Grey's Anatomy - Choices (9/23)
Title: Choices
Chapter 9/23
Authors: Faith & Kye
Pairing: Callie/Arizona
Rating: NC-17
Story Summary: Post-6x17 "Push" -- Arizona prefers chickens to children, and Callie isn't okay with that. Heartbroken and lonely, the two women try unsuccessfully to move on with their lives, only to find they really are made for eachother.
Chapter Summary: A little bit of filler fluff. Arizona continues to take care of Callie.
Disclaimer: All television shows, movies, books, and other copyrighted material referred to in this work, and the characters, settings, and events thereof, are the properties of their respective owners. As this work is an interpretation of the original material and not for-profit, it constitutes fair use. Reference to real persons, places, or events are made in a fictional context, and are not intended to be libelous, defamatory, or in any way factual.
Previous Chapters
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Callie had fallen into a fitful sleep. The morphine was still doing wonky things to her brain and body, but it was better than the constant pain she would've been in otherwise.
Or so Arizona had convinced herself. The blonde sighed as she sat in the chair by her ex's bed.
This was really...something. Here she was, worried to death about her...about Callie. And at this point, neither of them could even tell what they were to eachother anymore.
“Zona?” The voice was weak and shaky as it called out her name.
The blonde instantly sat up, her knees popping as they unbent from the chair for the first time in hours. “I’m right here,” she replied softly, standing and stepping up to the side of Callie’s bed. She reached down and took her hand gently.
“Calliope?” Arizona’s eyes watched the brunette like a hawk, searching for any signs of distress. “How are you are holding up?”
Callie blinked slowly and then swallowed back. They had changed the oxygen mask to a tube line resting beneath her nose. She groaned as she reached up to adjust the plastic on her face. “I feel like crap.”
Arizona had to smile as she reached up to assist her lover's weak, uncoordinated attempt.
Callie groaned again as she tried to shift her aching body. “I gotta get out of this bed.” She moved to push herself up, but her muscles were too weak from the pain medication. She fell back against the sheets with a defeated sigh.
“Whoa,” Arizona soothed, placing a hand on the woman's shoulder to keep her in place. “You’re not going anywhere. You need to rest. You feel like crap, remember?”
She sat down on the edge of the bed, careful not to touch Callie’s body in any way for fear of making her hurt even more. “Can I get you anything? I’ve got some ice chips if you need.”
Arizona would pretty much do anything she asked her to right now. Short of letting her get up and out of bed.
“Screw the ice chips,” Callie groaned. “Get me a beer.”
Arizona laughed again. “Calliope...” She smiled down at the brunette as she lay there. On instinct, she reached out with her right hand to brush a messy strand of dark hair back from the other woman's eyes.
Callie slowly blinked as she turned to face the blonde more directly. She swallowed thickly and licked her lips. “So...how 'bout that beer?”
“I think we should wait until you’re off the morphine, sweetie,” Arizona pointed out with a light-hearted chuckle. “Besides, if I step out of line one more time I’m pretty sure Shepherd is gonna fire me.”
Callie arched a slow, lazy eyebrow. “What's that now?” She swallowed again, then winced at the painful jab of her dry throat.
Arizona leaned closer with a concerned touch to her arm. “Callie?”
Callie smiled the best she could. “Maybe I will take those ice chips.”
Arizona reached over to the side table and grabbed the cup she had retrieved about twenty minutes before. Some of them were melty, but mostly they were still solid.
Callie looked up and pouted at the blonde. “Can’t…coordinate…arms…”
Arizona arched a slow eyebrow down at her. “You just want me to feed them to you because you think it’s all sexy.”
Callie continued to pout. “Can’t…move…too...weak...”
That made Arizona laugh, and she easily caved in. She dug an ice chip out of the cup and held it up to Callie’s lips.
The brunette opened her mouth to greedily accept the cold material. She didn't even try to make it sexy as she sucked the ice into her mouth.
Well, at least not this time.
Callie moaned as the ice melted on her tongue. It felt like heaven as the cold water slid down her parched throat. “More please,” she requested as soon as the ice was completely melted. Her lips turned up in a slight smirk as she met with the blue eyes staring back at her. “You remember the last time you fed me something?”
Arizona blushed furiously. “Dirty girl,” she teased, putting another ice chip up against her lips. “You’re thinking of that while you’re lying here all drugged up? Gutter brain.”
Callie chuckled weakly. “It was just strawberries.”
“I was thinking of what happened after I fed you those chocolate covered strawberries.” It was Arizona's turn to smirk.
“Okay, now who’s the gutter brain?” Callie pointed out, taking another ice chip under her tongue.
Shaking her head, Arizona held up another one. “If I were really clumsy, I might just drop this down your shirt, you know.”
Callie chuckled as she accepted it into her mouth. “Promise?” she teased in a low, husky whisper.
Arizona shoved the next ice chip a little harder than before.
Callie's eyes widened and she nearly choked. “Hey!” she protested as soon as she was able to recover.
The blonde smiled in triumph. “That oughta cool you off.”
Callie continued to shoot the other woman a glare. “You could've just asked.”
Arizona grinned teasingly and held up another cube. “That wouldn’t be nearly as much fun.”
She fed Callie a few more before putting the cup down. “Do you think you can sit up? I want to take a look at your back.” Slipping off the bed, she watched Callie carefully. “Or maybe just roll onto your side for a minute, if that’s easier.”
Derek might not want her playing doctor, but she was damn well gonna keep an eye on the other woman. Especially since her actual doctor was lame and decided to leave at five o’clock on a Friday.
“Don’t you have work to do?” Callie questioned with a raised brow.
“You are my work,” Arizona mused. “Mark is checking in on my patients for me tonight, and I don’t have any surgeries scheduled until Sunday. Now quit stalling and roll over.”
Callie smiled, holding the other woman's blue gaze for a moment longer before moving to turn over. It was difficult, and it hurt like a bitch, but she finally managed to get onto her right side. She let out a slow, deep breath as she collapsed onto the sheets from all of her efforts. “I need new sheets.” Her brow scrunched as her face turned into a disgusted grimace. She jerked a little when she felt Arizona's cold fingers against the small of her back.
“I’ll get a nurse to change them later,” Arizona replied, frowning as she lifted up the back of Callie’s gown. “Looks like it hasn’t spread, which is good. The antibiotics will kick in even more by tomorrow morning, and you might feel a little bit better. Within a week you should be feeling a lot less pain.” Her fingers traced the outline of the bruise, avoiding the direct area where the marrow was taken from. Callie hissed, and Arizona eventually stopped, satisfied that it was only a normal amount of hurt for a situation like this, and that nothing was going to fall off or discombobulate.
“Sorry,” she apologized, helping Callie roll over onto her back once more. “Looks like you’ll be okay, though. I can probably convince them to let me take you home tomorrow night, if you feel up to it. Mark and I were gonna take turns alternating between your place and work.”
It suddenly occurred to her that maybe Callie didn’t really want her at the apartment. “If…that’s okay with you, I-I mean. If you don’t want me back there, we can work something else out.”
Callie smiled at the other surgeon's nervous stutter. It was still adorable. “No,” she replied softly. “That'll be just fine.” She felt that familiar little flutter in her chest. Just the thought of having Arizona back in her apartment...
It really had been too long since she was able to lay next to her. To feel her body heat and listen to her slow, steady breathing.
God.
She missed Arizona.
So fucking much.
Callie grimaced again. Only part of it was the physical pain this time. She turned her brown eyes up toward the IV bag hanging above her bed. “How do you turn this thing up?”
“Oh, I could do it, but then we’re back to me getting fired.” Arizona shot her lover a wry grin. “I tried to get you off the morphine and onto demorol instead, but McChief tore me a new one in front of McWife. So you’re stuck with this stuff for now.”
She huffed an annoyed sigh. Stupid, useless Dr. Peters, and stupid, stupid Derek…normally she liked the guy, but right now she just thought he was a giant ass.
“I’m pretty sure if I so much as leave a fingerprint on your IV bag he’ll have me bounced out of here.”
Callie frowned as she hissed through another throb of pain. “Right now 'McChief' can kiss my sore, and very painful 'McAss'.” She shifted on the bed once more, desperate to find some relief from the pain. She squeezed her eyes shut tightly as her back continued to ache.
Arizona watched the other woman struggle to get comfortable. When she saw the tight, painful grimace on Callie's face, it broke her heart. She couldn't stand to see someone she loved in pain. Least of all, the woman she loved more than anything.
Callie bit her lip as she slowly blinked her eyes open. She turned her gaze to the blonde. “I really hate to ask, but you seem to be my only option right now,” she started, still biting her bottom lip. “Do you think you could maybe...” She paused through another grimace. “...rub it or something?”
“Won’t that…hurt even more?” Arizona asked tentatively.
“Desperate here,” Callie pointed out with another painful moan.
“Okay, yeah, of course,” Arizona agreed. “Here.” She very gingerly helped Callie roll onto her right side again. “In the meantime…” Pulling up her pager in one hand, she quickly sent a message directly to Derek.
He could change the medication dose, now that Callie was awake and he could visibly see her in pain.
Once the message was sent, Arizona pulled Callie’s gown up just enough to get a good view of the area. Her fingers very gently touched the soft, warm skin, and she had to swallow back.
Callie still managed to make her head spin.
“Tell me if it hurts,” she whispered softly as she worked her fingers along the tensed up muscle.
Callie released a low, deep moan. She'd done a lot of that lately. But this time, it was the very, very good kind.
“Oh God, that feels amazing,” the brunette sighed after a few seconds had passed. It was still a little painful, but nothing she couldn't handle. A few more minutes, and almost all the pain was gone, replaced by a deep, warm tingle.
“I love your hands,” Callie whispered with another soft moan.
A slow, knowing smirk crossed Arizona’s lips. “I know you do,” she husked in a low tone.
Her smirk only widened when Callie moaned again.
Leaning down, Arizona brought her lips up against the brunette’s ear. “I’ve had a lot of time to learn exactly what you like.”
Callie jerked a little. And then moaned again.
But this time, for a very different reason.
“Not fair,” she whispered with a shaky voice as her fingers dug into the sheets. She swallowed back, licking her lips as she felt that familiar tingle begin to spread throughout her entire body.
That's all it ever seemed to take for her. With Arizona, anyway.
Only with Arizona.
The blonde kept her lips by Callie’s ear and pressed a soft kiss against it. She eventually stopped kneading the other woman’s back, and rested her hand lightly against a smooth hip.
“I might have run away when you had the chicken pox, but this time I promise I’ll take of you.” Arizona kissed even more softly against Callie’s neck, just below her ear. She closed her eyes as her fingertips lightly brushed against the skin they rested on.
She wasn’t trying to seduce Callie while she was in pain. She wasn’t that mean or twisted. She just wanted to bask in her ex-girlfriend’s touch for a moment.
She missed her.
Callie sighed heavily. The feel of Arizona's hand on her hip was enough to make her completely forget all about her pain.
She sighed more softly this time as she turned her upper body just enough to meet the soft blue gaze staring down at her. She smiled as she reached up with her left hand to place it on the other woman's cheek. “I know you will,” she whispered softly before gently moving her hand around to the back of Arizona's neck.
Callie hesitated only for a moment before gently tugging the blonde's lips down to connect with her own.
Arizona leaned her weight into the bed, one arm on either side of Callie’s body. She didn’t exactly resist when the brunette’s fingers curled against the back of her neck and held her there.
Who was she to resist the poor morphine patient who was in intense pain?
Her eyes instantly drifted closed, and she moaned softly into the gentle kiss.
And gentle it would have to stay. Because Callie was in no shape for anything more than that.
But even gentle was extremely okay with Arizona.
Callie tried to lift her other hand to join in, but the IV line impeded her progress. She dropped it back to the bed with a soft sigh as she brushed her fingers a little harder against the back of Arizona's neck.
If she loved the blonde's hands, she absolutely fucking adored those lips.
Callie pulled a little harder on the back of the other woman's neck.
“Mm, easy girl,” Arizona murmured into the kiss with a slight chuckle, pulling back a tiny fraction. “You have a giant hole in your hip where they sucked out your insides. I don’t think this is ‘doctor approved’.”
“I am a doctor,” Callie pointed out. “And I approve this message.” She flashed the sexiest smile she could muster.
Arizona had to grin at that. “Yes ma’am,” she teased before leaning back in to seal the kiss once more.
***
Lexi was walking by just then, planning to stop in and fill Callie in on Anna Drake’s progress.
But as soon as she saw Arizona curled up next to Callie in bed, their lips firmly attached, she stopped in front of the window and just…stared for a moment.
“…I give up.”
Turning on her heel, she walked back toward the elevator.
***
Arizona had carefully climbed up next to Callie in the bed, and now she held the woman in her arms as they softly kissed.
It was better than supply-closet-sex.
Which was saying something, because that stuff was really good.
But this…nothing else touched a moment like this.
Arizona sighed softly into the kiss, her eyes still glued shut. “You have awesome breath, by the way,” she teased playfully, laughing when Callie nudged her in the stomach again. “Post-surgical. It’s very…medicinal.”
Callie pulled back from the kiss with an arched brow. “Funny,” she shot back as she glanced down at the blonde's body. “It was good enough to get you back into my bed.” She smirked in triumph at the slight blush that coated the other woman's cheeks.
“Not the first time I've lured you in with my sweet morning breath, either,” Callie noted after a moment had passed. She ran her tongue along her bottom lip before biting against it softly. “There was that one morning in particular...” she trailed off as she reached down to gently pushed her fingers beneath the hem of Arizona's scrub top.
“One morning?” Arizona shivered at Callie’s touch. “You’ll have to be more specific...you’ve made me late for work many, many times,” she pointed out with a low chuckle.
Callie smirked again. “Hmm,” she admitted with a low moan. “You've got a point there.” Her hand moved just a little higher on the blonde's stomach. Her fingers continued their slow, soft stroking of the warm, smooth skin.
The brunette's smirk faltered just a little as she stared across the short distance into deep, penetrating blue eyes.
“I love your eyes,” Callie finally whispered softly as her smirk turned to into a gentle smile.
Arizona’s heart was suddenly beating against her chest like a drum, and she blushed at Callie’s words. “This is bordering on naughty touching,” she pointed out, followed by a soft whimper.
Callie’s hand just felt so…nice.
To be rated PG.
“Your point?” Callie smirked, her hand riding up a little higher.
“Oh god,” Arizona moaned softly, her skin tingling wherever the other woman touched her. “You’re making me a bad person, Calliope…I’m s-supposed to be making you…rest…”
She was indeed the worst caregiver ever. But Callie was cheating when she did that…
Callie leaned into the blonde to get just a little closer. “No rest,” she whispered seductively as she dropped her gaze to those inviting lips, and then once again met with those amazing eyes. “Feel better,” she added as her lips once again turned up into a perfect smirk.
Arizona groaned quietly. “You’re dangerous,” she pointed out with a low chuckle.
“You’re my pain medication,” Callie replied with a seductive waggle of her browline.
Laughing softly, Arizona leaned in and stole another kiss. “I love you, you know that?”
And then Lexi Grey burst into the room.
“Shepherd’s coming,” she hissed, waving at them frantically. “In like five seconds!”
Arizona instantly extracted herself from Callie - well, partially. She pulled the woman’s hand out from her shirt and quickly sat up on the bed, straightening out her scrubs and then Callie’s blanket.
Just so, y’know…it wasn’t too suspicious.
She didn’t want to be kicked out. Even though for both their sakes, that might have been a good idea.
Not a second later, Derek appeared in the doorway. He looked from one attending surgeon to the other. A small smile spread across his lips as he stepped into the room, arms folded across his chest. “I received your page, but I was in the middle of a meeting.” He once again met Arizona's eyes. “I apologize for my late response.” He wasn’t even making an effort to hide his grin.
Callie was watching the exchange with slightly wide eyes as her heart pounded a little harder in her chest.
Dammit.
She meant it when she said it before. She hated Derek Shepherd and his bad timing.
“S’okay,” Arizona replied in what she hoped was a casual tone of voice. “We were just…talking. About…stuff.” She heard Callie sigh and looked down as the brunette lay her head against her side. It made Arizona smile, forgetting there were others present for a moment. She reached down to softly stroke her girlfriend’s hair, loving how it felt to have Callie curled up against her once more. “She was requesting a higher dosage of pain medication. I thought maybe, being the Chief of all the Chiefs, you could consider signing off on it yourself?” Arizona glanced up to look at Derek again, tentatively this time. “Sir.”
Derek's brow lifted in amusement as he looked from the blonde down to the woman resting against her ribs. Callie's eyes were closed, a slight, permanent smile on her lips as she snuggled in comfortably.
Didn't look like she was in too much distress at this particular moment.
The Chief returned his gaze to Arizona. “Alright, Dr. Robbins,” he relented easily.
Arizona's eyes widened and her head jerked a little in surprise. “Really?” she smiled. “I mean...” She tilted her head. “Really?”
Derek let out a small laugh before his smile got even wider. “Yes,” he instantly replied. “Really.” He turned towards the door, looking down the right end of the hall and then the left. He finally spotted a nurse a few feet away. “Excuse me. Nurse?” he called out to the woman's back.
Arizona glanced up from Callie, a smile still on her face, until she got a look at who it was.
Oh…crap.
Her smile vanished, and her fingertips froze from where they were softly stroking the side of Callie’s face.
“Mm…don’t stop,” Callie murmured from her place leaning against Arizona’s side.
Arizona glanced down and then back up when nurse Carmen came into the room at Derek’s request. She smiled nervously. “Hi.”
Callie opened one eye, and then the other. “Hey,” she protested as she lifted her head so she could look up at the blonde. “Why'd you stop?” She trailed off when she realized where her ex-girlfriend's line of sight was currently directed.
So, she followed it.
Callie's eyes widened when she took in the appearance of the nurse.
“Oh my God.” Callie suddenly jolted up from her spot resting against her partner's side. She ignored the sharp jolt of pain that shot down to her hip as she reached out to smack Arizona in the ribs. “Her?!” she shouted at her ex. “Are you frikken' kidding me?!”
Arizona flinched.
Trying not to panic in the face of the three other people in the room, she laughed nervously, rubbing at her sore ribs. “Oh, sweetie, the pain meds are making you delusional,” she replied, shooting Carmen, Derek and Lexi a ‘yikes’ grimace as she nodded at Callie.
In a ‘don’t mind her, she’s not herself’ kind of way.
“Ow,” the blonde stated when that got her hit a second time.
“Is…there something I’m missing?” nurse Carmen asked with a raised brow.
“Nope,” Arizona instantly replied before Callie could.
So Callie smacked her again. “'Nope',” she repeated with a quick jerk of her head, clearly mocking the other woman. “Is that all I am to you now?” she quickly added as she shot another glare toward the nurse.
Fucking seriously?
Dr. Torres turned her deep brown eyes, blazing with anger, back to her ex-girlfriend. “Seriously, Arizona?” she went on with a quick wave of her free hand in Carmen's direction. “I'm surprised the fire alarm hasn't gone off in here yet.”
What?
She had eyes. And a new-found love for women.
Arizona closed her eyes momentarily.
She was going to kill Mark Sloan deader than anyone in the history of the world had ever been.
Derek decided it was probably best to intervene before Callie hurt herself.
Or, possibly hurt Dr. Robbins.
“Okay then,” he quickly stepped in, talking to the nurse. “I need you to change out the morphine bag and increase the drip on the next one by three milligrams overnight. In the morning set it back to what Dr. Peters has written in her chart, and see if the pain subsides at all. We’ll go from there and see if we can’t get Dr. Torres discharged then.” This time he was looking at Callie, a slightly strange expression on his face as he waited to see if there’d be another outburst.
Arizona looked at Callie with fearful eyes, begging her silently not to say any more. For the sake of everyone else in the room.
She knew she was most likely already in the ‘sleeping on the couch for a week’ doghouse.
Callie narrowed her eyes at the blonde.
That look pretty much said it all.
Then she turned her gaze to the Chief. She smiled the best she could. “Thanks, Derek.” She turned her eyes to the nurse.
Seriously?
Callie shook her head with a sigh before pushing herself towards the edge of the bed. “You think I can get some fresh sheets?” she asked no one in particular as she grimaced at the feel of them beneath her fingers. She was used to sweaty sheets, just for a much different reason.
Callie smirked a little as she looked up at Arizona, but it was quickly replaced by another hard glare at in the blonde's direction.
The nurse raised a slow brow, but since she was used to cranky patients, she just shrugged. “Yeah, of course.” She headed out to find the nearest linen closet.
Arizona avoided meeting Callie’s gaze like the plague, choosing to jump off of the other side of the bed. She was well aware that the Chief was staring at her with a questioning look. “Well, I should…go.”
Callie’s head turned to glare at her so fast, she was worried the woman might break it.
Arizona’s eyes widened in realization. “Not after her,” she hissed under her breath, realizing that she was in a hopeless situation.
Well. This was about as close as they had come to being ‘not together’ since they had broken up two weeks ago. Progress, right?
Crap.
“I have…sick children, babies even, that need my attention.”
Yes, she was pulling the ‘sick kids’ card. Desperate times called for desperate measures.
“Oh,” Callie shot back, her anger still plain as day. “So now you care about children?”
Arizona's eyes widened in surprise. She knew her ex was angry, but...
“Calliope,” she whispered softly as she glanced away, clearly hurt by that comment.
Dammit.
Any trace of anger was immediately gone from Callie's face. She closed her eyes with a heavy sigh as she reached up to rub at her brow. “I don't know why I said that.”
Arizona looked away, still stung. “I really have to go,” she repeated softly. “I’ll stop by later. If you want me to.”
Which she wasn’t sure of now.
Shooting Derek one last forced smile and a quiet “Thanks, Chief,” Arizona left.
Shepherd watched after her for a moment, before turning his confused gaze back to Callie. “Are you okay, Torres?”
Callie fell back onto the bed with another heavy sigh. “Just go, Derek,” she replied softly, her eyes trained on the ceiling.
Well, if this wasn't turning out to be one cluster-fuck of a day.
The Chief didn't argue. Giving Callie one last look, he left and closed the door behind him.
***
It was many hours later, nearly nightfall, before Callie had another visitor. She didn't roll over as she heard the door to her room open quietly.
“I don't want any,” she called out to the sound of footsteps.
“I’ve heard that before,” Mark Sloan replied as he closed the door behind him. “You never mean it.”
“I mean it now.”
“No, you don’t.” Mark smirked as he shrugged off his lab coat, laying it over the back of a chair before climbing up onto the bed with Callie. He lay down beside her, propping his head up on one arm and staring a hole into the back of her skull when she refused to turn over.
“You’re pouting, Torres. Shepherd told me you had issues earlier, but didn’t know why. So spill.”
Callie didn't respond.
Mark nudged her with his hip. “You know I can go all night.” His smirk widened.
Callie jerked her elbow back hard against Mark's ribs. She finally allowed herself a small smile at the harsh gust of air she felt against her ear. “You deserve that. You ass.”
“What?” Mark whined as he shifted to rub at his aching ribs. “What'd I do?”
“Two words,” Callie replied sharply. “Nurse. Carmen.”
Mark, loveable as he was, missed the point completely. He grinned widely at Callie. “I know, right? She is hot.”
That earned him an even harder elbow to the gut.
“Hey,” he groaned. “I bruise easy. What’s with all the violence? I woulda thought you’d be all over the new eye candy, since you dig chicks and stuff now.”
Callie finally turned to face him with a sharp glare. “Not when the new 'eye candy' is making 'eyes' at my girlfriend!”
Mark jerked a little in surprise, but his smile slowly returned. “Are you jealous?”
“No!” Callie instantly shouted. “Yes!” she then corrected. “Of course I am. I mean, seriously Sloan?”
Mark's smile turned into a smirk. “I thought she was your ex-girlfriend now?”
Callie elbowed him hard again. “Like that matters?” she shot back. “You know how this stuff works.” She growled as she thought about that for a moment. “Okay, maybe you don't,” she relented. “But still.” She reached out to grab him by the front of his scrubs. “Bad,” she said as she gave the material a hard tug. “Very, very bad.” She tugged again on every word.
Mark looked genuinely surprised. “I’m sorry, I had no idea it would be this big of a deal.” He reached up and slowly extracted his scrub shirt from Callie’s fists. “It’s not like Robbins is actually interested in her.” Though she did get all…flustered earlier when hot nurse was hovering around the desk area.
But he felt it was better for his personal safety if he left that part out.
“If it makes you feel any better, Robbins only agreed to it so she can get that photo of you on the pier from me. She’s been hounding me for months, and it’s the only reason she caved in to my challenge. Plus it was on one of those few days were you two were in ‘off’ mode. I was trying to cheer her up.”
“With hot nurse candy?” Callie snapped back.
Mark gulped. “Um…yes?”
Callie sighed heavily as she dropped her gaze down to the blanket. She moved her fingers down to play with the white material. “She really wants that picture?” she asked with a soft, barely audible voice.
Mark smiled as he dipped his head in an effort to meet her dark brown eyes. “Yeah. She really does.”
A few moments passed before Torres lifted her gaze to meet Mark's. She smiled. “That's kinda...sweet.”
Mark smiled back. “Yeah. It is.” He reached up to ruffle her hair playfully. “You do look really hot in it, after all.”
Callie smacked him a little less hard this time.
Chuckling to himself, Mark turned over and collapsed onto his back, staring at the ceiling. “Of course, I could just copy it for her, but this is way more fun.”
Callie smiled a little more at that. “She'd never take it,” she replied softly as she settled herself onto her back, her eyes on the ceiling as well. “Arizona's an original kinda girl.” Her smile widened. She was still a little mad at the whole...'nurse' thing.
But, on the other hand...
Arizona was still Arizona.
Sweet. Kind. Funny. Adorable. Beautiful.
Arizona.
Callie groaned softly to herself. She still had it so bad.
“You two are gonna give up this whole ‘we broke up’ charade, right? Because absolutely no one believes it any more, and I’m pretty sure that if I asked when the last time you two made out was, you’d tell me it was less than twelve hours ago.”
Mark turned his head to fix Callie with an intense stare. “She’s taking you home and staying by your side until you’re a hundred and ten percent better. Nobody does that for just some ex-girlfriend. Nobody.” He didn’t blink as he continued to watch the woman next to him squirm. “She also called your father. He’s pretty pissed that you didn’t tell him what was going on before he left, and he wants you to call him as soon as you get home.”
Callie groaned as she slammed her hand down against the bed. “Don't wanna,” she whined before quickly turning a glare to her best friend. “Why didn't you stop her?”
Mark arched a brow. “Me?” he repeated. “Stop? Arizona?”
Callie sighed again. “I see your point.” She dropped her eyes down to the blanket as she absently picked at the material. “I didn't tell him ‘cause I didn't want him to worry. Daddy can have a bad heart sometimes.” She lifted her gaze back up to meet Mark’s. “And, uh...it was maybe...less than five hours ago. Zona and I. With the...yeah."
Mark grinned. “I knew it.”
***
Arizona was just emerging from a patient’s room when she literally ran into Mark Sloan, who had apparently decided to hover directly outside.
“Oh!” She jumped in surprise, then dodged around him. “Every time I talk to you, you get me into trouble. I have a massive stack of charts to take care of and six more patients to evaluate, all in the next two hours, so I really can’t handle any more trouble right now.”
Arizona looked more than a little frazzled. She had her hair pulled back into a messy ponytail, but it had fallen out in various places and kept getting in her face. Not to mention she had been running around like a crazy person putting out fires for the last few hours, without so much as getting a bathroom break or a chance to sit down for half a second.
Today of all days, the children of Seattle seemed to have decided to self destruct all at the same time.
Mark reached out to grab her by the arm, turning her around before she could get too far. He reached up to place his other hand on her opposite shoulder as he leaned down to lock their eyes.
“Calm down, Robbins,” he ordered with a slight shake of his hands. “I got it all covered. I'm gonna take care of all the really sick little babies and I got Dr. Martin to cover the charts.”
Arizona's brown ticked. “What do you know about sick little babies?”
Mark released her shoulders as he returned to his full height. “It can't be that hard, right?” he reasoned with a shrug of his shoulders. “I mean they're...little. How much could they possibly need?”
Arizona slowly began to smile as she reached up to pat him on his wide, muscular shoulder. “You better let me handle it. Just stick to making people pretty.” She moved to brush past him.
“Callie needs you.”
The words stopped her dead in her tracks.
“S-she does? Are you…sure?” Arizona turned very slowly back to face him. The look on her face was a mixture of apprehensiveness and skepticism. “Because the last time I saw her, she was closer to committing murder than she was to needing me. Except for the murder part.”
Wherein she was to become the murderee.
The last time Arizona had seen that look of fury on Calliope Torres’ face was right after she had gauze-pawed both hands and locked her in a quarantine room to leave her with her chicken pox.
Mark smiled softly. “Of course she does. She'll always need you.” He shook his head with a heavy sigh. “Doesn’t matter if you two are 'broken up' or...whatever you try to call yourselves now.” He crossed his arms over his chest and nodded back over his shoulder. “Go.”
“But-”
Mark walked up and snatched the stack of charts out of Arizona’s hands. “Go. Now. I’ll take care of your patients. I’m not completely clueless when it comes to children. I am a father myself, you know.”
Arizona gave Mark a strange look. “She’s eighteen, pregnant, and you’ve only known about her for six months. That doesn’t make you in any way knowledgeable about-”
“Robbins! Go!”
Sighing, Arizona conceded defeat. “They’d better all be alive when I get back,” she called over her shoulder as she headed for the elevator.
***
Callie was in her third hour of mindlessly staring at the ceiling when she heard a soft knock at her door. She sighed heavily, not even bothering to look over when she heard it open a moment later.
“I told you I don't feel like eating,” she said to the air, figuring it was Mark coming back to hound her again.
Arizona stopped just inside the doorway and looked at the bottle of juice she was holding in one hand and the pudding cup in the other.
“Um…I can leave this outside if you don’t wanna look at it,” she answered tentatively.
Callie's eyes jerked away from the ceiling. She immediately pushed herself up against her pillow as she locked gazes with her ex-girlfriend. “I didn't expect to see you again,” she admitted softly as an involuntary smile crossed her lips.
She couldn't help it.
Her heart still did that little 'thump-thump' whenever she saw the blonde.
Arizona felt a little of the nervous tension leave her body as soon as Callie smiled. “Didn’t think you wanted to see me again,” she admitted, making her way over to Callie’s bed.
“I can’t stay too long…Mark is supposed to be helping with some of my patients, but I don’t know how long he’ll be able to handle a bunch of sick and cranky eight year olds.” She pulled herself up to sit on the edge of the bed and set the pudding and spoon down next to the brunette. “But I’m under strict orders to make sure you eat or drink something. Sooo…” Arizona shook the apple juice and twisted the lid off. “Drink. You need to get your blood sugar back up.”
Callie frowned at the sight of the bottle. Her tummy was doing all kinds of the rumblings. “I don't think I can,” she whined as she looked up to meet blue eyes.
Arizona's brow was arched as she shot Callie her patented 'Arizona-resolve face'.
Callie sighed, smiling because she knew she really didn't have a choice.
She never could deny that face.
“Fine,” she relented with a sigh. “But if I puke this right back up...” She trailed off as she reached out to accept the offered juice. “Then that'll just suck for me,” she finished in a mumble.
Arizona had to laugh. “You won’t puke it back up, it’s good for your stomach,” she promised. “Now drink.”
She watched as Callie pouted and took a few tentative sips. While she was trying to get that down, Arizona pulled off the lid of the pudding cup and stuck the spoon in. She held it out to Callie, who just took one look down at the pudding cup and then back up into her eyes.
“Seriously?” Arizona mused, and when Callie just pouted even more, she caved in. With an over dramatic sigh, she scooped up some of the pudding and held the spoon out for Callie.
“You’re loving this, aren’t you?” the blonde chuckled.
Callie smiled in response as she leaned forward to accept the pudding off of the spoon. She moaned softly as the cold snack melted on her tongue. “Every minute,” she replied.
Arizona laughed, rolling her eyes as she dipped the spoon back into the cup.
Callie accepted the bite. And then another. And then another.
“I've never spoon fed a patient before,” Arizona mused as the last bite was presented to the brunette. “And I'm in pediatrics.” She quirked an amused smile. “What's that say about you, hm?”
Callie tilted her head with an innocent smile of her own. “That I'm extra special cute when I'm sick?”
“That you are,” Arizona replied with a low chuckle. She tossed the pudding cup into the trash can next to the bed, and handed Callie back the juice bottle. She waited for her to drink her fill, before placing it on the bedside table for the moment.
“How are you feeling?” Arizona lifted her right hand to Callie’s forehead, checking for a fever. “You don’t seem hot anymore.”
“Ouch,” Callie replied with another pout.
“Temperature-wise, you big baby,” Arizona teased. “You’ve got some of your colour back, too. That’s really great. Might be able to take you home in the morning.”
Callie instantly perked up at the words. “Really?” she asked with a bit more excitement in her voice. “You really mean it?”
Arizona laughed softly. “Yes,” she replied easily. “I really mean it.”
Callie did a little happy dance in the middle of her bed, and then hissed when the motion caused a deep, painful twinge in the center of her back. “Ouch,” she pouted as she tried to reach back and rub at the ache. “Stupid happy dance,” she grumbled when her attempts proved futile.
Arizona watched Callie with sparkling eyes. “You’re amazing,” she stated softly, out of the blue.
Callie stopped mid-wince and raised an eyebrow at Arizona. “How did you come to that conclusion so suddenly?”
“You just are.” Arizona shrugged. “I’ve always thought so.” She glanced up to meet Callie’s eyes with a soft smile. “And I’m sorry about before, with that whole…nurse thing. It was just a stupid joke with Mark. I didn’t want to hurt you, ever.”
Callie considered that for a moment, then slowly smiled. “I'll allow it,” she laughed as she dropped her hand away from her back, into her lap. She sighed heavily, her shoulders slumping as she dropped her eyes down to watch as she picked at the blanket. “I was hurt,” she admitted softly after a second. “But I was also...” She trailed off, glancing up to meet blue eyes.
“...kinda jealous,” Callie finished, barely audible.
Its not like she wanted to admit it. But she figured she owed it to Arizona.
“You were?” Arizona looked genuinely surprised. “Calliope, you have nothing to be jealous of. Nothing.”
“I have eyes,” Callie stated bluntly. “And I’m pretty sure morphine doesn’t make you hallucinate…or if it does, it doesn’t make you hallucinate that level of attractiveness.”
That just made the other surgeon laugh. “Calliope, I love you. You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen, and no one could ever hold a candle to you. You're a thousand steps above 'that level of attractiveness'.”
Arizona wasn’t sure whether or not she should be saying this. After all, they were already pretty bad at acting like they had broken up. But…it was the truth, and Callie definitely deserved to hear it.
Callie's smile instantly softened as she stared back the short distance into her ex-lover's eyes. She bit her bottom lip as she reached out to brush her fingers along the other woman's cheek. “What happened to us?” she whispered softly as she moved her hand up towards soft blonde hair. Her eyes followed her hand, sighing as she brushed her fingers through the silky strands. “I still have all these feelings, but...” She trailed off, the rest of that sentence hanging heavily in the air between them.
Callie knew she didn't need to finish it.
Or even if she could.
“But,” Arizona echoed with a soft sigh of her own. “That word seems to be the bane of our existence these days.” She leaned in and pressed a kiss to the other woman’s forehead.
She wanted to just say ‘screw it’ and cave in, admit they should have kids and then just get back to how things were before. But there were still way too many red flags in the back of her mind when it came to that subject, and she knew it wouldn’t do either of them any good to ignore them.
She couldn't lie to Callie. Despite everything, despite her continued feelings for the ortho surgeon, she hadn't changed her mind on that subject.
Arizona pulled back with another soft sigh. “Anna’s doing great, by the way.” She figured this was a good subject change, since she’d been meaning to let Callie know how things went. “The transplant seems to have taken so far, and the breaks you set before it are healing up nicely.” Arizona took Callie’s hand in both of hers, softly brushing her fingertips over the back of the other woman’s. “I wanted to keep her for a few more days of observation, and then let her dad take her home. We can schedule monthly exams to see if the transplant helps her get stronger, and then go from there.”
Callie was still too lost in the deep blue eyes gazing back at her to really understand much of what Arizona was saying. She smiled stupidly as she gazed into the deep blue depths. “That's good,” she replied absently. “You should do...that.”
Something in the back of her brain registered the soft touch on her hand, but Callie was still just so...lost.
It wasn't exactly hard to get lost in those eyes.
So blue.
It took a few seconds for Arizona to realize she had lost Callie. “Sweetie?” She tilted her head to the side. “You’re still high, aren’t you?”
Callie continued to smile. “Maybe just a little.”
Chuckling, Arizona leaned down and kissed her. She couldn’t help it, Callie just looked so…irresistible.
She really was extra special cute when she was hospitalized.
“You need to sleep,” she pointed out after pulling back a short distance. “Regain your strength and everything so I can take you home tomorrow.”
“Mmm,” Callie replied as she reached up with her right hand to place it gently on the back of Arizona's neck. Her fingers played with the soft, fine blonde hairs. “I like kissing better,” she replied softly, smiling as she tugged on the neck in her grasp. Her smile shifted from soft to seductive in a matter of seconds. Her dark brown eyes were just a little darker than normal.
Callie gave another soft tug of her hand.
And who was Arizona to deny Callie what she wanted?
“Five more minutes,” Arizona mused, before allowing herself to be pulled into yet another deep kiss.
---
Chapter 9/23
Authors: Faith & Kye
Pairing: Callie/Arizona
Rating: NC-17
Story Summary: Post-6x17 "Push" -- Arizona prefers chickens to children, and Callie isn't okay with that. Heartbroken and lonely, the two women try unsuccessfully to move on with their lives, only to find they really are made for eachother.
Chapter Summary: A little bit of filler fluff. Arizona continues to take care of Callie.
Disclaimer: All television shows, movies, books, and other copyrighted material referred to in this work, and the characters, settings, and events thereof, are the properties of their respective owners. As this work is an interpretation of the original material and not for-profit, it constitutes fair use. Reference to real persons, places, or events are made in a fictional context, and are not intended to be libelous, defamatory, or in any way factual.
Previous Chapters
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Callie had fallen into a fitful sleep. The morphine was still doing wonky things to her brain and body, but it was better than the constant pain she would've been in otherwise.
Or so Arizona had convinced herself. The blonde sighed as she sat in the chair by her ex's bed.
This was really...something. Here she was, worried to death about her...about Callie. And at this point, neither of them could even tell what they were to eachother anymore.
“Zona?” The voice was weak and shaky as it called out her name.
The blonde instantly sat up, her knees popping as they unbent from the chair for the first time in hours. “I’m right here,” she replied softly, standing and stepping up to the side of Callie’s bed. She reached down and took her hand gently.
“Calliope?” Arizona’s eyes watched the brunette like a hawk, searching for any signs of distress. “How are you are holding up?”
Callie blinked slowly and then swallowed back. They had changed the oxygen mask to a tube line resting beneath her nose. She groaned as she reached up to adjust the plastic on her face. “I feel like crap.”
Arizona had to smile as she reached up to assist her lover's weak, uncoordinated attempt.
Callie groaned again as she tried to shift her aching body. “I gotta get out of this bed.” She moved to push herself up, but her muscles were too weak from the pain medication. She fell back against the sheets with a defeated sigh.
“Whoa,” Arizona soothed, placing a hand on the woman's shoulder to keep her in place. “You’re not going anywhere. You need to rest. You feel like crap, remember?”
She sat down on the edge of the bed, careful not to touch Callie’s body in any way for fear of making her hurt even more. “Can I get you anything? I’ve got some ice chips if you need.”
Arizona would pretty much do anything she asked her to right now. Short of letting her get up and out of bed.
“Screw the ice chips,” Callie groaned. “Get me a beer.”
Arizona laughed again. “Calliope...” She smiled down at the brunette as she lay there. On instinct, she reached out with her right hand to brush a messy strand of dark hair back from the other woman's eyes.
Callie slowly blinked as she turned to face the blonde more directly. She swallowed thickly and licked her lips. “So...how 'bout that beer?”
“I think we should wait until you’re off the morphine, sweetie,” Arizona pointed out with a light-hearted chuckle. “Besides, if I step out of line one more time I’m pretty sure Shepherd is gonna fire me.”
Callie arched a slow, lazy eyebrow. “What's that now?” She swallowed again, then winced at the painful jab of her dry throat.
Arizona leaned closer with a concerned touch to her arm. “Callie?”
Callie smiled the best she could. “Maybe I will take those ice chips.”
Arizona reached over to the side table and grabbed the cup she had retrieved about twenty minutes before. Some of them were melty, but mostly they were still solid.
Callie looked up and pouted at the blonde. “Can’t…coordinate…arms…”
Arizona arched a slow eyebrow down at her. “You just want me to feed them to you because you think it’s all sexy.”
Callie continued to pout. “Can’t…move…too...weak...”
That made Arizona laugh, and she easily caved in. She dug an ice chip out of the cup and held it up to Callie’s lips.
The brunette opened her mouth to greedily accept the cold material. She didn't even try to make it sexy as she sucked the ice into her mouth.
Well, at least not this time.
Callie moaned as the ice melted on her tongue. It felt like heaven as the cold water slid down her parched throat. “More please,” she requested as soon as the ice was completely melted. Her lips turned up in a slight smirk as she met with the blue eyes staring back at her. “You remember the last time you fed me something?”
Arizona blushed furiously. “Dirty girl,” she teased, putting another ice chip up against her lips. “You’re thinking of that while you’re lying here all drugged up? Gutter brain.”
Callie chuckled weakly. “It was just strawberries.”
“I was thinking of what happened after I fed you those chocolate covered strawberries.” It was Arizona's turn to smirk.
“Okay, now who’s the gutter brain?” Callie pointed out, taking another ice chip under her tongue.
Shaking her head, Arizona held up another one. “If I were really clumsy, I might just drop this down your shirt, you know.”
Callie chuckled as she accepted it into her mouth. “Promise?” she teased in a low, husky whisper.
Arizona shoved the next ice chip a little harder than before.
Callie's eyes widened and she nearly choked. “Hey!” she protested as soon as she was able to recover.
The blonde smiled in triumph. “That oughta cool you off.”
Callie continued to shoot the other woman a glare. “You could've just asked.”
Arizona grinned teasingly and held up another cube. “That wouldn’t be nearly as much fun.”
She fed Callie a few more before putting the cup down. “Do you think you can sit up? I want to take a look at your back.” Slipping off the bed, she watched Callie carefully. “Or maybe just roll onto your side for a minute, if that’s easier.”
Derek might not want her playing doctor, but she was damn well gonna keep an eye on the other woman. Especially since her actual doctor was lame and decided to leave at five o’clock on a Friday.
“Don’t you have work to do?” Callie questioned with a raised brow.
“You are my work,” Arizona mused. “Mark is checking in on my patients for me tonight, and I don’t have any surgeries scheduled until Sunday. Now quit stalling and roll over.”
Callie smiled, holding the other woman's blue gaze for a moment longer before moving to turn over. It was difficult, and it hurt like a bitch, but she finally managed to get onto her right side. She let out a slow, deep breath as she collapsed onto the sheets from all of her efforts. “I need new sheets.” Her brow scrunched as her face turned into a disgusted grimace. She jerked a little when she felt Arizona's cold fingers against the small of her back.
“I’ll get a nurse to change them later,” Arizona replied, frowning as she lifted up the back of Callie’s gown. “Looks like it hasn’t spread, which is good. The antibiotics will kick in even more by tomorrow morning, and you might feel a little bit better. Within a week you should be feeling a lot less pain.” Her fingers traced the outline of the bruise, avoiding the direct area where the marrow was taken from. Callie hissed, and Arizona eventually stopped, satisfied that it was only a normal amount of hurt for a situation like this, and that nothing was going to fall off or discombobulate.
“Sorry,” she apologized, helping Callie roll over onto her back once more. “Looks like you’ll be okay, though. I can probably convince them to let me take you home tomorrow night, if you feel up to it. Mark and I were gonna take turns alternating between your place and work.”
It suddenly occurred to her that maybe Callie didn’t really want her at the apartment. “If…that’s okay with you, I-I mean. If you don’t want me back there, we can work something else out.”
Callie smiled at the other surgeon's nervous stutter. It was still adorable. “No,” she replied softly. “That'll be just fine.” She felt that familiar little flutter in her chest. Just the thought of having Arizona back in her apartment...
It really had been too long since she was able to lay next to her. To feel her body heat and listen to her slow, steady breathing.
God.
She missed Arizona.
So fucking much.
Callie grimaced again. Only part of it was the physical pain this time. She turned her brown eyes up toward the IV bag hanging above her bed. “How do you turn this thing up?”
“Oh, I could do it, but then we’re back to me getting fired.” Arizona shot her lover a wry grin. “I tried to get you off the morphine and onto demorol instead, but McChief tore me a new one in front of McWife. So you’re stuck with this stuff for now.”
She huffed an annoyed sigh. Stupid, useless Dr. Peters, and stupid, stupid Derek…normally she liked the guy, but right now she just thought he was a giant ass.
“I’m pretty sure if I so much as leave a fingerprint on your IV bag he’ll have me bounced out of here.”
Callie frowned as she hissed through another throb of pain. “Right now 'McChief' can kiss my sore, and very painful 'McAss'.” She shifted on the bed once more, desperate to find some relief from the pain. She squeezed her eyes shut tightly as her back continued to ache.
Arizona watched the other woman struggle to get comfortable. When she saw the tight, painful grimace on Callie's face, it broke her heart. She couldn't stand to see someone she loved in pain. Least of all, the woman she loved more than anything.
Callie bit her lip as she slowly blinked her eyes open. She turned her gaze to the blonde. “I really hate to ask, but you seem to be my only option right now,” she started, still biting her bottom lip. “Do you think you could maybe...” She paused through another grimace. “...rub it or something?”
“Won’t that…hurt even more?” Arizona asked tentatively.
“Desperate here,” Callie pointed out with another painful moan.
“Okay, yeah, of course,” Arizona agreed. “Here.” She very gingerly helped Callie roll onto her right side again. “In the meantime…” Pulling up her pager in one hand, she quickly sent a message directly to Derek.
He could change the medication dose, now that Callie was awake and he could visibly see her in pain.
Once the message was sent, Arizona pulled Callie’s gown up just enough to get a good view of the area. Her fingers very gently touched the soft, warm skin, and she had to swallow back.
Callie still managed to make her head spin.
“Tell me if it hurts,” she whispered softly as she worked her fingers along the tensed up muscle.
Callie released a low, deep moan. She'd done a lot of that lately. But this time, it was the very, very good kind.
“Oh God, that feels amazing,” the brunette sighed after a few seconds had passed. It was still a little painful, but nothing she couldn't handle. A few more minutes, and almost all the pain was gone, replaced by a deep, warm tingle.
“I love your hands,” Callie whispered with another soft moan.
A slow, knowing smirk crossed Arizona’s lips. “I know you do,” she husked in a low tone.
Her smirk only widened when Callie moaned again.
Leaning down, Arizona brought her lips up against the brunette’s ear. “I’ve had a lot of time to learn exactly what you like.”
Callie jerked a little. And then moaned again.
But this time, for a very different reason.
“Not fair,” she whispered with a shaky voice as her fingers dug into the sheets. She swallowed back, licking her lips as she felt that familiar tingle begin to spread throughout her entire body.
That's all it ever seemed to take for her. With Arizona, anyway.
Only with Arizona.
The blonde kept her lips by Callie’s ear and pressed a soft kiss against it. She eventually stopped kneading the other woman’s back, and rested her hand lightly against a smooth hip.
“I might have run away when you had the chicken pox, but this time I promise I’ll take of you.” Arizona kissed even more softly against Callie’s neck, just below her ear. She closed her eyes as her fingertips lightly brushed against the skin they rested on.
She wasn’t trying to seduce Callie while she was in pain. She wasn’t that mean or twisted. She just wanted to bask in her ex-girlfriend’s touch for a moment.
She missed her.
Callie sighed heavily. The feel of Arizona's hand on her hip was enough to make her completely forget all about her pain.
She sighed more softly this time as she turned her upper body just enough to meet the soft blue gaze staring down at her. She smiled as she reached up with her left hand to place it on the other woman's cheek. “I know you will,” she whispered softly before gently moving her hand around to the back of Arizona's neck.
Callie hesitated only for a moment before gently tugging the blonde's lips down to connect with her own.
Arizona leaned her weight into the bed, one arm on either side of Callie’s body. She didn’t exactly resist when the brunette’s fingers curled against the back of her neck and held her there.
Who was she to resist the poor morphine patient who was in intense pain?
Her eyes instantly drifted closed, and she moaned softly into the gentle kiss.
And gentle it would have to stay. Because Callie was in no shape for anything more than that.
But even gentle was extremely okay with Arizona.
Callie tried to lift her other hand to join in, but the IV line impeded her progress. She dropped it back to the bed with a soft sigh as she brushed her fingers a little harder against the back of Arizona's neck.
If she loved the blonde's hands, she absolutely fucking adored those lips.
Callie pulled a little harder on the back of the other woman's neck.
“Mm, easy girl,” Arizona murmured into the kiss with a slight chuckle, pulling back a tiny fraction. “You have a giant hole in your hip where they sucked out your insides. I don’t think this is ‘doctor approved’.”
“I am a doctor,” Callie pointed out. “And I approve this message.” She flashed the sexiest smile she could muster.
Arizona had to grin at that. “Yes ma’am,” she teased before leaning back in to seal the kiss once more.
***
Lexi was walking by just then, planning to stop in and fill Callie in on Anna Drake’s progress.
But as soon as she saw Arizona curled up next to Callie in bed, their lips firmly attached, she stopped in front of the window and just…stared for a moment.
“…I give up.”
Turning on her heel, she walked back toward the elevator.
***
Arizona had carefully climbed up next to Callie in the bed, and now she held the woman in her arms as they softly kissed.
It was better than supply-closet-sex.
Which was saying something, because that stuff was really good.
But this…nothing else touched a moment like this.
Arizona sighed softly into the kiss, her eyes still glued shut. “You have awesome breath, by the way,” she teased playfully, laughing when Callie nudged her in the stomach again. “Post-surgical. It’s very…medicinal.”
Callie pulled back from the kiss with an arched brow. “Funny,” she shot back as she glanced down at the blonde's body. “It was good enough to get you back into my bed.” She smirked in triumph at the slight blush that coated the other woman's cheeks.
“Not the first time I've lured you in with my sweet morning breath, either,” Callie noted after a moment had passed. She ran her tongue along her bottom lip before biting against it softly. “There was that one morning in particular...” she trailed off as she reached down to gently pushed her fingers beneath the hem of Arizona's scrub top.
“One morning?” Arizona shivered at Callie’s touch. “You’ll have to be more specific...you’ve made me late for work many, many times,” she pointed out with a low chuckle.
Callie smirked again. “Hmm,” she admitted with a low moan. “You've got a point there.” Her hand moved just a little higher on the blonde's stomach. Her fingers continued their slow, soft stroking of the warm, smooth skin.
The brunette's smirk faltered just a little as she stared across the short distance into deep, penetrating blue eyes.
“I love your eyes,” Callie finally whispered softly as her smirk turned to into a gentle smile.
Arizona’s heart was suddenly beating against her chest like a drum, and she blushed at Callie’s words. “This is bordering on naughty touching,” she pointed out, followed by a soft whimper.
Callie’s hand just felt so…nice.
To be rated PG.
“Your point?” Callie smirked, her hand riding up a little higher.
“Oh god,” Arizona moaned softly, her skin tingling wherever the other woman touched her. “You’re making me a bad person, Calliope…I’m s-supposed to be making you…rest…”
She was indeed the worst caregiver ever. But Callie was cheating when she did that…
Callie leaned into the blonde to get just a little closer. “No rest,” she whispered seductively as she dropped her gaze to those inviting lips, and then once again met with those amazing eyes. “Feel better,” she added as her lips once again turned up into a perfect smirk.
Arizona groaned quietly. “You’re dangerous,” she pointed out with a low chuckle.
“You’re my pain medication,” Callie replied with a seductive waggle of her browline.
Laughing softly, Arizona leaned in and stole another kiss. “I love you, you know that?”
And then Lexi Grey burst into the room.
“Shepherd’s coming,” she hissed, waving at them frantically. “In like five seconds!”
Arizona instantly extracted herself from Callie - well, partially. She pulled the woman’s hand out from her shirt and quickly sat up on the bed, straightening out her scrubs and then Callie’s blanket.
Just so, y’know…it wasn’t too suspicious.
She didn’t want to be kicked out. Even though for both their sakes, that might have been a good idea.
Not a second later, Derek appeared in the doorway. He looked from one attending surgeon to the other. A small smile spread across his lips as he stepped into the room, arms folded across his chest. “I received your page, but I was in the middle of a meeting.” He once again met Arizona's eyes. “I apologize for my late response.” He wasn’t even making an effort to hide his grin.
Callie was watching the exchange with slightly wide eyes as her heart pounded a little harder in her chest.
Dammit.
She meant it when she said it before. She hated Derek Shepherd and his bad timing.
“S’okay,” Arizona replied in what she hoped was a casual tone of voice. “We were just…talking. About…stuff.” She heard Callie sigh and looked down as the brunette lay her head against her side. It made Arizona smile, forgetting there were others present for a moment. She reached down to softly stroke her girlfriend’s hair, loving how it felt to have Callie curled up against her once more. “She was requesting a higher dosage of pain medication. I thought maybe, being the Chief of all the Chiefs, you could consider signing off on it yourself?” Arizona glanced up to look at Derek again, tentatively this time. “Sir.”
Derek's brow lifted in amusement as he looked from the blonde down to the woman resting against her ribs. Callie's eyes were closed, a slight, permanent smile on her lips as she snuggled in comfortably.
Didn't look like she was in too much distress at this particular moment.
The Chief returned his gaze to Arizona. “Alright, Dr. Robbins,” he relented easily.
Arizona's eyes widened and her head jerked a little in surprise. “Really?” she smiled. “I mean...” She tilted her head. “Really?”
Derek let out a small laugh before his smile got even wider. “Yes,” he instantly replied. “Really.” He turned towards the door, looking down the right end of the hall and then the left. He finally spotted a nurse a few feet away. “Excuse me. Nurse?” he called out to the woman's back.
Arizona glanced up from Callie, a smile still on her face, until she got a look at who it was.
Oh…crap.
Her smile vanished, and her fingertips froze from where they were softly stroking the side of Callie’s face.
“Mm…don’t stop,” Callie murmured from her place leaning against Arizona’s side.
Arizona glanced down and then back up when nurse Carmen came into the room at Derek’s request. She smiled nervously. “Hi.”
Callie opened one eye, and then the other. “Hey,” she protested as she lifted her head so she could look up at the blonde. “Why'd you stop?” She trailed off when she realized where her ex-girlfriend's line of sight was currently directed.
So, she followed it.
Callie's eyes widened when she took in the appearance of the nurse.
“Oh my God.” Callie suddenly jolted up from her spot resting against her partner's side. She ignored the sharp jolt of pain that shot down to her hip as she reached out to smack Arizona in the ribs. “Her?!” she shouted at her ex. “Are you frikken' kidding me?!”
Arizona flinched.
Trying not to panic in the face of the three other people in the room, she laughed nervously, rubbing at her sore ribs. “Oh, sweetie, the pain meds are making you delusional,” she replied, shooting Carmen, Derek and Lexi a ‘yikes’ grimace as she nodded at Callie.
In a ‘don’t mind her, she’s not herself’ kind of way.
“Ow,” the blonde stated when that got her hit a second time.
“Is…there something I’m missing?” nurse Carmen asked with a raised brow.
“Nope,” Arizona instantly replied before Callie could.
So Callie smacked her again. “'Nope',” she repeated with a quick jerk of her head, clearly mocking the other woman. “Is that all I am to you now?” she quickly added as she shot another glare toward the nurse.
Fucking seriously?
Dr. Torres turned her deep brown eyes, blazing with anger, back to her ex-girlfriend. “Seriously, Arizona?” she went on with a quick wave of her free hand in Carmen's direction. “I'm surprised the fire alarm hasn't gone off in here yet.”
What?
She had eyes. And a new-found love for women.
Arizona closed her eyes momentarily.
She was going to kill Mark Sloan deader than anyone in the history of the world had ever been.
Derek decided it was probably best to intervene before Callie hurt herself.
Or, possibly hurt Dr. Robbins.
“Okay then,” he quickly stepped in, talking to the nurse. “I need you to change out the morphine bag and increase the drip on the next one by three milligrams overnight. In the morning set it back to what Dr. Peters has written in her chart, and see if the pain subsides at all. We’ll go from there and see if we can’t get Dr. Torres discharged then.” This time he was looking at Callie, a slightly strange expression on his face as he waited to see if there’d be another outburst.
Arizona looked at Callie with fearful eyes, begging her silently not to say any more. For the sake of everyone else in the room.
She knew she was most likely already in the ‘sleeping on the couch for a week’ doghouse.
Callie narrowed her eyes at the blonde.
That look pretty much said it all.
Then she turned her gaze to the Chief. She smiled the best she could. “Thanks, Derek.” She turned her eyes to the nurse.
Seriously?
Callie shook her head with a sigh before pushing herself towards the edge of the bed. “You think I can get some fresh sheets?” she asked no one in particular as she grimaced at the feel of them beneath her fingers. She was used to sweaty sheets, just for a much different reason.
Callie smirked a little as she looked up at Arizona, but it was quickly replaced by another hard glare at in the blonde's direction.
The nurse raised a slow brow, but since she was used to cranky patients, she just shrugged. “Yeah, of course.” She headed out to find the nearest linen closet.
Arizona avoided meeting Callie’s gaze like the plague, choosing to jump off of the other side of the bed. She was well aware that the Chief was staring at her with a questioning look. “Well, I should…go.”
Callie’s head turned to glare at her so fast, she was worried the woman might break it.
Arizona’s eyes widened in realization. “Not after her,” she hissed under her breath, realizing that she was in a hopeless situation.
Well. This was about as close as they had come to being ‘not together’ since they had broken up two weeks ago. Progress, right?
Crap.
“I have…sick children, babies even, that need my attention.”
Yes, she was pulling the ‘sick kids’ card. Desperate times called for desperate measures.
“Oh,” Callie shot back, her anger still plain as day. “So now you care about children?”
Arizona's eyes widened in surprise. She knew her ex was angry, but...
“Calliope,” she whispered softly as she glanced away, clearly hurt by that comment.
Dammit.
Any trace of anger was immediately gone from Callie's face. She closed her eyes with a heavy sigh as she reached up to rub at her brow. “I don't know why I said that.”
Arizona looked away, still stung. “I really have to go,” she repeated softly. “I’ll stop by later. If you want me to.”
Which she wasn’t sure of now.
Shooting Derek one last forced smile and a quiet “Thanks, Chief,” Arizona left.
Shepherd watched after her for a moment, before turning his confused gaze back to Callie. “Are you okay, Torres?”
Callie fell back onto the bed with another heavy sigh. “Just go, Derek,” she replied softly, her eyes trained on the ceiling.
Well, if this wasn't turning out to be one cluster-fuck of a day.
The Chief didn't argue. Giving Callie one last look, he left and closed the door behind him.
***
It was many hours later, nearly nightfall, before Callie had another visitor. She didn't roll over as she heard the door to her room open quietly.
“I don't want any,” she called out to the sound of footsteps.
“I’ve heard that before,” Mark Sloan replied as he closed the door behind him. “You never mean it.”
“I mean it now.”
“No, you don’t.” Mark smirked as he shrugged off his lab coat, laying it over the back of a chair before climbing up onto the bed with Callie. He lay down beside her, propping his head up on one arm and staring a hole into the back of her skull when she refused to turn over.
“You’re pouting, Torres. Shepherd told me you had issues earlier, but didn’t know why. So spill.”
Callie didn't respond.
Mark nudged her with his hip. “You know I can go all night.” His smirk widened.
Callie jerked her elbow back hard against Mark's ribs. She finally allowed herself a small smile at the harsh gust of air she felt against her ear. “You deserve that. You ass.”
“What?” Mark whined as he shifted to rub at his aching ribs. “What'd I do?”
“Two words,” Callie replied sharply. “Nurse. Carmen.”
Mark, loveable as he was, missed the point completely. He grinned widely at Callie. “I know, right? She is hot.”
That earned him an even harder elbow to the gut.
“Hey,” he groaned. “I bruise easy. What’s with all the violence? I woulda thought you’d be all over the new eye candy, since you dig chicks and stuff now.”
Callie finally turned to face him with a sharp glare. “Not when the new 'eye candy' is making 'eyes' at my girlfriend!”
Mark jerked a little in surprise, but his smile slowly returned. “Are you jealous?”
“No!” Callie instantly shouted. “Yes!” she then corrected. “Of course I am. I mean, seriously Sloan?”
Mark's smile turned into a smirk. “I thought she was your ex-girlfriend now?”
Callie elbowed him hard again. “Like that matters?” she shot back. “You know how this stuff works.” She growled as she thought about that for a moment. “Okay, maybe you don't,” she relented. “But still.” She reached out to grab him by the front of his scrubs. “Bad,” she said as she gave the material a hard tug. “Very, very bad.” She tugged again on every word.
Mark looked genuinely surprised. “I’m sorry, I had no idea it would be this big of a deal.” He reached up and slowly extracted his scrub shirt from Callie’s fists. “It’s not like Robbins is actually interested in her.” Though she did get all…flustered earlier when hot nurse was hovering around the desk area.
But he felt it was better for his personal safety if he left that part out.
“If it makes you feel any better, Robbins only agreed to it so she can get that photo of you on the pier from me. She’s been hounding me for months, and it’s the only reason she caved in to my challenge. Plus it was on one of those few days were you two were in ‘off’ mode. I was trying to cheer her up.”
“With hot nurse candy?” Callie snapped back.
Mark gulped. “Um…yes?”
Callie sighed heavily as she dropped her gaze down to the blanket. She moved her fingers down to play with the white material. “She really wants that picture?” she asked with a soft, barely audible voice.
Mark smiled as he dipped his head in an effort to meet her dark brown eyes. “Yeah. She really does.”
A few moments passed before Torres lifted her gaze to meet Mark's. She smiled. “That's kinda...sweet.”
Mark smiled back. “Yeah. It is.” He reached up to ruffle her hair playfully. “You do look really hot in it, after all.”
Callie smacked him a little less hard this time.
Chuckling to himself, Mark turned over and collapsed onto his back, staring at the ceiling. “Of course, I could just copy it for her, but this is way more fun.”
Callie smiled a little more at that. “She'd never take it,” she replied softly as she settled herself onto her back, her eyes on the ceiling as well. “Arizona's an original kinda girl.” Her smile widened. She was still a little mad at the whole...'nurse' thing.
But, on the other hand...
Arizona was still Arizona.
Sweet. Kind. Funny. Adorable. Beautiful.
Arizona.
Callie groaned softly to herself. She still had it so bad.
“You two are gonna give up this whole ‘we broke up’ charade, right? Because absolutely no one believes it any more, and I’m pretty sure that if I asked when the last time you two made out was, you’d tell me it was less than twelve hours ago.”
Mark turned his head to fix Callie with an intense stare. “She’s taking you home and staying by your side until you’re a hundred and ten percent better. Nobody does that for just some ex-girlfriend. Nobody.” He didn’t blink as he continued to watch the woman next to him squirm. “She also called your father. He’s pretty pissed that you didn’t tell him what was going on before he left, and he wants you to call him as soon as you get home.”
Callie groaned as she slammed her hand down against the bed. “Don't wanna,” she whined before quickly turning a glare to her best friend. “Why didn't you stop her?”
Mark arched a brow. “Me?” he repeated. “Stop? Arizona?”
Callie sighed again. “I see your point.” She dropped her eyes down to the blanket as she absently picked at the material. “I didn't tell him ‘cause I didn't want him to worry. Daddy can have a bad heart sometimes.” She lifted her gaze back up to meet Mark’s. “And, uh...it was maybe...less than five hours ago. Zona and I. With the...yeah."
Mark grinned. “I knew it.”
***
Arizona was just emerging from a patient’s room when she literally ran into Mark Sloan, who had apparently decided to hover directly outside.
“Oh!” She jumped in surprise, then dodged around him. “Every time I talk to you, you get me into trouble. I have a massive stack of charts to take care of and six more patients to evaluate, all in the next two hours, so I really can’t handle any more trouble right now.”
Arizona looked more than a little frazzled. She had her hair pulled back into a messy ponytail, but it had fallen out in various places and kept getting in her face. Not to mention she had been running around like a crazy person putting out fires for the last few hours, without so much as getting a bathroom break or a chance to sit down for half a second.
Today of all days, the children of Seattle seemed to have decided to self destruct all at the same time.
Mark reached out to grab her by the arm, turning her around before she could get too far. He reached up to place his other hand on her opposite shoulder as he leaned down to lock their eyes.
“Calm down, Robbins,” he ordered with a slight shake of his hands. “I got it all covered. I'm gonna take care of all the really sick little babies and I got Dr. Martin to cover the charts.”
Arizona's brown ticked. “What do you know about sick little babies?”
Mark released her shoulders as he returned to his full height. “It can't be that hard, right?” he reasoned with a shrug of his shoulders. “I mean they're...little. How much could they possibly need?”
Arizona slowly began to smile as she reached up to pat him on his wide, muscular shoulder. “You better let me handle it. Just stick to making people pretty.” She moved to brush past him.
“Callie needs you.”
The words stopped her dead in her tracks.
“S-she does? Are you…sure?” Arizona turned very slowly back to face him. The look on her face was a mixture of apprehensiveness and skepticism. “Because the last time I saw her, she was closer to committing murder than she was to needing me. Except for the murder part.”
Wherein she was to become the murderee.
The last time Arizona had seen that look of fury on Calliope Torres’ face was right after she had gauze-pawed both hands and locked her in a quarantine room to leave her with her chicken pox.
Mark smiled softly. “Of course she does. She'll always need you.” He shook his head with a heavy sigh. “Doesn’t matter if you two are 'broken up' or...whatever you try to call yourselves now.” He crossed his arms over his chest and nodded back over his shoulder. “Go.”
“But-”
Mark walked up and snatched the stack of charts out of Arizona’s hands. “Go. Now. I’ll take care of your patients. I’m not completely clueless when it comes to children. I am a father myself, you know.”
Arizona gave Mark a strange look. “She’s eighteen, pregnant, and you’ve only known about her for six months. That doesn’t make you in any way knowledgeable about-”
“Robbins! Go!”
Sighing, Arizona conceded defeat. “They’d better all be alive when I get back,” she called over her shoulder as she headed for the elevator.
***
Callie was in her third hour of mindlessly staring at the ceiling when she heard a soft knock at her door. She sighed heavily, not even bothering to look over when she heard it open a moment later.
“I told you I don't feel like eating,” she said to the air, figuring it was Mark coming back to hound her again.
Arizona stopped just inside the doorway and looked at the bottle of juice she was holding in one hand and the pudding cup in the other.
“Um…I can leave this outside if you don’t wanna look at it,” she answered tentatively.
Callie's eyes jerked away from the ceiling. She immediately pushed herself up against her pillow as she locked gazes with her ex-girlfriend. “I didn't expect to see you again,” she admitted softly as an involuntary smile crossed her lips.
She couldn't help it.
Her heart still did that little 'thump-thump' whenever she saw the blonde.
Arizona felt a little of the nervous tension leave her body as soon as Callie smiled. “Didn’t think you wanted to see me again,” she admitted, making her way over to Callie’s bed.
“I can’t stay too long…Mark is supposed to be helping with some of my patients, but I don’t know how long he’ll be able to handle a bunch of sick and cranky eight year olds.” She pulled herself up to sit on the edge of the bed and set the pudding and spoon down next to the brunette. “But I’m under strict orders to make sure you eat or drink something. Sooo…” Arizona shook the apple juice and twisted the lid off. “Drink. You need to get your blood sugar back up.”
Callie frowned at the sight of the bottle. Her tummy was doing all kinds of the rumblings. “I don't think I can,” she whined as she looked up to meet blue eyes.
Arizona's brow was arched as she shot Callie her patented 'Arizona-resolve face'.
Callie sighed, smiling because she knew she really didn't have a choice.
She never could deny that face.
“Fine,” she relented with a sigh. “But if I puke this right back up...” She trailed off as she reached out to accept the offered juice. “Then that'll just suck for me,” she finished in a mumble.
Arizona had to laugh. “You won’t puke it back up, it’s good for your stomach,” she promised. “Now drink.”
She watched as Callie pouted and took a few tentative sips. While she was trying to get that down, Arizona pulled off the lid of the pudding cup and stuck the spoon in. She held it out to Callie, who just took one look down at the pudding cup and then back up into her eyes.
“Seriously?” Arizona mused, and when Callie just pouted even more, she caved in. With an over dramatic sigh, she scooped up some of the pudding and held the spoon out for Callie.
“You’re loving this, aren’t you?” the blonde chuckled.
Callie smiled in response as she leaned forward to accept the pudding off of the spoon. She moaned softly as the cold snack melted on her tongue. “Every minute,” she replied.
Arizona laughed, rolling her eyes as she dipped the spoon back into the cup.
Callie accepted the bite. And then another. And then another.
“I've never spoon fed a patient before,” Arizona mused as the last bite was presented to the brunette. “And I'm in pediatrics.” She quirked an amused smile. “What's that say about you, hm?”
Callie tilted her head with an innocent smile of her own. “That I'm extra special cute when I'm sick?”
“That you are,” Arizona replied with a low chuckle. She tossed the pudding cup into the trash can next to the bed, and handed Callie back the juice bottle. She waited for her to drink her fill, before placing it on the bedside table for the moment.
“How are you feeling?” Arizona lifted her right hand to Callie’s forehead, checking for a fever. “You don’t seem hot anymore.”
“Ouch,” Callie replied with another pout.
“Temperature-wise, you big baby,” Arizona teased. “You’ve got some of your colour back, too. That’s really great. Might be able to take you home in the morning.”
Callie instantly perked up at the words. “Really?” she asked with a bit more excitement in her voice. “You really mean it?”
Arizona laughed softly. “Yes,” she replied easily. “I really mean it.”
Callie did a little happy dance in the middle of her bed, and then hissed when the motion caused a deep, painful twinge in the center of her back. “Ouch,” she pouted as she tried to reach back and rub at the ache. “Stupid happy dance,” she grumbled when her attempts proved futile.
Arizona watched Callie with sparkling eyes. “You’re amazing,” she stated softly, out of the blue.
Callie stopped mid-wince and raised an eyebrow at Arizona. “How did you come to that conclusion so suddenly?”
“You just are.” Arizona shrugged. “I’ve always thought so.” She glanced up to meet Callie’s eyes with a soft smile. “And I’m sorry about before, with that whole…nurse thing. It was just a stupid joke with Mark. I didn’t want to hurt you, ever.”
Callie considered that for a moment, then slowly smiled. “I'll allow it,” she laughed as she dropped her hand away from her back, into her lap. She sighed heavily, her shoulders slumping as she dropped her eyes down to watch as she picked at the blanket. “I was hurt,” she admitted softly after a second. “But I was also...” She trailed off, glancing up to meet blue eyes.
“...kinda jealous,” Callie finished, barely audible.
Its not like she wanted to admit it. But she figured she owed it to Arizona.
“You were?” Arizona looked genuinely surprised. “Calliope, you have nothing to be jealous of. Nothing.”
“I have eyes,” Callie stated bluntly. “And I’m pretty sure morphine doesn’t make you hallucinate…or if it does, it doesn’t make you hallucinate that level of attractiveness.”
That just made the other surgeon laugh. “Calliope, I love you. You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen, and no one could ever hold a candle to you. You're a thousand steps above 'that level of attractiveness'.”
Arizona wasn’t sure whether or not she should be saying this. After all, they were already pretty bad at acting like they had broken up. But…it was the truth, and Callie definitely deserved to hear it.
Callie's smile instantly softened as she stared back the short distance into her ex-lover's eyes. She bit her bottom lip as she reached out to brush her fingers along the other woman's cheek. “What happened to us?” she whispered softly as she moved her hand up towards soft blonde hair. Her eyes followed her hand, sighing as she brushed her fingers through the silky strands. “I still have all these feelings, but...” She trailed off, the rest of that sentence hanging heavily in the air between them.
Callie knew she didn't need to finish it.
Or even if she could.
“But,” Arizona echoed with a soft sigh of her own. “That word seems to be the bane of our existence these days.” She leaned in and pressed a kiss to the other woman’s forehead.
She wanted to just say ‘screw it’ and cave in, admit they should have kids and then just get back to how things were before. But there were still way too many red flags in the back of her mind when it came to that subject, and she knew it wouldn’t do either of them any good to ignore them.
She couldn't lie to Callie. Despite everything, despite her continued feelings for the ortho surgeon, she hadn't changed her mind on that subject.
Arizona pulled back with another soft sigh. “Anna’s doing great, by the way.” She figured this was a good subject change, since she’d been meaning to let Callie know how things went. “The transplant seems to have taken so far, and the breaks you set before it are healing up nicely.” Arizona took Callie’s hand in both of hers, softly brushing her fingertips over the back of the other woman’s. “I wanted to keep her for a few more days of observation, and then let her dad take her home. We can schedule monthly exams to see if the transplant helps her get stronger, and then go from there.”
Callie was still too lost in the deep blue eyes gazing back at her to really understand much of what Arizona was saying. She smiled stupidly as she gazed into the deep blue depths. “That's good,” she replied absently. “You should do...that.”
Something in the back of her brain registered the soft touch on her hand, but Callie was still just so...lost.
It wasn't exactly hard to get lost in those eyes.
So blue.
It took a few seconds for Arizona to realize she had lost Callie. “Sweetie?” She tilted her head to the side. “You’re still high, aren’t you?”
Callie continued to smile. “Maybe just a little.”
Chuckling, Arizona leaned down and kissed her. She couldn’t help it, Callie just looked so…irresistible.
She really was extra special cute when she was hospitalized.
“You need to sleep,” she pointed out after pulling back a short distance. “Regain your strength and everything so I can take you home tomorrow.”
“Mmm,” Callie replied as she reached up with her right hand to place it gently on the back of Arizona's neck. Her fingers played with the soft, fine blonde hairs. “I like kissing better,” she replied softly, smiling as she tugged on the neck in her grasp. Her smile shifted from soft to seductive in a matter of seconds. Her dark brown eyes were just a little darker than normal.
Callie gave another soft tug of her hand.
And who was Arizona to deny Callie what she wanted?
“Five more minutes,” Arizona mused, before allowing herself to be pulled into yet another deep kiss.
---