for breakfast?"
"Our schedules really suck, you know? I would love to actually get a good breakfast at this time of day." Callie turned the corner toward the police car and stopped dead in her tracks.
"Oh no."
Arizona was jerked to a stop with Callie. "Oh no, what?"
"Oh no," Callie repeated. Her hand instinctively went to her hip, forgetting that she had locked her firearm in the trunk of the squad car.
Arizona followed Callie's sight line and whispered out slowly, "Oh. No."
She watched Callie double time it to the cruiser and surveyed the scene herself. The driver’s side window was broken, with glass on the road and gnarly pieces still encased in the window frame. Arizona scanned the sidewalks and nearby alley. The street was silent, so she walked closer, peeking into the car.
“What are you doing?” Callie approached her with her sidearm pulled, “Get back inside.”
Arizona’s brow furrowed, “Did you just order me into my house?”
Fully into cop mode, Callie quickly ran through the realities, “We don’t know if the vandal is still here, what has been taken, or planted. So go inside your apartment and wait for me to clear the scene.”
“The scene is clear, Callie,” Arizona crossed her arms and raised her eyebrows, “Trust me, I know city warfare. We’re fine.”
"Then you should know that if there is a bomb planted in this car, it could be a used as a secondary device that will blow once I have backup here, so that it causes maximum damage." Callie looked at the radio in her car and decided that she didn't want to move it.
"Don't you think you're over-reacting?" Arizona asked. "Are you telling me you're going to call the bomb squad?"
Callie sighed. "I don't know!" She reached for her phone. "We don't have a protocol for this!"
Arizona stared at her calmly. "Yes you do, Detective Torres. Think."
Reaching for her cell phone, Callie closed her eyes. She knew what she had to do and dreaded the call more than the one she would have made to the tactical team. She took a deep breath, went to her recently called list, and dialed her partner.
"Sloan," she heard on the other end.
* * *
Lexie twirled her fiberglass brush over the interior smooth surfaces of the car, looking for any latent fingerprints. She felt kind of guilty doing so, as this was one of the newest patrol cars and she was making it probably one of the dirtiest in the whole fleet.
She'd already swabbed some things for DNA, but doubted whoever vandalized the car was likely to have been inside.
The exterior only had a few prints, and they were in places likely to be the normal drivers and passengers. She doubted she was going to get anything useful and thought the whole process was a waste of her time. Over the radio, she was hearing about more interesting sounding scenes that she could be processing.
She looked up and could see Detective Sloan sipping a hot cup of coffee, and decided it wasn’t a total loss because she was sure that he was the most handsome man she had ever seen. And yet, there she was, in her stupid ugly uniform, covered in black fingerprint powder, without a chance in the world.
Mark leaned toward Arizona and grinned widely at her, "I notice that we are at your apartment, Rocketeer, and that my partner is wearing the same clothes she left the station in yesterday."
"Ugh," Arizona rolled her eyes in disgust, "You are immature."
Puffing his chest out, Mark laughed, "That is all the answer I needed, thank you. I'm going to go and yell at my partner now." He took a long gulp from his coffee as he felt a hand tug back on his arm forcefully.
"No, no yelling. No chiding. You will be supportive because you are her partner and this all sucks." She caught the twinkle in his eyes before she released a slight whine, "I was going to have pancakes."
Leaning towards her, Mark smirked, "All that syrup didn't fill you up last night?" He couldn't stop chuckling until he was punched squarely in the shoulder by the petite Marine. "Ow, what have you got hidden in that fist, Robbins?"
She raised her eyebrows at him, "No jokes, Mark. Supportive and understanding partner."
He waved at her as he ventured toward Callie. "Torres," he grunted at her, "I give you Amelia and you let this happen?"
"This wasn't my fault, Mark." She shook her head. "I don't know how this shit happens to me."
"You're a shit magnet, Torres."
Callie could tell that his tone was jovial, but it didn't help her feel any better about it. She had moved on to anger from disbelief. She started ranting at him in Spanish.
"Hey!" Mark grabbed her arms, "Stop speaking Spanish. I don't speak Spanish! I hate it when you do this!"
Callie took a deep breath. "Okay, listen," she said more slowly in English, "there's something I have to tell you."
"What? You finally boinked the pilot? I already know that."
"Mark!" He could see her anger boiling up and quit his usual humor.
"Okay, what?"
"The two unsolved cases we're working?"
"What about them?" he asked.
"The files were stolen from the front seat. It's the only thing missing. All my gear in the trunk was fine."
Mark's lower lip jutted out in thought, "Huh, that's an interesting development." He leaned to his right, catching a glimpse of Lexie crouching near the car, and felt a hand smack his chest.
"Focus Sloan. I need you to focus." Callie pointed to her eyes and then tapped on her forehead.
He snorted and looked back at the squad car, "I was focusing, uh, was it both files taken?"
"That's what I said Mark, nothing else is missing. I've done the inventory, even the cash in the front bench, still there."
The radio in the car crackled and Lexie popped up quickly to her full height as she took in the chatter. They were calling for CSU to respond to a murder scene. Her heart beat in double time and she turned to the two detectives, "Well, I'm done here, so I'm going to go to the scene with the dead body."
She grinned widely as she snapped off her gloves before taking in Detective Torres’ face, "Not that I didn't feel useful here at this also important scene, which I was very happy to have been called to, to be at... Detective."
Callie nodded. She understood how rote this processing must have been for the eager crime scene tech, "I appreciate it Lexie, and you can call me Torres."
"Thanks, Torres," with that, Lexie packed up her kit of supplies and jogged off scene carrying two small bags of evidence. Callie thought she was almost skipping.
She looked up and rolled her shoulders, sighing heavily. "I should have never gotten out of bed this morning," she said wearily. Arizona slipped her hands over Callie's shoulders.
"You're right. Let's go back to bed," she whispered in Callie's ear.
Nodding in agreement, Callie turned to face her and saw Sloan gesturing in a wait a minute motion as he held his phone to an ear. Callie's face downturned and she did as she was told, holding her breath without realizing it.
A few moments passed before Sloan replied, "We'll be right there."
Callie wasn't especially fond of the plural form he just used and gripped Arizona's hand tightly.
"Okay, let's book it. Shepherd wants us on scene, and we might as well take your crime scene to the next one." Mark trotted away towards his Mustang and called over his shoulder, "We're going in civvies Torres, just bring your shield."
Callie's head fell forward with a groan and she laced her fingers through Arizona's, "I'm so sorry, I know this is supposed to be weekend time today with pancakes and--" she felt a finger shush her as Arizona leaned in for a quick kiss.
"Don't worry. I'll just hang out here in my big bad neighborhood all by myself and wait for you to return." Arizona leaned forward, adjusting the collar of Callie's jacket.
"Mmmhmm," Callie's eyes narrowed as she took in Arizona's poker face, "so what you mean to say is that instead of that, you are going to…?"
"Don't worry about me. I might call Cristina and see what she's up to. Nothing big. We'll be laying low." Arizona dropped her hand and winked. "Call me later."
Torres nodded, "I will."
"Torres! Let's go!" Sloan yelled from the cruiser.
Callie gave Arizona a quick kiss and walked to the car. She opened the door and pulled the sleeve of her coat over her hand, brushing broken glass to the ground before getting in the passenger seat. "Shepherd, huh?"
"Another homicide."
"It's our day off, though. Where is everyone else?" Callie asked as Mark turned on the sirens and pulled away from the parking lot.
"We were requested," Sloan shrugged.
* * *
Callie rolled her eyes as they pulled up beside Emerald City Bar, "Mark, if you drug me away to your bar to try and get me to spill about Arizona..." She stopped complaining when he tugged his shield out from under his leather jacket and opened the door.
"I was serious, Callie. Now step to it and let's get this over with so you can get back to Maverick."
Callie pushed open the door and jogged lightly to catch up to him, "You're never going to knock it off with the nicknames, are you?"
"Not until you spill some of the stories about her helping spin your rotary blades." His wolfish grin spread across his face for a moment until he lead them closer to the dank and ripe smelling alley between Joe's and a bargain bookstore.
Callie stopped dead in her tracks when she made it to the other side of the big green dumpster. The victim in front of them had lost a very large volume of blood, which was starting to separate into serum and a weird looking gelatinous mass of dark red goo. His clothes were also covered in blood and there were several very deep looking cuts to different parts of his body.
"Ouch," Mark said from her side.
Callie looked around the very narrow alleyway. "Doesn't look like there was much of a struggle here."
Just then Lexie stepped out of the back door of the bar, "There wasn't," she replied as she put new batteries in her camera. "There are absolutely no signs of a struggle at all. No shoe prints, no good surfaces for prints, no murder weapon."
Mark rubbed the heel of his hand on his forehead. "So we have nothing to work from, again?" he asked frustrated.
He looked up through his eyelashes and realized his mistake too late as Lexie was stepping back in apology. "Lexie, I'm not upset with you. You're the best damn tech I've worked with lately. You're great."
Derek interrupted the trio smiling smugly, "I know I am." He sipped lightly from his latte and hummed to himself, "So people," he zipped up his morgue jacket and winked at them, "It's a beautiful day, let's solve crimes."
"What do you see, Doc?" Callie asked, trying not to look at the dead body in front of her. She was actually quite pleased that she didn't eat breakfast this morning.
"At least three deep lacerations targeting what appears to be the axillary artery," he pointed to the left underarm of the victim where a large bloodstain saturated his shirt, "the femoral artery," he motion to the groin, “and the brachial artery," this time he pointed to the victim's right bicep. "There might be some other incised or stab wounds, but I'd have to get him back to the lab to confirm."
"Targeting?" Sloan asked, slowly raising his brow. "That's intriguing."
Derek nodded and looked up at Lexie, "Grey, are you finished processing? I don't want to step on your crime scene."
A short laugh and Lexie nodded at him as she put together her kit and collected her samples, "We're good Dr. Shepherd, although you've already stepped on it, but I appreciate the appearance of concern."
A hand hitting his heart, Derek staggered back a couple of steps, "Appearance, Grey?"
Shaking her head, she pushed past the detectives and medical examiner, "Later guys."
Watching the interaction between Lexie and Shepherd was interesting to Callie, but not as much as watching Mark watch them. His hands had started to ball up into fists and then he released them slowly while pushing his chest out and rolling his shoulders back to appear bigger. She was sure she had seen this before in a documentary on the Discovery Channel about the mating behaviors of gorillas.
"So Shepherd, you were saying about targeting?" Callie tried to drag the men back to the actual task at hand, "The amount of blood that we have on the ground. That's due to the targeting of the arteries, right? By someone who knows where they are, not just someone who is taking a stab at it." Even though she wished she could have those last few words back, Callie waited for Derek's answer.
"That's exactly right, Torres." Derek grabbed Sloan's elbow firmly as his eyes followed Lexie Grey's exit. He pulled him to the side and smiled apologetically at Callie. Turning away from her, he hissed at Mark.
"Do not even think about it. You will not pursue my wife's little sister. Lexie Grey is out of bounds."
Mark's eyes widened, "Out of bounds? Derek, since when do you have a say over who I date?"
A blast of a laugh came out of Derek, "Since when do you date? I mean bedding, Mark, and I have a say since you bedded all of my sisters--"
"Now, wait a minute, I never did anything with Amy."
Raising a finger, Derek told him to be silent, "And don't even get me started on Addison. You need to keep yourself out of the women in my life, and Lexie Grey is a woman in my life."
Turning quickly back to Callie, he patted Mark's back, "Great. Glad we agree." He smiled widely, "Now as for suspects, I think we're looking at someone not only with medical knowledge, but perhaps since we're next to Seattle Grace…"
"Are you implying that one of the doctors came over here on break and slashed up this guy?" Callie asked.
"Well, not exactly. But I think you should keep your options open," he said simply. Then his eyes shot over at Mark, "Given the right motive, I wouldn't put it past any of my colleagues."
"Ha, ha," Sloan deadpanned. "Is that the only thing you had to show us on our day off?"
"I called you so you'd be the detective on the case, Sloan. It's in your beat and I thought that looking at the build of the victim," he motioned back to the body, "It's just intriguing isn't it? A man in his mid-thirties. Six foot two inches, with a muscular build, ended up in an alleyway bleeding out. No witnesses. No cry for help." Derek looked up at Mark, "You are welcome for the call."
Callie agreed with Derek. The scene was a bit mystifying and exciting for the cop who liked to think outside of the box, but she had really wanted an open and shut homicide today.
Mark brought his hand up to his chin in thought and for the first time since arriving, actually considered the scene before him. He needed more information.
"Do we have an ID on this guy yet?"
Derek replied, "His wallet was still on him. Name listed as Vincent Wells. He lived a few blocks from here.” He pointed vaguely down the alley. “He was found dead right here, no paramedic intervention. Rigor mortis has set in, so I'd put his time of death roughly 10 to 12 hours ago. With his injuries and the amount of blood, I'd say he was killed right here. No way is this a body dump," Derek brushed his hand through his hair and reached for a pair of gloves in his back pocket.
"You two want to help me move this guy to the morgue? I'll get you more answers when I get back there."
* * *
The whirring of the doors sliding open caused Arizona to snap out of her daze and enter the ER hospital bay as she edged towards the nursing station. She was bored, which should be welcome on a day off from work to lay back and relax. Arizona hated it. She had already worked on her motorcycle, run errands, and worked out. After that came the sitting, which led to a lull when she would remember the sandbox.
“Excuse me," she leaned onto the counter and smiled warmly at the young nurse, "Have you seen a medic wandering around here? Kinda surly and blunt." Arizona's eyes darted up for a moment in thought before she flashed another smile at the nurse, "The opposite of me, really."
The cute nurse leaned in towards her and played with her red hair lightly, twirling it around her forefinger. "Well, I did see Yang wandering around here earlier. She was finishing up notes on the desk, but I think she might have headed back to the station."
Arizona's face wrinkled up for a moment, "Aw, really?" She jutted out a hip and looked behind her as her hair started to fall out of her messy ponytail. "Well thanks, Olivia, it's nice seeing you. If Yang wanders by, let her know I'm bored. She'll get it."
Dropping her eyes for a moment, Olivia nodded and then looked back at the pilot, "Will do," she paused and bit the inside of her lip, "Arizona."
Her eyes widened as Arizona realized that she thought she was having a friendly conversation, but Nurse Olivia had taken it in another way. She laughed shortly before coughing, "Actually, it's Robbins."
She watched as the young nurse’s face fell before Arizona turned on her heel and slid her phone out of her coat pocket. "Where are you, Cristina?"
* * *
"Yang," she answered the phone. Caller ID said it was Arizona. Usually when she called on her day off, it meant that she was in need of something to do. Which meant her little girlfriend had ditched her.
"After you skipped out of here, I thought I wouldn't here from you until start of shift two days from now. Are you kidding me? Do you need me to kill her? What did she do?"
On the line, she could hear Robbins laughing lightly. "It's nice to know that you have my back, partner. It's nothing like that - she just got called into work unexpectantly."
"On what?" Cristina raised a brow. Work was always a good excuse for all sorts of things in their field.
"Homicide. Sounded pretty big."
Cristina yawned. "So you're calling me because you need something to do?"
"Yes. Please, God, yes." Arizona was standing outside of the hospital in the ambulance bay. "You sound really tired. I bet you're tired, aren't you, Yang? You're on a 24, right?"
Cristina leaned against the locker as she sighed deeply, "Where do you want to go?"
"Really? Is the shift over?" Arizona skipped lightly until she received a couple of strange looks.
She spun her keys around her finger. "Yeah, it can be. I was just pulling a half for Alex on foot. He's here now so I can..." her eyes narrowed, "Robbins where do you want to go?”
* * *
"Are you kidding me?" Yang pointed at the sign for K1 Speed Kart Racing, "They can't even spell cart correctly. I'm saying no to this."
Arizona grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the building. "Noooo! You'll like it, I promise. They go really fast. And I bet you can't beat me!" Arizona knew if she played Yang's competitive streak, she would have to stay and prove her worth.
"Of course I can beat you. Are you kidding? Half of my rotation is on the streets." Yang tugged her hand out of Arizona's reach, "You may be an ace in the sky, Iceman, but I've got you beat on the asphalt." Rolling her shoulders back, she opened the door and waved Robbins in front of her, "Age before beauty."
"I'm not that much older than you," Robbins mumbled under her breath.
A cackle erupted from Cristina, "Oh this is going to be fun." She looked at the tracks twisting around the inside of the building and the small go cart engines purring at the starting line. "I'm so going to kick your ass."
"Are you kidding? These things corner more like motorcycles than giant ambulances," she smirked as she paid at the counter. "I'm going to beat you and every other teenage boy here," Robbins smiled as she picked up a helmet.
Cristina nodded at the cashier as she signed her credit card slip and put her arm through the opening in the bright pink helmet handed to her. "You think you're the only one that owns a motorcycle?" She flipped the helmet off her arm and tugged it onto her head, "Bikes aren't just for the dykes, Captain."
"You own a moped, Cristina," Arizona said, yanking her helmet on.
Cristina plopped into the go cart and strapped in as she looked over at her partner, "Did I hit a nerve, Robbins?"
She floored the gas pedal and yelled back at her, "You're already behind!"
* * *
Mark paced back and forth in front of the white board they had set up by their desks to help visualize the current unsolved murders. He ran his hand along his stubble and hummed deeply before turning back to Callie as she worked on the notes for the murder in the alleyway. "They don't make sense."
"I think the universe is out to get us. I mean, is it too much to ask that we be able to solve a murder? Sure, we can't solve them all. I can learn to live with that. But really, universe!? Seriously?" Callie shook her hands at the ceiling.
Mark raised his eyebrows and looked back at white board, "Seriously." His hands clapped together and he laughed, "The reason we can't figure out one is because it's not one murder."
"Mark."
He raised his hands and then brought a finger to his mouth to beg her to stay silent, "No, just hear me out. What if we work them as multiples?"
Burying her hands in her hair, Callie groaned, "There is nothing to indicate that they have anything remotely in common. Remotely, Mark."
"They have a lot in common. They were all killed recently by brutal attacks and have an unknown suspect. And although the MO is different in every single case, we know that they were all alcoholics," Mark pointed out.
"Wait, even the last guy?" Callie had a little glimmer of hope that someday they could solve these murders, then was quickly deflated because not only was Mark withholding information from her, but Seattle might have a serial killer, and it would be her job to catch him. "How did you know that? About Vincent Wells?"
Sloan turned to Callie and smiled, "When you were chatting up the ME, I took at look through our dearly departed's wallet and found an AA chip, so I ran him when we got in and," he trotted over to his desk and turned his computer monitor towards her, "Bamphf! Priors where our vic blew over the legal limit."
"So not only are they all alcoholics, they all also have rap sheets because of it." Callie pondered that for a moment. "Look him up on the Washington Courts website. Was he charged with anything?"
Mark leaned over his keyboard and pecked at the keys slowly. He squinted for a moment before the database pulled up Wells’ charges in correlation with one of his DUI tickets. "Well," he pointed at the screen, "it looks like he was charged with assault on the same night of his DUI ticket, roughly two years ago."
Shaking her head, Callie ran her finger along the line, "No, the assault charges were dropped, it looks like, a week after the incident by the vic."
"Did they even lawyer up?" Mark sat down roughly in his chair and leaned back before rolling towards the coffee cart. He snatched the creamer and scooted back to his desk.
"I don't know," Callie said softly as she scanned the page. "Let me look up the victim in our system." She turned to her desk and logged on the department's report management system, pulling up the case in question.
"The victim's name is Darryl Miller," she called over to Sloan as she typed the name into google.
"You're letting the internet do your detective work now, Torres?" he asked skeptically.
Callie smiled, "I'm using resources, Mark, and look at this - Darryl is the sous chef at Seastar Restaurant and Raw Bar."
A long groan came out of Sloan as he patted his belly, "The last time I ate there my date practically had to wheel me out to the car."
"So you were down for the count?"
He raised his eyebrows, "Oh no, I don't give up that easily, Torres. I rallied." He waggled his finger at the webpage, "Does it say how long he's been there? The assault was about two years ago."
“So you said.” Lips pursed for a moment, Callie clicked around on various links and went back to her initial search, "No, it doesn’t, but I do think that it's worth stopping by the restaurant."
"And eating, right?" Mark leaned forward smiling widely, "You're not going to make me go there and see all that food and not eat, right?"
"Mark."
He pouted, his bottom lip extending like that of a small child told they can't play in the park, "Please."
Rolling her eyes, Callie’s grabbed her jacket and headed for the door. “Fine, but only if you’re paying,” she said as she left.
* * *
Mark answered his cell phone as he drove the cruiser to Seastar. Callie was silent, looking out of the window as parts of the city blurred past her, thinking about Arizona, the break-in to the police car overnight, and how quickly things change.
"Sloan," Mark said simply into the receiver.
"It's Derek. Listen, I thought you'd probably want to know this right away."
"You broke my case for me? How thoughtful," Sloan replied.
"Maybe not quite that important, but important enough. I found an injection site on Vincent Wells. On his neck."
"What does that mean for me, Derek?"
"It means that something was injected into this guy. From the toxicology screen, I can tell you it was a really heavy tranquilizer. Probably knocked him right out."
"That would explain why there was no struggle," Mark nodded his head and turned right at a stoplight.
"And why he died right where he did."
Callie ran her finger down the window along the seam as she heard a one-sided conversation that actually sounded like a lead, which was nice, but her head hadn't really been focused on work all day long. It had been focused on the loss of a weekend with Arizona. As the car headed down another side street, they passed by the KING 5 station and she pulled out her phone.
Pressing it to her ear, she hoped that Arizona would accept her apology; what she had hoped would take an hour had turned into an entire shift. The shrill ringing stopped as it flipped to the chipper voice of Arizona's voicemail, "Hey, Arizona, it's me... Callie, I'm sorry about the--" hearing a beep Callie pulled the phone back and smiled as she saw a picture of a helicopter, "and you're calling me so I'll talk to you soon."
"And here I was worried that you were ignoring my phone call." Callie smirked as she leaned back in her seat.
"It was just hard to get to!" Arizona yelled over the racing go karts in the background. "Hang on, lemme get outside."
"What's that noise?" Callie asked.
"Oh, nothing, don't worry about it. How is work?" Arizona asked, stepping outside of the track.
"Terrible. Great. We might have a lead. But horrible." Callie shook her head and embarrassed, smiled to herself. "I just... well, I miss you. I'm sorry I had to leave."
Juggling her helmet to slip onto her arm Arizona glanced back at Cristina racing a seven-year old boy, "Oh, that's sweet, but I understand the world we work in. I'm sure I'll have to do the same thing sometime and you'll just have to be as understanding."
She grinned and whispered into the phone, "And it's not like you left me naked in bed."
In the day to day, we can always find ourselves caught in a memory or a moment.
"You didn't just say that to me," Callie giggled into the phone.
"I did." Arizona breathed, "In fact, I'd like to meet you there later."
Callie swallowed, paused for a moment, and then said, "Okay, you have to stop talking. I mean, I know I called you, but you have to not say those things because I like those things and I'm supposed to be working. And I wish I wasn't working because you keep saying those things and I really, really, really want those things."
Or daydreaming about the future things to come, because when we aren't caught up in the afterglow of what was or what is happening right now, we give in to making plans for tomorrow, which can be dangerous in our world of chaos.
Her eyes fluttered shut for a moment and Arizona sighed, "Mark me down as well for wanting those things. Do you have any clue when you might be wrapping up?"
The restaurant came into view and as Sloan pulled the squad car into a parking spot, he nodded to Callie and exited the car, only to lean on it waiting for her to finish her phone call.
"Ugh," Callie pinched the bridge of her nose, "I'm not sure. I promised Mark that we'd grab a bite after we check out some leads." She could hear Arizona's light humming, which she had learned she would do as she tried to think of how to say what she wanted to say, "Out with it."
"I just... thought you'd want to grab a bite with me, seeing that I'm hotter than him."
"Understatement of the year," Callie mumbled into the phone. "Do you like sushi?"
A loud laugh barreled through the phone, "Oh, Calliope, you need to work on your pick-up lines." Silence greeted Arizona and she inhaled, "Oh, you're serious." She paused for a brief moment then said, “Of course, I love it."
"Can I bring some home to you?"
Arizona smiled. "You better. I'll be waiting," lowering the phone, she pressed end.
Callie opened the car door and started walking quickly to the restaurant. "Let's go, Mark!"
But we don't back down from chaos. We take the step forward into tomorrow and the unknown.
"Finally, Torres, I thought you were reciting poetry or some nonsense." Mark grinned and punched her lightly in the shoulder. "Now, let's get some answers, get some food, and get you home."
Moments are just pieces that we look at for leads, for breaks, and to keep in our memory. The day to day though, that's what we keep coming back for...