Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Callie rushed through the lobby of Grey Sloan memorial, trying to catch the quickly moving woman and child that had already left the building.

“Arizona, wait!” She pushed through the door rushed toward the parking area. “Slow down.”

Finally hearing the shouting behind her, Arizona turned and saw the approaching brunette, “Oh, hey,” she smiled. “Did we forget something?” She looked down at the brown-eyed toddler that held tight to her hand.

Sofia just shrugged and pointed at Callie, “Mommy.”

Callie finally caught up to them, but needed a moment to catch her breath before she could participate in any sort of conversation.

“Ugh,” she finally managed. “You two move fast for a tiny human and a woman with…”

“If you say woman with only one leg I will pull your hair, Callie Torres.”

“I was going to say a ‘duffle-bag the size of Texas’,” Callie chuckled. “Pull my hair, though? Really?” Callie’s eyes drifted from the blue ones she wouldn’t admit to missing down to the ones that matched her own. “What did you pack, mija, your whole bedroom?”

“Toys!” Sofia pointed to the large bag Arizona still had slung over her shoulder.

“Alex’s place still has a deficit in the toy department, she got a little restless last time, so I told her she could bring a few of her favorites with her.” Arizona ruffled the dark hair on her daughter’s head. “My mistake.”

“Oh yes, all of her toys are her favorites.” Callie gestured to the bag, “Do you need any help getting them to the car?”

“No, we’re good. Thanks,” a small smile formed on Arizona’s face at Callie’s thoughtfulness. “Is that why you came running out here, chasing us like a mad woman?”

“Oh! No, it’s not,” Callie’s smile widened with anticipation. “I had a patient today, a figure skater. She sprained her wrist and I did a MRI, it was fine, didn’t need any surgery… it was just a small…,”

Both Arizona’s eyebrows had raised, “Um, Callie? Your point?”

“Oh, yeah sorry, I got sidetracked by the medicine. She works for Disney on Ice. The Frozen one, specifically, and she hooked me up with two tickets and backstage passes for tomorrow’s matinee!”

“Oh,” Arizona’s face faltered for a moment. “So you want to keep Sofia tonight?”

“No, sweetie,” Callie corrected the other woman, she reached into her bag and pulled out an envelope. “I got the tickets for you two. I want you to take her.”

“Callie, that’s…,” Arizona studied the other woman’s face. “Are you sure?”

“Of course I’m sure,” Callie couldn’t look Arizona in the eyes, because her own would have betrayed her. She didn’t regret breaking them apart, it was the best thing for them both, but she still missed them sometimes. Missed their family. “I have other plans tomorrow.” She didn’t. “Tonight, too, actually, so uh…. I have to go.”

“Oh. A date?” Arizona questioned softly. They both have had casual dates with other people since the divorce. They’d finally gotten to the point where it was okay to mention them to the other. To the point where it didn’t feel like they were stabbing each other in the heart. Now it was just a twinge, a dull thud, a muted thump of the heart when the other mentioned a date.

“No, just dinner with Grey and Maggie at Joe’s,” Callie replied. She extended the tickets out for the other woman to take and when she did, their fingers brushed. Callie pulled her hand away quickly. Touching caused the dull thud to flare into something more, so touching was usually avoided.

Arizona closed her eyes for a second—just a second—then opened them again, “Thank you so much for these, Callie, Sofia and I will have a great time. I’ll take some pictures for you.”

Callie bent down to her daughter’s level and gave her a quick hug and kiss, “You be good, okay? Have fun with your mommy.”

“Okay!” Sofia hugged Callie back. “Bye, Mommy.”

“Bye, Callie,” Arizona said. “Have fun with your friends,” she added after a moment.

***

Twenty minutes later Callie pushed through the door at Joe’s. She immediately spotted Maggie at the bar and made her way to the other woman.

“Hey, where's Meredith?”

Maggie turned on the barstool to face the brunette, “she got pulled into surgery. It’s just you and me tonight. That okay?”

“Uh… sure,” Callie smiled. “You want to get a table? I’m starving.”

“Lead the way,” Maggie slipped off the bar stool and gestured for Callie to find them a place to sit.

Callie led them to a free booth in the corner and they sat opposite each other. She felt a little awkward. She liked Maggie… a lot, and had enjoyed her company on many occasions, but they’d always had the Meredith buffer. She didn’t really know Maggie. Maggie was a mystery. Nothing like Meredith’s usual partners-in-crime Alex or Cristina, or the sister they all missed so much, Lexie. So different than Meredith, yet the same in many ways. She was fierce and strong and stubborn… and kinda beautiful. Really beautiful, and funny, and someone Callie wouldn’t mind knowing better. He heart fluttered in her chest a little at the idea.

“Callie? Dr. Torres? Are you okay? You’re staring.”

“I’m fine, Maggie. I’m fine,” Callie shook off her thoughts and beamed a perfect smile at the other woman. “How are you? We never get to talk without your sister around. Tell me all about you.”

Chapter Text

Arizona and Sofia drove down the familiar street, the Frozen soundtrack playing on the car stereo; both were singing happily along, “Don't let them in, don't let them see. Be the good girl you always have to be. Conceal, don't feel, don't let them know. Well, now they know!”

The ice show started in less than two hours and Arizona was so grateful that Callie had given her the tickets. She felt bad that Callie wasn’t with them, but Callie had maintained she already had plans. Arizona decided she wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Sofia insisted on wearing her Elsa hoodie and only her Elsa hoodie would do. So, Arizona made the trip to the house she thought she’d spend her life in.  Callie’s car wasn’t in the driveway, so Arizona pulled into her former spot. She unbuckled herself and sighed as her eyes roamed over the 830 above the front door.

Arizona reached into her bag and grabbed the house key she still possessed, then opened the back door of the car to get the toddler out of her booster seat. “Come on, Ladybug, let’s go get your sweatshirt.”

“Hoodie!”

“Yes, your hoodie.”

“Elsa!”

Arizona’s key slid into the lock and the door knob turned without resistance. Sofia pushed past her and ran into her home without care. “Elsa!” she yelled.

Arizona followed the girl toward her room, Sofia was fast, though, and was in her room before Arizona had even turned the corner to the hallway. “Hey, no running in the house!” She called after the child. She stopped for a moment, and her brow furrowed. Was the water running?

She took a step toward the room she used to share with her wife, the door was closed, but she thought she could hear the shower. She turned back and tried to see out the window, make sure Callie’s car was indeed gone when the bedroom door opened and Maggie Pierce walked out. She was wearing one of Callie’s old t-shirts and no pants. Maggie screamed when she saw Arizona standing in the hallway, causing the previously showering Callie to come flying out of the room behind her dripping wet and wrapped only in a towel, shampoo still clinging to her hair.

“What the hell, Arizona?” Callie yelled. “You scared the crap out of me!”

Arizona took in the scene before her and it didn’t take her long to figure out what she was looking at. Maggie slipped back into the bedroom to let the two women talk.

Arizona opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out.

“Arizona?” Callie asked.

“Sorry, uh… so sorry, Callie,” Arizona finally managed. “We… uh, Sofia and I are going to the Frozen thing… and she wanted her Elsa hoodie. I didn’t think you were home. I didn’t see your car. I would never.”

Callie tightened the towel around her body and studied Arizona’s face for a long time.

Arizona stared back, just as intently. Conceal, don’t feel.

Callie swallowed, “I’m sorry.” She looked down, unable to look at Arizona anymore.

“Don’t be,” Arizona replied. “This is your house. We aren’t together.”

“Elsa!” Sofia came running out of her room dragging her hoodie behind her. “Mommy!” She ran up to Callie and held up her hoodie. “You come too?”

“No, sweetie, you go with your momma, okay?”

“Okay,” Sofia turned to smiled Arizona. “Ready, Momma?”

“Yeah, baby, I’m ready. We um, we’d better go,” Arizona pointed toward the door. “It’s early, but finding parking at the venue is going to be a nightmare.”

Callie held tight to the towel around her body, “I’ll walk you to the door.”

“Not necessary,” Arizona replied. She was already pulling the young girl behind her. “Say goodbye to Mommy, Sofia.”

“Bye, Mommy!”

“Goodbye, mija.”

“I’m see Elsa!”

“You have fun,” Callie smiled sadly. “Both of you.”

“You too,” Arizona managed. “I like Maggie, she’s nice. Smart.”

Callie just nodded. Arizona turned and walked out the door, Sofia trailing behind.

**

“That was awkward,” Maggie said as Callie came back into the bedroom. “Do you want me to go?”

Callie looked at the woman sitting on her bed, wearing her shirt, and the dull ache that had taken residence in her chest at the sight of her ex-wife eased. She looked around the room and felt dizzy, then back at Maggie, who waited expectantly on her answer, and felt steady. “Do you want to?” she asked.

“No,” Maggie admitted.

“I’m going to finish my shower. Rinse out this shampoo,” she dropped her towel and walked back to the bathroom.

Maggie was confused. Did Callie want her to stay or… “Uh, Callie?”

Callie’s head popped out of the steam coming from the shower, “Are you coming?”

Maggie shook her head and smiled. Of course she was.

**

Callie stood in line for coffee, she kept looking around, not sure if she was looking to see someone or looking to avoid someone. She ordered her drink and stepped aside for the person behind her in line.

She pulled out her phone and checked her emails while she waited for her drink. Her attention now on the phone, she didn’t see Meredith walk up behind her.

“Hey, how was your weekend? Do anything fun?”

“What?” Callie jumped. “What did you hear? I didn’t do anyone… anything.”

The barista called out Callie’s name causing her to jump again.

“Why are you so jumpy?”

“No reason,” Callie replied. She picked up her drink from the counter and tried to look calm. Her eyes went wide at a flash of blonde hair walking down the adjacent hall. She attempted to duck behind Meredith, but the woman was so tiny.

“Okay…,” Meredith looked around. “Are we avoiding someone?”

“No… yes. Maybe?”

“Callie, what’s wrong with you. Who are you avoiding?”

“Arizona,” Callie admitted.

“Why? I thought you guys were good? Friends and everything.”

“We are, we were… I think.”

“You aren’t making any sense,” Meredith said. “Take a deep breath and then talk.”

“Something happened this weekend that may have altered our ‘friend’ status. So now I’m avoiding her.”

“I knew it.”

“What?”

“You slept with her didn’t you? I thought you had a suspicious glow-y thing happening.” Meredith looked Callie up and down. “You have a freshly laid look in your eyes.”

“Really?” Callie smiled. “You can tell I got laid just by looking at me?”

The barista handed Meredith her regular drink, who thanked her and dropped her tip in the jar. The two surgeons left the coffee shop and started walking toward the elevator.

“So, are you two back together or what?”

“Who?”

“You and Arizona! You just said you slept with her.”

“No, I didn’t! You assumed,” Callie sipped her coffee. “That makes you an ass.”

“Okay, if you didn’t sleep with her, then who did you sleep with?”

“I’d rather not say.”

“Huh,” Meredith’s eyes narrowed. “Okay, but why are you avoiding Arizona, if it wasn’t her?”

“Because she kinda interrupted us. She came over Saturday morning to pick up something for Sofia… and my car wasn’t there because I left it at Joe’s.” They arrived at the elevator, Callie pressed the up button. “So she just waltzed right in like she owned the place, which… technically she does because her name is still on the mortgage.”

“Wait… Joe’s? Did you… Oh my god!”

Callie looked like a deer caught in headlights, she swallowed hard, “Uh… did I what?”

“You picked someone up at Joe’s Friday night?”

“Maybe,” she shrugged. She and Maggie hadn’t discussed sharing, and she didn’t want to inadvertently out Maggie to her sister.

“You were there with Maggie!”

“Um, yeah.” Callie’s eyes darted around, making sure no one of importance was in hearing distance.

“I can’t believe you would do that to her.”

“I didn’t do anything to her,” Callie defended. The ‘nothing she didn’t do right back,’ was left unsaid.

“You picked-up some skank and left my sister there to fend for herself!”

“Skank? Really?”

The elevator dinged its arrival and the doors slid open. Maggie was on the elevator waiting for them to step on.

“Oh, good it’s you,” Meredith said.

Callie’s eyes went wide.

Maggie smiled.

Meredith gently shoved Callie in Maggie’s direction, “Tell her you’re sorry.”

“And just what are you sorry for, Dr. Torres?” Maggie asked, a smile on her face.

Callie smiled back, “I’m not actually sorry for anything. Well, the one thing that happened, I’m sorry about that, but the rest of it was…”

“I’m talking about her leaving you alone and taking some skank home with her Friday night,” Meredith supplied as she nudged Callie aside to get on the elevator. “That’s what she’s sorry about.”

“Meredith, would you please stop saying that word.”

“What? Skank?”

“Yes, that word,” Callie said through gritted teeth. “Because she wasn’t a skank. She was very nice, and sweet… and I really liked her.”

“Fine, whatever. Sleep with her again.”

“Oh, I intend to,” Callie replied.

“Good, you should,” Meredith replied, her expression unexpectedly genuine. “You deserve to be happy.”

The elevator opened on the surgical floor and Meredith stepped out.  She held the door for the others, “Are you two getting off?”

“Not here,” Maggie said, her face straight. “But I intend to get off soon, isn’t that right, Dr. Torres?”

The last thing that Meredith saw before the elevator doors slid closed was Callie’s smile.

Chapter Text

Arizona finally had a few free minutes in her busy Monday to have some time to herself. She hadn’t run to Callie at all today, which was unusual. Even when they didn’t seek each other out, they still managed to cross paths at some point in their day. Share a word about their work, or their daughter, but not today. Callie had thus far been elusive—never where Arizona thought she’d be. And she was pretty sure she knew why and that why, Maggie Pierce, was walking down the corridor in her direction right now. Oh god. She wasn’t ready.

Arizona quickly ducked into the closest room, which happened to be the medical supply room. She quietly shut the door and took a step backwards, held her breath, and waited.

“Arizona?” a familiar voice called out from behind her.

She hastily turned to find her ex-wife standing there, a look of apprehension on her face.

“Callie?” Arizona eyes darted around looking the reason her ex was in the supply closet. Much to her relief no one else was in there. However, Callie also didn’t look to be taking any supplies, and the lights were off. Arizona reached over and switched them on. “What are doing in here?”

Callie swallowed, “I’m hiding.”

“From?” Arizona asked.

“Uh…” Callie sighed, she closed her eyes for a second, then opened again with purpose. “You. I saw you round the corner and I panicked.”

“Oh,” she sounded disappointed. That’s why she hadn’t seen Callie all day.

“What, uh,” Callie braved to ask. “What are you doing in here?”

Arizona decided she might as well be honest. “I’m hiding too.”

Callie relaxed and smiled a bit. “Graham still bothering you about Herman?”

“Um,” Arizona licked her lips. “Dr. Pierce, actually.”

“Oh, you mean…?” A heaviness took residence in Callie’s chest.

“Yes,” Arizona nodded. “I assume the same reason you were hiding from me.”

“I’m sorry,” Callie murmured. She suddenly felt exposed. Raw. The weighty thud in her chest made it hard to talk.

“You have nothing to apologize for Callie. I should be the one to apologize, I should have rang the bell.”

“That’s not…,” Callie tilted her head and her expression softened. “That’s not what I’m sorry about.”

“Was it just… or, do you like her?”

Callie shrugged her shoulders.

“Callie,” Arizona said, her voice now the one breaking. She cleared her throat. “You can be honest. I’m not fragile, I know we aren’t….”

“I do,” Callie admitted. She said it quickly, like ripping off a Band-Aid. ”I like her, she’s uncomplicated and fun. She’s… ”

“Then you don’t have anything to be sorry for,” Arizona interrupted, not wanting to hear more. “I just want…,” she sighed.  “I just want you to be happy.”

“I want you to be happy, too.”

“I will be,” Arizona replied.  Callie looked skeptical for moment, but then Arizona smiled. A genuine smile. “I promise,” she said.

 The weightiness in the room lifted and Callie couldn’t help but smile back.

**

Meredith was standing at the nurses’ station, filling in some chart notes on her tablet. She’d just come from a marathon surgery, and her neck and shoulders were stiff. She put the tablet down and tried to stretch out her shoulders. She moved her head back and forth and as she was turned to the left she saw the door to the supply closet open and a grinning Callie and Arizona stepped out. Meredith narrowed her eyes and stared as the two women said their goodbyes and each went in a different directions.

“Those two are finished, my ass.”

**

Callie had Sofia all tucked in for the night and was sitting alone on her couch debating whether to call or text Maggie. Despite an illicit, and rule-breaking, on-call room encounter that morning, Callie still wasn’t sure where they stood. Were they dating or just hooking up? Was Maggie out or did she want them to be a secret? She hadn’t given Callie the impression that she wanted to hide things, but she also hadn’t mentioned that she wanted to share.

The only person whose feelings Callie cared about in regards to her embarking on this new adventure, already knew. Had witnessed it first-hand. Callie wasn’t concerned with what anyone else thought. It was no one else’s business… except for maybe Meredith. Callie cringed a little at the thought. Callie and Meredith’s relationship had taken many forms over the years, and they’d finally reached a point where they easily called each other friends. They sought each other out when in need of a laugh or a drink or life advice. Maybe they weren’t each other’s person in the way Cristina was for Meredith or even the way that Mark was for her, but they were friends and Callie didn’t want to risk that. She missed Mark. She missed Cristina. She missed Arizona. She didn’t want to risk Meredith. Not yet. Not until she knew what was happing with Maggie. No need to incur Meredith’s wrath prematurely. She would tell Meredith when she and Maggie went on an actual date. Dinner, movie, dancing… something worth telling.

That settled in her brain, Callie picked up her phone and shot off a quick text to Maggie. A simple, “Hey, how are you?”

“I’m good. A little bored, tbh. On call tonight, so staying at the hospital. Working on a crossword.” The reply came quickly, and brought a smile to Callie’s face.

“I like Sudoku.” Callie texted back.

“Sudoku is fun, but I’m more a word girl than a number girl.”

“I like the numbers, they aren’t ambiguous. There is no room for misinterpretations. They are what they are. Numbers are precision and clarity.”

“Is that important to you? Precision and clarity?”

“Lately, yes. My life has been such a mess of uncertainty. A little simplicity would be nice.”

“And is that what you want from me? Simplicity?”

Callie smiled at Maggie’s directness. Nothing ambiguous there.

“You are full of questions aren’t you?” Callie typed. “What I want, is to see you.”

“Like a date, or do you mean literally ‘see me’ because I have FaceTime...”

“A date would be nice.” Callie replied. “If you want to, that is…” she quickly added.

“I would love to go on a date with you.”

Callie smiled again. She was doing that a lot lately. “How’s Wednesday?”

“Hump day? Really, Dr. Torres? ;-)”

Callie laughed out loud, and replied, “You are bad. Very bad. I like it.”

“I like you, too.”

“And now I suddenly feel like I’m in junior high-- Do you like me? Check yes or no.” Callie hit send. Her brain tried to take her someplace she didn’t want to go, so she forcefully pushed the memory of Arizona asking for a ‘good old fashioned junior high make-out’ down and put it in the lockbox that contained all the complicated things she wasn’t ready to think about outside of therapy.

“You already know which box I’m checking.”

Callie decided to ask the thing that had been plaguing her thoughts, “Is this something you want to tell people?”

“What? That I’m checking your box?”

“And that I’m checking yours right back.” Callie laughed, then added, “I know you know what I mean.”

“How about we relax and have our Hump Day date, then we can think about whether or not it’s anyone else’s business what we do.”

“Okay,” Callie replied.

“Good. Can I call you? I want to ask you something.”

“Of course.”

Callie bit her lip, she was suddenly nervous. She jumped when her phone rang, despite expecting the call. “Hello,” she hastily answered.

“Hey,” Maggie replied. “I was getting tired of typing and I wanted to hear your beautiful voice.”

“Oh, um. Okay. Thanks.”

“Hmm.”

“What?” Callie asked.

“Are you always taken aback when someone pays you a complement?” Maggie asked.

“I don’t know, just… uh, you know...,” Callie didn’t really have an answer for that. “Is that what you wanted to ask me?”

“No,” Maggie replied. “Are you trying to change the subject?”

“Maybe?”

“Don’t you like to talk about yourself?”

“I’d rather talk about you.”

“Because your life it too complicated?”

“And I’m sick me and my problems. I have a therapist, Maggie, a very good one. I talk about myself with her ad nauseam. And um, I find that… I’m tired of hearing about me. Also, I don’t want to kiss my therapist.”

“But you do me?”

“Yeah,” Callie answered honestly. “I don’t want to scare you off. I’m a lot to take sometimes. I don’t want to be too much for you.”

“I’m not easily frightened,” Maggie countered. “I’m came to work at a hospital that has my birth-mother’s legacy all over it.”

“That did take some courage,” Callie agreed.

“You can’t scare me,” Maggie said. “But, do I scare you?”

“Jo did say you could bring the thunder.”

“Oh, yes. Willis is a good resident. I’m glad I made an impression on her.”

“More of one than she made on you obviously,” Callie laughed. She got up, went into the kitchen and poured herself some wine. “You uh… You said you wanted to ask me something?”

“I did. A very important question.”

“Okay, I’ll try my best to answer,” Callie replied, her tone became serious. She returned to her couch and sat the wine on the coffee table in front of her.

“What’s a six letter word for ‘mythical source of wisdom’?”

“What?” Callie laughed, “Really? A crossword puzzle question?”

“Yeah, I know you said you liked the number puzzles better, but I can’t date a girl who’s not at least crossword puzzle savvy.”

“Okay, okay… what was the clue again?” Callie asked.

“’Mythical source of wisdom’,” Maggie repeated. “Six letters.”

“Oh, that’s an easy one… it’s where I get all of my knowledge. Google.”

The two women spent the better part of an hour on the phone talking, laughing, and working through Maggie’s crossword puzzle. When Callie finally hung up the phone and got up to go to bed, she felt lighter and freer than she had in a long time. She picked up the glass of wine to take to the kitchen, and was surprised to find it untouched. She hadn’t so much as taken a sip. She poured the wine in the sink and made her way to her bedroom.

Callie scrubbed her face and brushed her teeth. She stood there and stared at herself in the mirror for a long time. After a few minutes she smiled, finally liking the person looking back. 

Chapter Text

Maggie had been smiling for two days and it was starting to make Amelia Shepherd suspicious. Something was up, and she didn’t like not knowing what that something was. Not one bit. When she saw Maggie sitting alone in the cafeteria, she figured it was a good time to pounce.

Amelia casually strolled up to the table where the distracted cardio surgeon was picking at her lunch and reading a book. When her arrival didn’t cause the reading woman to look up, Amelia dropped her tray on the table and sat down without asking.

Her attention finally pulled from the story she was engrossed in, Maggie glanced up to find an expectant Amelia staring back at her.

“Well, hello,” Maggie smiled. A happy smile. The exact same smile she’d been throwing about the last few days. The very smile that Amelia was there to investigate.

“Something happened,” Amelia’s stated, her eyes narrow with accusation.

“It did?” Maggie asked.

“Oh yes, something happened. I can tell. I’ve got a nose for this sort of thing.”

“Okay… Is it something you care to share?” Maggie inquired. “Or were you just… notifying me.”

“Oh, you know what I’m talking about,” Amelia replied emphatically, her finger tapped the table for emphasis. “And you are the one that needs to share.”

Maggie made a quick perusal of the cafeteria occupants, which didn’t go unnoticed by the curious neurosurgeon, who did the same.

Maggie’s brown eyes settled back on Amelia’s blue-gray ones, “I don’t know what you are talking about,” she feigned.

“Oh you do. I know I you do,” Amelia countered.

Maggie sighed, she closed her book and casually placed it on the table. She sat back in her chair, and crossed her arms.

Amelia just smiled, she smelled victory.

“Okay,” Maggie said.

“Okay, what?”

“Okay, you are right. Something happened.”

“I knew it!” Amelia blurted.

“You did,” Maggie nodded in accord. She leaned forward and started loading her tray up with her lunch trash. “You were absolutely right. You called it.”

“I’m telling you, nothing gets past me,” Amelia gloated.

“Clearly,” Maggie stood, picked up her tray, and grabbed her book. “You are very clever Dr. Shepherd. You totally figured me out.”

Amelia nodded her head and smiled at her own brilliance. She popped a fry in her mouth and waited.

Maggie, however, left the table, tossed her trash in the can, deposited her tray in the return, and left the cafeteria without another word.

“Wait…,” when Amelia realized that Maggie wasn’t returning to finish the conversation, her smile dropped, “… what just happened?”

**

“I think if we graft the nerve here and here,” Jackson was pointing to the images on the computer screen in front of him, Owen, and Callie. “We’ll get a much better range of motion than if we do it the way we've been doing it.” He leaned back and looked to the others for their response.

“Looks good, Avery,” Owen said. “I think that’s the way we should go heading forward. What do you think, Torres?”

“I don’t know what to do,” Callie said.

“Well, it seems like an obvious choice to me,” Jackson said. “It’s less invasive and…”

“No yeah, your plan is sound. We can go with that, but it’s not what I was talking about.”

“What were you talking about?” Owen asked.

“I have a date.”

“I’m sorry?” Jackson looked confused. “What?”

“Tomorrow night, I have a date.”

“Okay…” Owen looked at Jackson, then back at Callie. “What does that have to do with Jackson’s nerve graft?”

“Nothing, obviously,” Callie huffed. “I’m just a little distracted. I can’t figure out what to do… where to go. I need help.”

“Oh, okay…,” Owen smiled. “We can help with that. Who’s the date with?”

“Can’t say,” Callie replied, she bit her bottom lip.

“I mean… it’s kinda hard to help if we don’t know who your date is with,” Jackson said.

“Yeah, I’m still not telling.”

“Alright, can you say if it’s a man or a woman?” Owen asked. “That might help out a bit.”

“Hmm, I guess that’d be okay.”

The two men waited expectantly.

“Oh, uh… sorry. It’s a woman. A nice, sweet, adorable woman. Who I really want to impress.”

“How about….” Owen started.

“It has to be classy,” Callie interrupted.

“Okay then….” Owen started again.

“Also memorable,” Callie interrupted again. “And romantic. First dates should be romantic, right?”

“Well, that depends,” Jackson said. “What is your goal?”

“What do you meant?”

“Do you want this date to lead to more dates…?” Jackson said.

Owen immediately picked up his meaning and finished his thought, “Or do you want this date to lead to… um… more nocturnal type activities?”

“Nocturnal activities?” Callie asked, her brow furrowed in confusion. Then it clicked, “Oh, you mean sex? Yeah, no… we already did that.”

Jackson and Owen shared a look.

“What?” Callie said. “You two are the last two people in the hospital who have room to judge the order in which I choose to be with a person. You,” she pointed at Jackson, “went to a wedding with one date and left with the bride, whom you are now married to! And you,” she pointed at Owen, “I lived with you. I know things… things you wouldn’t want shared.”

“What things?” Owen asked.

“That name that Cristina liked to call you when you were having sex…”

Owen’s hand suddenly covered Callie’s mouth. “No one here is judging you, Torres,” he quickly replied. “No one needs to know that.”

“Well, now I feel like I need to know,” Jackson said.

“You wouldn’t believe it if I told you anyway,” Callie pulled Owen’s hand off of her mouth, “it’s that weird.”

“How about we circle back to helping you with your date?” Owen suggested.

“Good,” Callie smiled. “Hit me your best ideas.”

“Dinner?” Jackson suggested

“Really? No wonder you had to steal your bride!” Callie made a face. “Next?”

“A movie?” Owen tried.

“What am I, twelve?”

“Take her dancing. You like to dance, right?” Owen suggested. “Or cook for her. I know you’re a good cook.”

“Oh…. I have the perfect idea,” Jackson said.

Callie looked skeptical, everything thus far had been so ordinary. She wanted to impress, have fun, and be spontaneous, yet well planned.

“Seriously,” Jackson looked excited. “You’re going to love this, Torres, I guarantee.”

“Okay, let’s hear it.”

“I have two VIP tickets to the Project Ethos Fashion Show for Stand Up to Cancer. It’s tomorrow night. I was going to take April, but with the… you know… she’s not feeling up to it.”

“Jackson, are you sure?” Callie grabbed his hand and squeezed, her excitement evident. “That would be amazing. But… I’d hate to take that away from April.”

“I’m sure, Callie. The tickets will go to waste if you don’t take them.”

“Thank you so much, Avery. I owe you one,” Callie said and hugged him, which took him by surprise. He and Callie had never been hugging friends. When he pulled back from the hug, he nodded awkwardly and left Callie standing alone with Owen.

“You,” she pointed to the occasional ginger.

“Yeah?”

“Thanks for nothing. A movie? Really?” Callie poked him in the bicep. “You need to up your game, Major McDrillme, or you’ll never find someone else.”

She turned to leave the room, but he softly grasped her arm to stop her, “Callie?”

“Hmm?” she turned back to face him.

“Good luck,” his smile was genuine, yet sad. “I hope this works out for you. It’s hard moving on.”

Callie nodded her agreement and pulled him into a hug, “I know you loved Cristina, and you miss her,” She pulled back so they were face-to-face, “But one thing I’ve come to realize is that loving someone shouldn’t be painful. You’ll find a person who frees you from that constant ache, Owen, and you will smile again. You just have to let go.”

**

Amelia caught up with Maggie later that day and cornered her in the x-ray room. Maggie was sitting at a computer intently concentrating on a specific area of the scan and taking notes on her tablet.

“Seriously?” Amelia asked, no preface.

“What?” Maggie didn’t look away from what she was doing.

“You really aren’t going to tell me?” Amelia sat in the adjacent chair. “I thought we were friends, Margaret?”

“My friends don’t call me Margaret, Amy.”

“Touché,” Amelia chuckled. “Meredith?”

“Yeah, she said you hate when Derek calls you that. I’ve been saving it. Seemed like a good time,” she went back to looking at her scans.

“Come on, enough of this,” Amelia whined. “You need to spill.”

“Fine,” Maggie relented. “You are an annoying friend, you know that?”

“And I’m completely okay in the role of ‘annoying friend’,” Amelia added.

Maggie glanced at the door to make sure it was shut, before finally blurting, “I got laid.”

“Oh my god, I knew it!” Amelia was giddy with the news. “When?”

“Oh, um… Saturday. And Sunday… and Monday, too.”

“Wow, no wonder you’ve been all smiles lately,” Amelia said. “Someone here? At Groan Memorial?”

“Groan Memorial?”

“Grey/Sloan.”

“Ah,” Maggie nodded. “Yes, it’s someone who works here.”

Amelia waited patiently for all of three seconds, “Are you seriously going to make me ask?”

“What?”

“Who?”

“I’m not willing to share a name just yet,” Maggie said, then added, “I’ll tell you after tomorrow.”

“What’s so special about tomorrow?”

“We have a date, a Hump Day date,” Maggie explained. “I want to see how things go in a less… intimate setting before I decide to share.”

“So this is more than sex?”

“I think so,” Maggie said. “I think we have shot at being more than just fantastic sex.”

“Ah, I was wondering about that,” Amelia raised her eyebrows suggestively. “So the sex was mind blowing?”

“Almost stroke inducing.”

“Good for you!”

**

The lack of Derek Shepherd at the dream house did nothing to lessen the chaos that reigned there most nights. Amelia still lived there, and she wasn’t the quietest of house guests. Her music blaring, she danced with Zola while cleaning up their dinner dishes. Meredith laughed at their antics and tried hopelessly to get Bailey to eat some of his now cold food.

Finally giving up on getting the finicky baby to eat his green beans, she lifted him from his highchair and carried him over to where Amelia and Zola were shaking their butts.

“Zola, it’s time to get ready for bed, go pick out your jammies,” Meredith said to the young girl, “and take your brother,” she put Bailey on the ground so he could toddle after. She looked at her sister-in-law, and said, “Do you mind finishing up in here while I give them their baths?”

“Not at all,” Amelia smiled. “Anything to help.”

“Oh, speaking of,” Meredith paused as she was leaving to take care of the children. “Are you still available to babysit tomorrow night?”

“Yeah, I’m not getting lucking in any capacity, I’m definitely available.”

“Good, I’m still on call. I might see if Maggie wants to have dinner.”

“Oh, well, I don’t think she will be able to.”

“Why?”

“She mentioned she may have something,” Amelia said. If Maggie hadn’t told Meredith, then it wasn’t her place. “You should hit up Torres.”

“I did, she has a date. Can you believe that?”

“Um, yeah? She’s an attractive single woman, Meredith, why is her dating unusual?”

“Because she’s still in love with her wife?”

“I believe they are exes, are they not?”

“Technically,” Meredith replied, “For now.”

“Well, I wouldn’t begrudge her a good time, even it doesn’t work out. People have needs, Meredith.”

“Oh, you don’t have to tell me about needs,” Meredith sighed. “God, I miss Derek. Long distance sucks.”

“At least you know he’s going to be here eventually,” Amelia said. “I have zero prospects in the sex department, casual or otherwise. Which is why you should cut Callie some slack.”

“Sleeping with someone and dating someone are two different things. She deserves some happiness, and believe me, she really looked happy after her hook-up this weekend, but dating requires more of an emotional commitment. I’m not sure Callie is in the right frame of mind to start dating. This Hump Day date has disaster written all over it.”

“Wait,” Amelia couldn’t believe what she just heard. “Did you say Hump Day date?”

Chapter Text

Meredith was livid. She was mad… so mad, she wasn’t sure what to do. She stood at the elevator and roughly pressed the up button, over and over, like it would somehow make it come faster.  As she stood there and fumed, an unwitting intern sidled up to the attending by the elevator only to receive what was popularly known amongst the initiated as ‘the Medusa stare’. Though he didn’t know at the time that that was a thing, he was smart enough to fake needing to be somewhere else when the elevator doors opened and Dr. Grey stepped on. Alone. He hightailed it in the opposite direction. 

Now pacing back and forth in the car, waiting on it to ascend to her destination, she mulled over her options. She figured she could handle this anger in one of three ways: leave it in, let it out, or let it go. She’d never been good at stuffing it, though. When she was mad… people knew. She made sure they knew.

Stuffing it wasn’t an option, so that left letting it out or letting it go, and she couldn’t just let it go. She had to confront the cause.

Callie Torres.

Callie was going to know that Meredith was mad. Soon.

**

By the time the elevator arrived on the surgical floor, Meredith’s ire had somewhat cooled, but she was still… irritated. Maybe Amelia was right and it was none of her business what Maggie did?? It was definitely none of her business what Callie did. So, why did it bother her so much if they did, whatever it was they were doing, together?

She stepped off the elevator ready to give Callie a break, but the first thing she saw when she rounded the corner to surgical board was Callie and Arizona standing close, too close, and laughing over something on Callie’s phone. Arizona took the phone from Callie to get a better look at what was on it. She moved her finger across the phone, obviously flipping through photos. Callie leaned in closer, her head right next to the blonde’s.

Meredith narrowed her eyes and made a beeline for the practically snuggling surgeons.

“Torres,” Meredith yelled, “I need a consult. Now.” She grabbed Callie by the elbow and started pulling her down the hall.

Callie was so taken by surprise, she had to comply—Meredith didn’t give her an option not to. As she was being tugged down the corridor, she looked back at Arizona, her brown eyes large with fear, begging for help.

**

Meredith didn’t let go of Callie’s arm until she had her alone in an on call room.

Callie rubbed at the arm that Meredith had such a tight grasp on, and barked, “What the hell, Grey?”

“Why don’t you tell me, Torres,” Meredith snapped back.

“I think that’s going to leave a bruise,” Callie tried to twist here arm to see the spot.

Meredith deflated a little at Callie’s comment, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to grab you so hard.”

“I’m going to have to wear long sleeves on my date tonight,” Callie mumbled, not realizing that was the very thing that Meredith was worried about.

“Arrhhh, dammit, Callie,” Meredith growled in response. “Now I’m angry, again.”

“You’re angry?”

“Yes.”

“With me?” Callie swallowed.

“Yes,” Meredith nodded.

“Count to four angry or swear angry?” Callie asked.

“Oh, I’m going to swear.”

“Is this about…?”

“Maggie.”

Callie just nodded, her lips pressed tight.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Meredith asked.

“It wasn’t my place,” Callie replied.

“But we are friends now, Callie. We confide. I tell you all my Derek stuff.”

“You do.”

“And you tell me all of your Arizona stuff.”

“I do,” Callie agreed. “Er, did.”

“But you couldn’t tell me this?”

“No.”

Meredith sighed and went to sit and the bed. “Is Maggie gay?”

“I can’t answer that question for you,” Callie said. “I’m sorry.”

“You can’t tell me if she’s gay, but you can sleep with her? So, you what? Seduced her? Are you her first?”

“Meredith, this is a conversation you need to be having with your sister, not me,” Callie sat next the questioning woman. “I can tell you that she was not… inexperienced in the ways of lady loving. She knew her way around…”

“If you say ‘a vagina’ I’m leaving the room and never speaking to you again.”

“You didn’t have a problem talking about vaginas with me before,” Callie argued. “We even sang a little vagina song.”

“Yeah, but that wasn’t about my sister’s vagina… or yours for that matter.”

“It was kind of about Cristina’s.”

“No it wasn’t! It was about the word vagina. No specific vagina was mentioned!”

“Fine,” Callie relented. “Whatever.”

“I think we got off track,” Meredith sighed.

“Do you have a problem with Maggie being gay or bi or however she identifies herself?”

“Of course not!” Meredith quickly replied. “I wish she would have told me, but that’s not what I have a problem with.”

Callie swallowed, “So it’s uh… just the ‘me’ part of the equation you have a problem with.”

**

Amelia walked down the corridor toward the x-ray room with conviction in her step. She always carried herself with an air of confidence, even when she didn’t feel it, so she always looked like she was swaggering. She believed, you are what you think, so sometimes she would feign strength and confidence until she felt strong. It was how she coped with fear and uncertainty. But this time, she wasn’t faking it. She knew a secret and it made her feel… good. Or so she thought.

She burst into the room to find the very object of her secret sitting at the computer going over some scans, just where she knew she'd find her.

“Dr. Pierce,” she smiled. A very big, very I-know-a-secret-about-you smile. “We keep meeting here. I think we are the only people in this hospital who actually use this room.”

“I think we are the only people in this hospital who actually work,” Maggie replied.

“So, uh… how are you?”

“I’m fine, Dr. Shepherd,” Maggie smiled back. “You?”

“Oh, you know… good,” Amelia sat down at the screen next to Maggie and started pulling up her own scans. “Not… I’m-getting-laid good, but… good. You are, uh… still having your date tonight aren’t you? The hump day date?”

Maggie sat back in her chair and sighed, “You aren’t actually here to work, are you?”

“Nope,” Amelia smiled.

“Well, I am…,” Maggie tried to dismiss the other woman, but Amelia was persistent.

“I heard a rumor,” Amelia pushed to engage Maggie again.

“I don’t gossip,” Maggie replied.

“Callie Torres has a hump day date tonight too,” Amelia said, completely ignoring Maggie’s obvious reticence to ‘gossip’.

“What a coincidence,” Maggie responded. “Good for her.”

“Oh, come on! Why are you hiding this,” Amelia said. “I know you know that I know. Just admit it!”

“Okay, fine, I have a date with Dr. Torres tonight.”

Despite knowing, Amelia felt a twinge of sadness at the acknowledgement. Sadness and a tiny bit of resentment, “You know you could have told me, I thought we were friends!”

“We are, but I like Dr. Torres… and things are little complicated with her. I figured the less ‘gossip’ there was floating about, the easier things will be,” Maggie admitted. “Besides, it’s just a date. It’s not newsworthy.”

“Why didn’t you at least tell me you were interested in women?”

“Um, I did,” Maggie replied. “Remember a couple weeks ago, when we were commiserating with each other about our lack of sex life, you asked me if I was interested in anyone at the hospital?”

“Yeah,” Amelia responded. “I remember you said…”

“The ICU nurse on the night shift…  Halle Evans.”

“I thought you meant Nurse Kevin!”

“The one with the mustache? Eww, he looks like a pornstar. What made you think I’d be into him?”

“I mean… I just thought you maybe had a thing for… smarmy.”

“Well, I’m sorry you misinterpreted what I was saying,” Maggie went back to looking at her scans. “I’m definitely not into smarmy pornstars.”

“You don’t have to apologize,” Amelia sighed, her expression becoming thoughtful. “I just… I wish I’d known is all. So, uh… you like her, huh?”

“Callie?”

“Yes,” Amelia nodded.

“She’s smart, funny, and kind. And really, really hot. What’s not to like?”

Amelia studied her friend for a moment, like she wanted to say something important, but instead settled on, “so, where is she taking you?’

“I’m not sure,” Maggie excitedly answered. “She wouldn’t say... she just said to wear a nice dress.”

“You have something in mind?”

“Oh, yeah. I have this white dress that I’ve been dying to wear since coming to Seattle. This is the first opportunity I’ve had to dress up.”

“I’m sure you’ll look…” Amelia seemed to struggle for the right thing to say. She finally settled on, “Fab.”

“Fab? Really?”

“I’m uh, not good with fashion words. Sorry.”

“Okay, then. I’ll take ‘fab’.”

“Hey, you’re gorgeous. I’m sure Dr. Torres will be suitably impressed.”

“Thanks, Amelia,” Maggie replied. “I’m glad you know, I’ve been dying to talk to someone about her.”

“I’d be happy to be your… confidant.” Amelia smiled and listened as Maggie went on about how great Callie Torres was, how much they’d laughed and connected, and she found herself becoming jealous. Suddenly, she didn’t want Callie anywhere near her friend, even though it clearly made Maggie happy to be with the other woman.

She pushed her chair back and stood, startling Maggie from her Callie-is-great monologue.

“Are you okay?” Maggie asked.

“Yeah,” Amelia lied. “I’m fine,” she said, even though she clearly wasn’t fine. “I need to go,” she really needed to figure some things out. She turned and ran out of the room without so much as a goodbye.

“Everyone in this hospital is weird,” Maggie said aloud. She shook her head and went back to her scans.

**

Callie and Meredith sat side by side in the on call room, the air was thick with tension as Callie waited for Meredith's answer.

“Yeah, I don’t want you dating my sister,” Meredith finally responded.

Callie nodded, she was both a little angry and a little sad. She swallowed hard, trying to keep the lump in her throat from altering her voice and alerting Meredith to her hurt. “Why?” she choked out. So much for hiding it, she though.

“Because,” Meredith replied, “you will cause Maggie nothing but pain.”

“I don’t understand?” Callie asked softly. “Why would you think that?”

“Because you and Arizona are like Derek and me. We will never be able to be happy with other people. You may think you are happy now, but one day… one day soon, you’ll realize you are miserable without Arizona… and Maggie will be the collateral damage, like Finn and Rose were for us. I don’t want that for her. Or you.”

“Arizona and I are finished, Meredith. We obviously weren’t like you and Derek. We’re divorced. We’re seeing other people. I’m happy. Maggie makes me happy. Can’t you just let me be happy?”

Meredith sat there for a few moments, not saying anything.

“Meredith?” Callie poked her arm. “Come on… What do you say? Me. Happy?”

“Fine,” Meredith sighed. “But if you hurt her…”

“I won’t,” Callie adamantly replied. “I promise.”

“But if you do?”

“We can meet in the hospital cafeteria at high noon… and you can beat me up,” Callie smiled, knowing she’d broken through some of Meredith’s doubts. “I mean… you could try. I don’t think your tiny ineffectual fists could do much.”

“I’m a lot scrappier than you think.”

“Oh, I have no doubt about the extent of your scrappiness, Grey. And with that in mind, I shall try my hardest not to hurt your sister and invoke your wrath,” Callie said. She swiftly added, “Because, you look like a hair-puller. I wouldn’t want to mess with that.”

“And don’t you forget it.”

Meredith had let her anger out, but she couldn’t quite let it all go. She decided she’d just hold on to it until it was necessary.  Callie could deny it all she wanted, but Meredith knew it was going to be necessary.

**

Chapter Text

Amelia left Maggie in the x-ray room and wandered around the hospital contemplating her sudden negative reaction, the feeling of jealousy toward the other woman. Was she was bothered by Callie and Maggie because of the pain Callie could cause her friend (like Meredith was) or was she displeased because Callie was doing what Amelia herself wanted to be doing—seeing Maggie… in a more than platonic way.

Amelia had done her share of experimenting in college, but she’d never identified as anything other than straight. The idea of dating another woman had never crossed her mind. She had plenty of gay friends, and dated plenty of guys, but she’d never met anyone, any woman, which made her consider a foray into a same-sex relationship… until now. Now, she was thinking about it. Maggie made her think about it. The idea of Maggie dating another woman who was not her… made Amelia think about it.

As a matter of fact, she couldn’t stop thinking about it. Which is how she found herself seeking out an unlikely ally to assist her with her dilemma. She figured maybe they could do each other a favor. 

She finally tracked the person down headed toward the hospital cafeteria.

“Arizona! Wait up,” Amelia chased after the blonde, who slowed her pace and allowed the younger Dr. Shepherd to catch up with her. “You move fast.”

“Well, I only have forty minutes until my next surgery, and I have to eat. I’m starving,” she smiled at Amelia, but didn’t stop her trek towards the cafeteria.

It was earlier than she normally went to lunch, but it would give Amelia time to talk to Arizona. She trailed the determined blonde to the lunch line, where they chose and paid for their food.

Once they were seated, Arizona’s curiosity got the better of her. “So, what did you want, Amelia?” she asked. “Do you need a consult?”

“No,” Amelia replied. “I need a date.”

“A date? Hmmm… I don’t really know anyone,” Arizona shrugged, and dug into her lunch. After swallowing, she added, “Oh! Owen Hunt is single now. He’s a bit too grim for my tastes… and too male, but lots of people seem to find him attractive.”

“Actually, I was thinking about you.” Amelia popped a carrot in her mouth and smiled.

“Thinking about me what?” Arizona took another bite of her lasagna.

“Thinking about you, going on a date with me.”

“Oh, ha, very funny Dr. Shepherd,” Arizona chuckled.

“Did you just mock my sincere request?”

“Wait,” she picked up her napkin and wiped her mouth, “you were serious?”

“Yes, I’m serious. Go out on a date with me?”

“Uh…. No.”

“Why not?”

“Because, one: I’m not interested in you that way. Two: you are not gay. And three: I just don’t want to. Besides, we’re colleagues. That gets messy, trust me.”

“That hasn’t stopped your ex-wife from dating… No, more than dating, Maggie Pierce.”

Arizona visibly bristled, just for moment, before schooling her expression. “I’m well aware,” was all she said.

Amelia was a very perceptive person though, and Arizona’s small slip in composure did not go missed.

“Oh, I see,” Amelia nodded knowingly.

 “What exactly is it that you think you see?” Arizona’s brows furrowed.

“You are still in love with Callie, and have been pretending to be okay all of this time,” Amelia smiled. “It’s fine. I don’t mind. I’m not looking for a relationship with you anyway. I just wanted to see what dating a woman would feel like. It can be a pretend date.”

“Well then, I have to politely decline, because I respect myself and what you just proposed is a load of crap,” Arizona shook her head and took another bite of her lasagna, completely ignoring the part about her still being in love with Callie. “What are you, anyway? A sitcom character?”

“You just ignored what I said about your ex,” Amelia pushed.

“Funny, that,” Arizona replied without elaborating.

“If it weren’t true, you’d deny it, so I guess that means….”

“Dr. Shepherd, we aren’t that good of friends.”

“We could be,” Amelia smiled again. “How about we go out and get some dinner, maybe see a movie, somewhere away from the hospital, and just… be friends.”

Before Arizona could answer, her phone buzzed an incoming text in her pocket. She pulled it out and read the words.

I’m really looking forward to tonight. My dress is extremely sexy, I hope you can handle it.

The phone buzzed again.

Seriously. It’s hot.

Again.

Also, I miss talking to you. I can’t wait until tonight to see you—meet me for lunch?

Arizona was confused at first, until she realized she still had Callie’s phone from earlier when Meredith dragged Callie off for the strange consult. It was Maggie texting Callie about their date tonight.

“Bad news?” Amelia asked.

“What?” Arizona looked up from the phone.

“You look… sad. Those texts made you frown, so… bad news?”

Arizona slid the phone back into her pocket and shook off the uneasy feeling she got from Callie and Maggie’s… relationship? What ever it was that was happening between them was suddenly becoming real. Really real. Arizona figured she needed to come to terms with it soon. Come to terms that Callie could possibly love someone else. She unconsciously fiddled with her ring finger, the one that used to hold her wedding rings, despite them no longer residing there.

“I’m sorry,” Arizona focused back on Amelia. “What were we talking about?”

Amelia’s eyes were locked onto Arizona’s left hand, her ring finger specifically, causing the blonde to slip her hands back under the table. Amelia was kind enough to pretend not to notice and went back to their previous discussion; “You were about to agree to go out with me—not on a date—just as friends and colleagues.”

“Okay, fine. We can go out. April has been going through some stuff and hasn’t been up to company much lately and I miss adult time,” Arizona relented.

Amelia raised her eyebrows, “Adult time?”

“Not adult time, adult time. Don’t be so presumptuous,” Arizona admonished the other woman. “We can go out, but it’s not a date. I’m not interested in dating right now. My life is going well, it’s uncomplicated and simple, and I wish to keep it that way. ”

“Deal,” Amelia smiled. “Friday night okay?”

“Friday is good,” Arizona replied. “Callie has Sofia. We can… have dinner, maybe go to a movie.”

“You won’t regret this, Robbins. I make an excellent date.”

“Not a date.”

“I make an excellent not-a-date, dinner and maybe a movie companion.”

The two women finished their meals and departed the cafeteria. Arizona left to get to her surgery and Amelia to the coffee cart just beyond the cafeteria for her afternoon espresso.

**

Maggie was hungry and irritated. It was well past her normal lunchtime—she’d waited, but Callie wasn’t answering her texts, Amelia had disappeared, and she hadn’t seen Meredith all day. She felt like everyone in the hospital was avoiding her. The day had started out so promising, and now it looked like she was having lunch alone.

As she stood in the lunch line, she looked over her options, nothing looked appealing in her current mood. She grabbed a salad, so as not to spoil her appetite for her date tonight—if it was even still on, as she hadn’t heard from Callie at all that day.

Once Maggie had her food, she went to the rack where people left newspapers and magazines when they were finished, grabbed one that had a crossword puzzle, and found a seat alone.

She was halfway through both her salad and the puzzle when she felt someone standing over her.

“Purple,” said the voice behind her.

Maggie didn’t turn to respond, but she did ask, “What?”

“Twenty-three across, six letters, violaceous. It means purple… or maybe it’s violet, that’s six letters too…” Maggie finally turned to look at the grinning brunette holding a tray full of food. Callie looked smug; she sat her tray down and pointed to the crossword, “I’ve been boning up on my vocabulary, so I can puzzle with you.”

That made Maggie smile, despite the bit of irritation she felt at Callie’s failure to text back. “Where have you been all morning?”

“My lab,” Callie replied as she pulled out the chair to sit next to Maggie. “Are you excited about tonight?”

“Is that still on?” Maggie casually inquired, trying her best not to sound vulnerable. She went back to her crossword in an attempt to avoid eye contact.

“Why wouldn’t it be?”

“You tell me,” her brown eyes flicking back up to tentatively meet Callie’s.

“Hey, what’s going on?” Callie asked. “Are you mad at me? Wait… did Meredith get to you?”

“Meredith? What does Meredith have to do with anything?”

“Oh… uh nothing, I guess…” Callie was at a loss. “I don’t understand what’s happening here. Did I do something wrong?”

Callie looked confused and dejected, and Maggie suddenly felt guilty for being short with her. “I’m sorry, Callie. You didn’t do anything wrong. I just… Amelia is acting weird and Meredith seems to be avoiding me, so I was already a little irritated and then I tried to text you several times and you didn’t reply, I thought you were blowing me off. Plus, I was hungry. Sometimes I’m unpleasant when I’m hungry."

“Oh…” Callie nodded in understanding, “I would never blow you off. My phone is…” a little crease formed between Callie’s eyebrows as she tried to remember where she left her phone. The last time she remembered having it… “I think Arizona has it.”

Now Maggie looked confused, “Why would your ex-wife have your phone?”

“I was showing her pictures of our daughter,” Callie shook her head and giggled at the memory. “I let Sofia dress herself this morning and she ended up looking like a fruit roll-up. Completely,” she raised an eyebrow and tapped the crossword, “violaceous.” A smile once again adorned Maggie’s face; Callie’s charm was hard to resist. “Anyway,” Callie continued. “Meredith hauled me off to an on call room to yell at me and I guess Arizona still had my phone. I totally would have texted you back. Okay?”

“Okay,” Maggie answered sincerely. She didn’t want her sudden bout of insecurity to put a damper on their date and she was about to say as much, when she realized what Callie had said, “Wait, why was Meredith yelling at you?”

“Oh, yeah… she knows, you know,” Callie pointed her fork at Maggie, then back to herself, “about us.” 

“Okay,” Maggie was still at a loss, “and that makes her yell?”

“Apparently,” Callie replied.

“She actually took you aside to yell at you?”

Callie nodded and took a bite of her lunch.

“About me?”

Again, Callie nodded between bites.

“I don’t understand… what was she thinking?”

“Oh, no…” Callie took her napkin and wiped her mouth, “you won’t get me to go there. Trying to figure out what Meredith Grey is thinking at any given moment is a task that only Derek and Cristina are equipped to handle. I’m still an amateur when it comes to Grey’s dark and twisty. But,” Callie sighed. She pushed her food around on her plate, avoiding eye contact. “Mostly, she was just being an overprotective big sister.”

“What?” Maggie was now irritated with Meredith. “She doesn’t get to do that! We’re not… she’s… it’s just not her place. And really, what does she think she’s protecting me from?”

Callie looked up from her food, “Oh, uh… me.”

“I’ll kill her,” Maggie replied to gritted teeth. “Was she mean to you?”

“Don’t you worry about me, I can handle tiny Meredith Grey,” Callie assured the other woman. “I’ve had plenty of practice.” Maggie didn’t look convinced. “Seriously, Maggie, you don’t need to go talking to Meredith or being mad at her. I can deal with whatever she throws at me.”

Maggie started to reply, but her pager went off interrupting her thought. She pulled it out of her lab coat pocket and read the code.

“Gotta go?” Callie asked.

“Yep, the pit,” Maggie replied. “This conversation isn’t over. We’ll finish tonight… on our date.”

“I’m looking forward to it,” Callie said as the other woman started to walk away. “Hey, Maggie, don’t say anything to Meredith!”

Maggie just waved noncommittally over her shoulder as she left Callie alone at the table.

Callie sighed to herself, “She’s going to say something to Meredith.”

Chapter Text

Maggie walked with purpose into the hospital lobby, she looked good—damn good—and felt even better. She’d had a late surgery and had to dress at the hospital, so Callie agreed to pick her up there, and was due to arrive at any moment.

Meredith had successfully avoided Maggie for the rest of the afternoon. Maggie had looked for her, but the several times she thought she had her cornered, Meredith had managed to slip away. Until now. 

Maggie spotted her flustered sister as she was trying to get her two children to sit in the lobby chairs and await the arrival of there aunt, who would be babysitting them for the night.

“Meredith Grey!” Maggie said with authority, and a hint of exasperation.

Meredith sighed. She didn’t need turn around to know her sister was angry, and she knew what this was about. Callie Torres had indeed tattled.

“I’m talking to you. Meredith… uh…,” Maggie looked thoughtful for a moment, then continued. “I’m so irritated I want to middle-name you,” she pointed at the small tired looking woman, who finally turned to face her, “but I suddenly realize that I don’t know your middle name.”

“I don’t have one,” Meredith replied. “Apparently Ellis couldn’t be bothered with thinking of two whole names, so I’m just… Meredith [no-middle-name] Grey.”

“Well, that kind of takes the thunder out of my declaration, but…”

“You look nice,” Meredith said.

“Thank you, but…”

“I like your hair like that,” Meredith again interrupted. “Pulled up. Your dress is pretty great too.”

“What are you doing?” Maggie’s brow furrowed with confusion, until it dawned on her that Meredith was maybe trying to apologize. They shared a look of understanding, then with a resigned sigh Maggie said, “Thank you.”

“So, where is she taking you?”

“I don’t know,” Maggie replied. “I got pulled into a surgery this afternoon. Had to dress here. Thank god I planned ahead.”

“And Callie?”

“Is picking me up here any minute.”

“Be careful,” Meredith warned.

“Why, is she a bad driver?” Maggie challenged. 

“She’s still in love with her wife,” Meredith said, without missing a beat. “Whether she realizes it or not.”

“Ex, ex-wife, Meredith.”

“For now.”

Maggie sighed, “Do you think….”

“Yes,” Meredith replied before Maggie could finish.

“Do you think,” Maggie stressed, “we could have this conversation some other time?”

“You don’t want to wait until it’s too late, Maggie. I’m just trying to save you from heartache.”

“I’m not looking to marry her,” Maggie shook her head. “I’m just looking for someone to spend some time with.”

“I thought you were good alone?”

“I am good at being alone, Meredith, but no one is good being lonely. It’s been too long.”

“So it’s just…sex? Casual?”

“Wow,” Maggie looked around at their surroundings. “This really isn’t a conversation I want to be having in the hospital lobby,” her eyes darting to the two Shepherd kids, Zola now reading a book to Bailey, “or in front of your children.”

“They’re fine,” Meredith waved her off.

“Well, I’m finished with this conversation. Callie is a great person, she’s funny and kind and smart,” Maggie paused for a second and looked away from her sister. “Plus, it seems like she needs this as much as I do.”

“What about… Dan? No… Dean,” Meredith asked. “Your one serious relationship was with a guy.”

“Your point?” Maggie asked defiantly.

Meredith sighed, “Callie is a…”

“What? What is she?”

“A Snuggler. She’s a big-time snuggler and an occasional spooner.”

“You know this from experience?”

“I know this from George, her ex-husband. He felt suffocated by her.”

“Meredith,” Maggie warned again. “Stop it.”

The two women silently stared at each other for a few long seconds.

“I just don’t want either of you two to get hurt,” Meredith finally relented, the stern look on her face softened. “My sister and my friend? If this goes wrong… It will be really awkward for me.”

Maggie laughed, “Does everything always have to be about you?”

“Cristina understood that,” Meredith smirked. “If you’re going to be my person…”

“Has Alex resigned?”

“Alex has been terrible at being my person. His hoodlum girlfriend dominates his free time, so over the past few months I’ve been secretly replacing him with you.”

“What exactly does being your ‘person’ entail?”

“Well for one, we tell each other everything. Especially when we change our sexual preference or when we have sex with one of our mutual friends.”

“Nothing about me has changed, including my sexual preference, I assure you of that. Just because you didn’t know I liked women, doesn’t mean I haven’t always. You know… contrary to what your last person let you believe—and I say this with love, Meredith—you aren’t the center of the universe. You may be the center of yours, but you aren’t the center of mine. I’m the center of my universe.”

“Wow, I didn’t expect to come out of this conversation as the person being scolded.”

Maggie chuckled, “I’m not scolding you, I’m just telling you… I’ll be your friend, I’ll be your sister, and I’ll even be your person if that’s what you want. But my choices are mine. Any decisions I make—good or bad— are mine. If Callie and I turn out to be a disaster? I’ll own that and move on. I’m an adult, Meredith, I don’t need you to hold my hand.”

“Okay,” Meredith replied.

“Really?”

“Who am I to argue with one of the only adults to work at this hospital.”

“Please, Dr. Bailey is an adult.”

“Next time you talk to her, ask her about Star Wars,” Meredith said. She looked toward the door an noticed Callie walking up to them, definitely dressed for a date. Meredith’s eyes moved back to her sister, she pointed over Maggie’s shoulder. “Your date has arrived.”

Maggie turned to face the woman who was currently walking toward them. Her eyes roamed Callie’s form, starting with her gorgeous hair, down her dress—a short multicolored blue and black number with long sleeves—her eyebrows raised when her gaze fell on the hemline of the very, very short skirt, “Wow,” she whispered.

Meredith just shook her head and sighed.

Callie walked up tentatively and said, “Hi. Is uh… everything okay here?”

“Everything is great,” Maggie replied. “Isn’t it, Meredith.”

“Sure is,” Meredith replied. “We are all good here.”

“You look really nice,” Maggie said.

Callie looked down shyly, “Really?”

“Yes, you look amazing,” Maggie reassured the hesitant woman standing before her.

“So do you. You look beautiful,” Callie said, confidence in herself increasing by the moment.

“And I look like I’m on call tonight,” Meredith looked down at her scrubs.

“Meredith? Remember what we just discussed?” Maggie directed to her sister, even though her eyes never left Callie. “About how not everything is about you? Well this is one of those moments.”

“Right. Sorry. I’ll just,” Meredith pointed to the lobby chairs where her two children sat waiting for Amelia to take them home for the night. “You two go have fun.”

Callie tentatively reached out and took Maggie’s hand, “We should go. We don’t want to be late.”

“Late for what? Are you going tell me where we are going?”

“Hmm, maybe in the car,” Callie replied. “And only if you beg.”

“I never beg, Dr. Torres.

“We’ll see about that.”

**

Meredith sat in a chair next to her children and watched the two women make their way from the hospital hand-in-hand.

She didn’t look away when Amelia sat down next to her. 

“They’re going on their hump-day date?” Amelia asked when Meredith didn’t respond to her arrival.

“Yep,” Meredith replied. “This is going to end badly.”

“Do you really think so?”

“I do,” Meredith finally turned to face her sister-in-law. “And when it does, Maggie is going to need someone. She’ll need someone to pick up the pieces, and she doesn’t want me. Do you think you can handle that? Being there for Maggie?”

Amelia nervously tapped the arm of the chair, “Yeah, uh… I think I can.”

“Good, I’m trusting you with her emotional well being,” Meredith patted Amelia on the knee. “Now take my kids home and feed them.”

Amelia just nodded and smiled as Meredith said her goodbyes to the children, her mind on Maggie and her new found feelings. Why did she have to fall for her sister-in-law’s sister? Someone that her sister-in-law seemed hellbent on protecting. 

She couldn’t talk to Meredith about her feelings, that was obvious. And even though he’d sort of become her sponsor, she couldn’t talk to Richard either. Right now, Arizona Robbins was her only hope, and she couldn’t wait until their Friday night not-date to reveal her ulterior motive.

**

Callie maneuvered her car through the city streets with practiced ease. While her eyes were on the road in front of her, Maggie’s were on her.

“You’re staring,” Callie said.

“You’re beautiful,” Maggie replied. “I enjoy looking at you.”

Callie just smiled in response.

“Does it bother you? Because I can stop….”

“No, it’s fine,” Callie nodded. “I don’t mind. Stare away. Ogle me to your heart’s desire.”

“Well now it just sounds creepy,” Maggie frowned. 

Callie laughed. She’d been doing that a lot lately, especially when she was with Maggie. She felt lighter, free. Maggie made her feel like it was okay to just be. There was no pressure or expectations beyond the moment. She could breathe without guilt when she was with Maggie.

“Are you going to tell me where we are going, or are you really going to make me beg?”

“Okay,” Callie relented easily, “I’ll tell.” Her eyes flicked from the road to the woman sitting in the passenger seat, just for a moment. “Though, I do hope to have you doing a little begging at some point tonight.”

“I’ll put that on the agenda,” Maggie’s reply came quickly. “Right after mystery date at mystery location, and right before we part for the evening.”

“I was hoping we wouldn’t be parting until morning,” Callie replied.

“We’ll need to test your begging skills for that,” Maggie smiled in response.

Callie enjoyed the rhythm of their banter, talking to Maggie was one of her new favorite things to do. She reached over and grabbed Maggie’s hand.

“I’ll have you know I’m exceptional at passing tests. My study skills are well noted. Celebrated, even. People are always after my skills.”

“Is that so?”

“Just ask your sister. The Torres Method changed her life.”

“This conversation has taken a turn for the bizarre,” Maggie said. “You and Meredith?”

“I helped her study for the boards.”

“Oh, sorry. I thought we were still with the innuendo. You are talking actual studying now, right?”

“Oh, yes,” Callie agreed. “Meredith and I never… ever… well, that one time she did kiss me, but we are decidedly not directly related through sex. Only indirectly. Oh! And now that I’ve slept with you, we are sex-in-laws.”

“One: sex-in-laws are not a thing, and two: Meredith kissed you?”

“I lived at the Dream House for about a month after Arizona cheated on me. I just… couldn't’ be at home and I had nowhere else to go. Anyway, I was handing Meredith her breast milk and she just planted one on me. It was disturbing. I ended up feeling like I was in a relationship with both her and Derek. Meredith and I were becoming sister-wives. I moved out shortly after. I didn’t want to end up being the third spoon. The lonely third spoon that made the coffee and did the dishes.”

“I don’t really understand any of what you just said.”

“It doesn’t matter, because we are here,” Callie pulled up to the valet parking line at The Showbox, a music venue in the SoDo district of Seattle. 

“A concert?” Maggie asked.

“Nope, thanks to Avery’s deep pockets, we have Ultra VIP Couture front row seats for a charity fashion show!”

“I’ve never been to a fashion show before,” Maggie smiled. “It sounds amazing.”

“I hope it is,” Callie said. “I did some research and we get sparkling wine, use of the lounge, and the best part… deluxe VIP swag bags.”

“Oh, thank god we get the VIP swag bags,” Maggie laughed. “I would have been disappointed with the less important person swag bags.”

“Hey, when it comes to swag bags, Callie Torres doesn’t skimp,” Callie joked back. “Especially when Jackson Avery’s money pays for them.”

**

Arizona stood at the surgical floor nurses station, she was reviewing the listed vitals on one of her patients before leaving for the night. It was later than she’d wanted to leave, she still had to go down to daycare to pick up Sofia, but her job was what it was. 

Meredith was on the other side of the counter, pretending to be using one of the computers.

Arizona stopped what she was doing and sighed, “You’re staring, Grey. Is there something I can do for you?”

“No, I’m just… thinking.”

“About?” Arizona led.

“Are you dating anyone?”

“Why? Are you interested?” Arizona laid her tablet on the counter and pushed her hair back with her hand. “Miss Derek that much?”

“I do miss him…” Meredith nodded, “but I’ll have to pass on the lady loving. Vaginas don’t excite me.”

“Well, then… you have a good night,” Arizona turned and started to walk away.

“Callie’s on a date with my sister tonight.”

Arizona stopped walking, she straightened her posture and turned back around. Fake smile firmly in place. “So, I hear. I’m… happy for them.”

“Are you?”

“I am,” Arizona replied. “I want Callie to be happy.”

“Okay,” Meredith smiled. She went back to pretending to type on the computer in front of her.

“That’s it? Okay?” Arizona’s face screwed up in confusion. “That’s all you have to say?”

“Yeah, I just wanted to know how you felt about it and now I do.”

“Well… what is it exactly that you took from this exchange? How do you think I feel about it?”

“You said you were happy for them, and I believe you. You are happy for them, right?”

“I mean, yeah… sure. Why wouldn’t I be?”

“You tell me.”

Arizona narrowed her eyes at the other woman, “I’m on to you, Grey. I’m on to you and I’m not getting caught up in your… trickery. I want Callie to be happy. If Maggie makes her happy, then I’m happy. There is no more to it than that,” Arizona insisted. “I’m leaving to pick up my daughter, so you just… have a good night.”

As Arizona went to leave, Meredith said, “I want Callie to be happy too, but…,” the blonde stopped walking to listen, “I think, that ultimately there is only one person who can make her truly happy. And I’m pretty sure you know that too.”

Arizona took a deep breath to calm herself, then walked away without responding.

Chapter Text

Callie and Maggie were in a trendy wine bar and eatery, two blocks away from The Showbox, continuing their date beyond the fashion show. They were tucked into a corner booth, lost in a world of conversation. 

Callie marveled at how easy Maggie was to talk to. She was always attentive—like everything that Callie said, no matter how silly or insignificant, was important. Their conversation flowed from topic to topic; a meandering walk with no real destination in mind.

She briefly thought of how it used to be this way with Arizona, before life and gravity introduced a heaviness to their interactions. It was small bit of discomfort that they couldn’t shake while together, no matter how hard they tried. Their conversations were guarded, each trying to protect themselves and the other from saying the wrong thing. Callie allowed herself that fleeting moment to think about her ex, her heart pounding in her ears, before shoving it back down and listening to Maggie’s story.

“So we were, oh… I don’t know… fifteen, maybe sixteen? It was the year I finished high school— I graduated early— and he was my first real-ish boyfriend type person. I didn’t really want to date, but my parents wanted me to be well-rounded, to really experience high school before I left for college, you know?”

Callie nodded, she understood parents who want the best for their children, despite what the children actually want. She had lots of experience with that.

“His name was Micah and he was really into video games. Normal teenage boy stuff,” Maggie took a sip of her wine. “He was cute too, but man was he boring. He couldn’t hold a conversation if his life depended on it.”

Callie chuckled in response, “How long did you date boring Micah?”

“Just long enough to go to Homecoming, then I dumped him,” Maggie replied.

“Maggie Pierce, you heartbreaker! What did he say?”

Maggie tried hard to keep from laughing, “He said… he said…” she stopped to compose herself. “He said ‘I’ve only ever loved two things: Pacman and you, and you let me down.’”

“Oh my god, you broke his tiny teenage boy heart. He probably swore off women and now lives in his parent’s basement trolling women on the internet.”

“Actually, he did swear off women, but not because of me,” Maggie picked at their shared appetizer tray. “He has a very nice husband, and they live in Boston, they own a video game design house. They’re extremely successful.”

“Oh, good for him. You let him down, but he was able to find his true self.”

“Exactly,” Maggie agreed. “Not all break-ups are bad.”

Callie’s stomach rolled as Arizona, once again, came to the forefront of her mind. She shook it off, trying to stop her stupid single-minded brain from dwelling on Arizona, when she should be paying attention to the beautiful and charming woman in front of her. 

“So uh,” Callie focused back on her conversation with Maggie, “What ever happened with Ethan the radiologist? Was he boring too? He didn’t close your gap? He couldn’t get your berries ripe?”

Maggie rolled her eyes and ‘ewww’d’ at Callie’s innuendo, she shook her head as she obviously tried to come up with a suitable answer for the simple question.

Callie watched Maggie attentively, as she awaited the other woman’s reply. When Callie realized a response wasn’t immediately forthcoming, she reached out and took a stuffed mushroom from their shared plate and popped the whole thing in her mouth. Maggie stared, eyebrows raised, as the other woman struggled to chew and keep the whole thing in her mouth. 

When the struggling brunette finally managed to swallow the mushroom and wipe her mouth with the napkin, she noticed the look on Maggie’s face. “What? You have to eat them whole, it ruins the experience if you cut them in half. Like maki sushi.”

“I cut my sushi.”

“You what?” Callie blurted,then cringed, “Sorry,” she looked around to make sure her loud exclamation didn’t bother anyone else, “I’m really sorry, sometimes I’m loud.”

“So I recall,” Maggie winked, causing a blush to creep up Callie’s neck, “It’s part of who you are, Dr. Torres, and I like who you are.”

Callie, still a bit uncomfortable with compliments, pushed forward with the conversation, “You know… not to be pedantic, but I believe there is a rule about maki sushi—it’s supposed to be eaten with your fingers… or so they say in polite circles.”

“Oh trust me, I know,” Maggie replied. “Dean used to tell me all the time, but I live by my own rules. My circles are kinda rude and need forks.”

“I don’t take much stock in what they say, either,” Callie admitted with a chuckle. “So, you’re a sushi rebel, huh?”

“More of sushi nonconformist,” Maggie leaned back and relaxed against the back of the booth. “I try not to be too hardcore about it—have you seen the way those sushi chefs handle knives?” 

“Mmm, better hands than some surgeons I know.”

“Oh, yeah,” Maggie nodded in agreement. “Usually, to avoid offending them, I just pretend it’s my first time having sushi, then I don’t get the looks.”

“That work for you?”

“Mostly,” Maggie answered. “But there is one major flaw in my strategy…”

“Yeah? What’s the flaw?”

“I can never eat at the same sushi bar twice. It’s why I had to move to Seattle, I ran out of places to eat sushi in Boston.”

“You are a liar.. and you avoided my original question. Also… Dean?” Callie took a sizable sip of her wine as she waited for Maggie to catch up and answer her various questions.

“You were serious with the question?” Maggie asked. “You really want to talk about boring guys on our date?”

“Boring guys make me look good in comparison.”

“You don’t need any help with looking good, Callie. Trust me on that one.”

***

The two women laughed and talked and enjoyed their meals and for the better part of two hours, the conversation flowed freely. 

Maggie told Callie about Dean, her one serious guy, and why they broke up.

Callie told Maggie about her first marriage, and the disaster that George turned out to be. They laughed and bonded over their mutual naivety and awkwardness during their first time with a woman, neither of firsts being what one would call ‘successful’. Maggie was surprised to find out Callie’s first was none other than noted cardio surgeon, Erica Hahn.

“I can’t believe, Dr. Hahn was your first girlfriend,” Maggie shook her head. “She’s in Boston now, by the way. We didn’t work at the same hospital and I’ve never met her, but her reputation is well.… let me just say she’s well known in cardio circles.” 

“Oh, yeah. Cutthroat?” Callie asked.

Maggie nodded in response, “very.”

Callie smiled wide, “I made cutthroat cardio god Erica Hahn see leaves, Maggie. I’m that good.”

“I’m well aware,” Maggie winked.

“I was also kind of awful to her, though.”

“How so?”

“I slept with, Mark, my best friend.”

“While you two were?”

Callie nodded.

“Oh well, yeah,” Maggie agreed, “that is kinda awful.”

“I was so confused, I was trying to figure out who I was and I went about it wrong. Which is my usual M.O. I do things wrong, make bad choices.”

“Do you think what we are doing is a wrong? Am I a bad choice?”

“No! Of course not. You are definitely not one of my bad decisions. Even…,” Callie hesitated moment, her gaze fell on the other woman’s eyes, dark like her own. She sensed no judgment or disapproval from Maggie, so she continued, “Even if we flame out, I won’t regret you.”

“That’s good to know,” Maggie took a sip of her wine.

“Besides, sometimes goodness comes from my… rash choices.”

“Such as?”

“Sofia.”

“Wait, how did a wrong choice lead to Sofia? I mean, it’s kinda hard for a gay couple to…”

“Mark again.”

“I thought… you and Arizona?” Maggie’s brow furrowed in confusion as she tried to suss out the situation. “Huh. I though Arizona was the one that cheated?”

“Oh she did—later, much later— but, she definitely did,” Callie sighed. “But before that she dumped me and went to Africa to save babies, which I know was noble and it’s hard to fault her for it, but having been on the receiving end of the dumping… stung. Also, I’m pretty sure it was fate, because Sofia and Zola both came from that whole cluster of a situation. Zola via Arizona’s clinic, and I, of course, reacted how I always used to: drunk sex with Mark, resulting in pregnancy. Not that my drunk sex usually resulted in pregnancy, just… that one time.”

“Wow, that’s… a lot,” Maggie replied. She didn’t exactly what the circumstance was, but Maggie knew she hadn’t heard mention of this Mark person before, so she reached over and grabbed Callie’s hand and gave it a gentle squeeze, “Where is Mark now?”

“Oh… uh, he’s the, um, ‘Sloan’ in Grey Sloan Memorial,” Callie said, her lips pressed tight as she recited her now standard answer, “He died as a result of injuries sustained in the plane crash.”

***

Maggie sat and listened attentively, head on her fist, elbow on the table while Callie slowly and deliberately ran her finger in a circle around the rim of her wine glass as she talked softly about Sofia and Mark, and how the three parent arrangement came to be. She spoke of his death and the circumstances surrounding the plane crash, all stuff that Maggie didn’t know. She carefully avoided talking too much about Arizona, a detail that didn’t go unnoticed by Maggie.

“You can talk about her with me, you know.”

“No I can’t,” Callie said simply. “You work with her, it’s… weird.”

“Okay,” Maggie let her inquiry drop, even though she wanted to know a little more about what happened. Why they went from married and wanting another child to divorce and… whatever it was they were now. Which was something else Maggie wanted to know, especially after the conversation with Meredith— what exactly were Callie and Arizona? But first dates weren’t really the place to talk about exes, well exes who still meant something, and that’s when it hit her: Meredith was right. Arizona still meant something to Callie, something big and consuming and hard to talk about, and probably always would. 

Maggie found herself slightly taken aback by the revelation at first, despite her conversation with Meredith, but almost instantly realized that it didn’t matter to her. She could enjoy the time she had with Callie, however brief. There was no pressure, no expectations. They could just be what they where, until it was time for them to not be anymore. It felt right to her, like they were…

“Do you think we are meant for each other?”

Callie, who’d just taken a sip of her wine, choked hearing those words.

Maggie chuckled at the other woman’s mild discomfort, “Not in a soul mate-y forever way, just… a right here, right now kind of way. You help me close the gap, remember how great it is to connect with someone, and I help you… get over your divorce and… other issues. Like… just this one small moment in time belongs to us. However brief.”

“Hmm, I don’t know… maybe?” Callie answered. “I’m not sure if I believe in soulmates and meant-to-be type stuff anymore, but yeah… I think, perhaps, this could be our moment.”

Maggie raised her glass, “Here’s to… our moment, however long it lasts,”

Callie picked hers up and clinked it with Maggie’s, “However long it lasts.”

Maggie sipped her wine, then sat her unfinished glass on the table. “This has been a really great date, Callie,” she said. “Just one thing missing…”

Callie licked her lips and raised an single sculpted brow in question, “Oh, yeah? What’s missing?”

“The kissing,” Maggie said. She grabbed Callie’s hand and started to scoot out of the booth. “You should take me home so we can get with the…”

“Kissing,” Callie readily agreed as she allowed herself to be pulled assertively from the booth.

“This great first date, is about to be… greater.”

Chapter Text

Maggie and Meredith made their way through the lunch line, filling their trays with the usual mediocre hospital fare. They’d both had busy mornings and hadn’t had much time to talk.

“So the date was good?” Meredith asked. “Are you and her like, a thing now?”

“The date was amazing,” Maggie said, then she looked around to make sure no one they knew was in earshot, “Callie is amazing. I enjoy her company quite a bit, but I don’t know if we could be described as a ‘thing’ just yet. We’re on precipice of becoming a ‘thing’, maybe… possibly about to fall over the edge.”

“Sounds dangerous.”

“I think it could be,” Maggie agreed.

Meredith paid for both of their lunches and they headed toward the table where Alex was already seated, waiting for their arrival.

“Hey, listen,” Maggie stopped Meredith before they got to the table. “Callie and I really haven’t discussed being public with this, so don’t say anything in front of Alex. I know he’s friends with Arizona, I mean… I know she knows, but still… it might be awkward. I don’t want Callie to feel uncomfortable. About any of this.”

“My lips are sealed.”

***

Callie was the last to arrive at the lunch table, she noticed that Meredith was seated beside Alex, leaving the spot next to Maggie vacant. Usually Callie sat next to Meredith, while Maggie sat beside Alex. 

Callie raised a suspicious eyebrow, but Meredith just slyly smiled in response.

“Torres,” Alex greeted between bites, “Hey, I need a consult later. Are you free this afternoon?”

“I have surgery right after lunch, as a matter of fact I only have about fifteen minutes until I have to run, but I’m free later. Look you up when I’m finished?”

He nodded an affirmative around his straw as he sucked down some soda. “It’s not emergent. Whenever is fine.”

“Callie, you look really tired today,” Meredith asked, not-so-innocently. “Did you have a late night?”

“Ooh, who were you doing?” Alex asked. “I know you weren’t up late with your kid, because she was at my place.”

Maggie rolled her eyes, “Do you ever think about the words that are coming out of your mouth before you actually say them?” Alex just shrugged and shoved a fry in his mouth. 

“Didn’t your parents teach you anything?” Maggie asked.

“No,” Alex replied. “Crappy crazy mom, crappy abusive father. I’m a self-made man.”

“Ellis used to always say to me ‘think twice, speak once’,” Meredith said. “Too bad she never took her own advice.”

“That’s very good advice, actually,” Maggie said, she turned and looked directly at Karev. “You might want to consider that. It could help your people skills.”

“That’s assuming I give a crap what people think,” Alex said. “I don’t.”

“My parents use to bible quote me, ‘Does not the ear test words as the palate tastes food?’ and “Is there any wickedness on my lips? Can my mouth not discern malice?” Callie added. “Especially my mother, she hated my impulsive, um… outbursts.”

“Yeah, well your mother hasn’t spoken to you since you had a bastard kid and married a woman,” Alex replied. “Her words were full of wicked malice. Who cares what she thinks.”

“True story,” Callie sighed. 

“You all had some pretty, um, interesting parents,” Maggie said. 

“Be happy you were adopted,” Meredith said. 

***

Arizona stood outside the cafeteria and watched the four friends laugh. Normally it didn’t bother her when they lunched together, but she’d been up late trying to stop her brain from dwelling on Callie and Maggie’s date and was feeling a bit over sensitive today. She looked around to make sure no one had seen her, then quickly retreated to the attending surgeon’s lounge to lunch on vending machine snacks.

***

The not so stealthy pediatric surgeon was mistaken in thinking no one saw her leave, Meredith had seen the hasty escape. She witnessed Arizona stop in her tracks then turn tail and run at the sight of what she could only assume was Callie and Maggie sitting side-by-side. 

“Hey,” Callie threw one of Alex’s fries at Meredith to get her attention. “I asked you a question.”

“I’m sorry,” she took her eyes off of retreating form of Arizona, “what was the question?”

“I wanted to know if you all wanted to come to hot yoga with me,” Callie asked. “The hospital health and wellness center is offering it now. The sessions are filling fast.”

“Hot yoga? What’s that?” Maggie asked.

“Basically,” Callie explained, “it’s regular yoga in a really hot room. 104 degrees. It is really intense.”

“Over 100 degrees?” Meredith asked. “Yikes, no thanks. Do they have anything cooler?”

“Yeah, maybe something with more moderate temperature, like… tepid yoga?” Maggie took a bite of her salad. 

“Warmish yoga?” Meredith nodded. “That seems more my speed. Not all of us grew up in Miami, Callie.”

“Whatever, you guys are missing out. I’ll go be hot all by myself,” Callie pouted. 

“Or, you could come run with me instead,” Maggie suggested. She reached over an put her hand on Callie’s forearm and gently squeezed. Alex’s brow furrowed a bit at the sight, but Callie didn’t seem to react to it, so he shrugged it off.

“You mean one foot in front of the other at a rapid pace? No thanks,” Callie politely declined Maggie’s offer. 

“Cristina and I went jogging once,” Meredith said. “She ended up here as a patient. We didn’t do that again. Running is bad, Callie, don’t do it.”

“Yeah, I’d probably end up with something broken and on my own operating table,” Callie concurred. “Plus, you do it at the butt-crack of dawn, Maggie. You know I don’t like to leave my warm bed that early.” Callie raised an eyebrow at Maggie, who smiled in return. She was about to respond, but Alex beat her to it.

“What is it with chicks and their need to work out in groups?” he bellowed. “Us guys don’t need someone to hold our hands when we exercise.”

“It’s so we can talk about what assholes men are,” Callie tossed her balled up napkin at him. 

“Plus, you don’t have any male friends,” Meredith added.

“That’s actually pretty accurate,” Alex frowned. 

“Come on, Karev,” Callie said. “There are several guys in the hot yoga class.”

“No thanks.”

“Sorry, Callie,” Maggie said. “Looks like no takers on your hot yoga.”

“Fine,” Callie waved them off, then pointed at Maggie, Meredith and then Alex in turn, “You run, you do nothing, and you do whatever it is that men do all by themselves to exercise.” Alex grinned and start to speak, but Callie was quick to hold up her hand to stop him, “Don’t say sex.”

“He was going to say sex,” Meredith deadpanned.

“I don’t think you can call it sex, if it’s all by yourself, can you?” Maggie quipped.

“Hah! I bet he’s had a lot of practice over the years doing that,” Callie teased.

“Whatever,” Alex waved them off. “I don’t have to take this abuse from you three.”

“Two,” Callie corrected, tossing her lunch debris on her tray, “I’m leaving. Gotta go scrub. I’ll find you after my surgery, Alex,” She waved to Meredith, then leaned over to Maggie, “I’ll see you later,” and kissed her goodbye. Right on the lips.

“Dude,” Alex sat straight up in his chair. “Did you just kiss her?”

***

Alex and Meredith walked toward the elevator, he’d been biting his tongue since Callie kissed Maggie in the cafeteria. He’d barely gotten his question out before Meredith was poking him hard in the ribs, implying he should keep his mouth shut, so he’d grudgingly done so. But all bets were off now that they were alone.

"Torres and Maggie are a thing?” Alex asked. “Did you know this?”

"They aren't a thing," Meredith replied, ”They are on the standing on a cliff overlooking thingdom or something. And yeah, I knew.”

“Sure looked like a thing to me. That was a pretty comfortable goodbye kiss,” Alex pressed the button for the elevator. “How long?”

Meredith shrugged, “A week maybe?”

“Does Robbins know?”

“It’s not really her business, is it?” Meredith avoided the question. The two friends waited for the elevator to clear before stepping on themselves. “But she knows.”

“Right,” Alex shook his head. “This is going to be a train wreck. Let me know if things go down, I’ll bring the popcorn.”

***

Arizona’s retreat to lounge, wasn’t as stealthy as she had hoped. Apparently, Amelia Shepherd, had seen her and was now pounding on the locked door.

“I know you are in there, Robbins, I followed you all the way back from the cafeteria,” Amelia said. “You know you aren’t supposed to lock these doors, right? This lounge is for all attending surgeons.”

The door flew open and a very irritated blonde pediatric surgeon stood on the other-side, causing Amelia to rethink her original intent.

“Look, I know what you saw…”

“What did I see?” Arizona asked.

“The Fab Four having lunch.” 

Arizona closed her eyes for a second to compose herself, “Yeah, so?”

“Callie and Maggie had their date last night, and you are bothered by it.”

“Am not.”

“Are too.”

Arizona huffed, then turned an went back to where she had been consuming her not-so-healthy lunch of Pop-Tarts and Cheetos. She flopped down on the couch and gestured for Amelia to join her.

“Fab Four, really?” Arizona scoffed. 

“Fantastic Four?”

“They are mildly noteworthy at best,” Arizona grumbled. 

Amelia chucked as she sat in the spot next to Arizona on the couch, “Feeling bitter today?”

Arizona sighed deeply, “Maybe a little. Sorry.”

“Don’t apologize to me,” Amelia said. “I don’t get invited to their little lunches anymore either.”

“It’s not that,” Arizona said. “Not really, it’s just…”

“You are pining,” Amelia said. 

Arizona rolled her eyes, but didn’t answer.

“Arizona, you are hot. I’m sure there are women…”

“Lining up for me?”

“Women are lining, but you are pining,” Amelia said. “Pining after a woman who is seemingly moving on.”

“I’m not ‘pining’,” Arizona bristled at the repeated use of the word. “I’m waiting.”

“For what?”

“For her to heal. She’s not moving on, she’s healing. She’s not there yet, but when she is, when she is healed. Then I’ll know.”

“I don’t understand,” Amelia shook her head, “know what?”

“If I need to move on.”

“You are just a little bit crazy, Arizona Robbins.”

“I’m not crazy, Amelia. I still love Callie and I’m just… giving her the same opportunity she gave me.”

“And what opportunity is that? Sleeping with other people?”

“No, no… I don’t want that. I really, really don’t want that, but if it’s what she needs to heal. God knows I tried everything, including sex with other people, when I needed it,” Arizona sighed. “And we were still married at the time.”

“So you are willing to let her, what… even the score?” Amelia grabbed Arizona’s small bag of Cheetos and stole a couple.

“No. It’s not about that! There has been so much that’s happened to both of us, as a couple and individually… all throughout, not just our marriage, but also our whole relationship. Hurdle after hurdle, trauma after trauma… Some of it we brought on ourselves, but some of it was just the world being shitty.”

“I understand the world being shitty, trust me on that one.”

Arizona exhaled, “I was, we, were completely broken. We no longer functioned properly, it wasn’t that we didn’t love each other. The love was always there. Even when we… hated each other.” Arizona looked to the other woman for an acknowledgment of what she was explaining.

Amelia nodded that she understood.

“Somewhere along the way I was able to get myself right,” Arizona continued. “After she ended our marriage, I was devastated,” she reached over took her Cheetos back from the other woman, “but it was for the best. She was right—we weren’t working. I grieved our marriage, and then I healed.” Arizona pointed a long, shockingly orange, cheese-flavored, puffed cornmeal snack right at Amelia. “Nicole helped me a lot. After everything she went through…. let’s just say, I had some revelations. I hadn’t dealt with my trauma, so I went back to therapy. I even went on a few dates with some very nice women.”

“You got yourself right, but now you are still… what? Waiting?”

“Yeah, I was trudging along, living my life, and one day I realized I was happy. I was truly and genuinely happy. I had my career, I had my daughter, Callie and I were becoming friends, and I had women lining up for me…”

“But?”

“No buts, all of that is still true… I mean you asked me out, didn’t you?”

“Uh, yeah…”

“Then one day I was on the elevator with Callie. I was feeling happy and I couldn’t stop smiling. I just… I wanted to thank her for letting me go so I could heal. So I could feel this joy that I was feeling and I wanted see if she felt free too. I realized I was better. I was healed. Suddenly… I wanted to be with her again. So badly, I just… I was ready…. I wanted to tell her, and I almost did… right there in the elevator.”

“Why didn’t you?” Amelia prodded.

“I looked into her eyes and I saw it,” Arizona frowned as she thought back to that day. “She wasn’t ready. She wasn’t there yet. She needed more time,” she took another deep breath, “it was the least I could give her, you know? More time.”

Amelia put her feet up on the the coffee table that sat in front of the couch and looked over at the blonde. “Do you think she’ll ever be ready?”

“I hope so.”

“Me too,” Amelia replied.

“Why do you care so much?”

Amelia just shrugged.

“I didn’t think anyone was rooting for us to get back together.”

“I’m… rooting for you guys,” Amelia said. “Meredith is too.”

“Ha! Liar,” Arizona dismissed. “I can almost believe you are rooting for us, but Meredith…”

“Hey, Meredith is Callie’s friend.”

“Yeah, her friend who doesn’t want her back with her cheater of an ex-wife.”

“Her friend who wants her to be with the person she was meant to be with.”

“Well, if Maggie and Callie work out,” Arizona’s mood had begun to sour again, “then they can all just be one big happy family.”

“I’m sorry,” Amelia said quietly.

Arizona studied the other woman, who looked like she was fighting an internal battle.

“I got myself into this situation, Amelia. I blew my marriage to hell, and now… yeah, maybe I’ve waited too long to fix it, but none of that is your fault. Why are you apologizing?”

“Because this is hard.”

“What is?” Arizona asked. “What’s hard?”

Again, the neurosurgeon stayed quiet and looked contemplative. 

“Amelia, what’s going on? You are freaking me out…,” Arizona prodded. “Oh my god! Did Callie and Maggie elope?”

“What? No, no… it’s nothing like that. It’s about me.”

“Oh,” Arizona licked her lips, and swallowed hard. “I see.”

“What do you see?” Amelia asked, unsure of how Arizona would react to knowing she was being used to get to Maggie.

“Are you… do you have feelings for me?” Arizona calmly inquired. “Are you in love with me?”

Amelia’s eyes widened.

“I’m flattered, I really am…,” Arizona quickly continued. “But I…”

Amelia, now over her initial shock, started to laugh.

“Hey! I am hot, what are you laughing at?”

“You are definitely hot, Arizona, but, Nicole was right. You really can be thick sometimes,” Amelia shook her head, “but, it’s not you who I have feelings for.”

“Oh,” Arizona frowned, the realization dawned on her, “OH! Really?”

“Yeah,” Amelia sighed. “How unfortunate is that? It’s going to be weird at family functions for sure.”

Arizona gnawed on her bottom lip while she thought about how to proceed. “So what is your goal here? Right now, with me… you said you were rooting for us, but now you admit to having feelings for her… wait….” Arizona squinted her blue eyes as if she were once again having a realization.

Amelia immediately noticed, “You do know which her I’m talking about right?”

“You aren’t talking about Callie are you?” Arizona sighed with relief. “You have feelings for Maggie?” Her heart rate picked up, things suddenly felt a little less hopeless.

“Yes, Arizona, yes,” Amelia smiled. “I think I’m in love with Maggie Pierce… my sister-in-law.”

“You just wanted to go out with me… so you could convince me to get back together with Callie… so that she would break up with Maggie? Then what? You are going swoop in…”

“And pick up the pieces of her broken heart,” Amelia finished. “I think it’s a solid plan. Everyone gets what they want.”

“Oh my god!” Arizona laughed incredulously. “You really are a sitcom character.”

Chapter Text

Callie flopped down, red-faced from exhaustion. Her heart was pounding a steady beat in her chest, and her breasts heaved as she tried to catch her breath. 

Maggie lay beside her, head on her fist, and smile on her face. A light sheen of sweat covered her, but she wasn’t nearly as done in as the other woman. 

“That was fun, right?” Maggie asked. 

Callie took a moment to compose herself, then rolled her head to the side to look at the woman next to her.

“I can’t believe you convinced me to do that,” Callie groaned.

Maggie chuckled, “It didn’t take much convincing.”

“Yeah,” Callie exhaled, still catching her breath. “Now you have to return the favor.”

“Anytime,” Maggie reached over and brushed a piece of hair off of Callie’s sweaty forehead. “Tonight?”

“Can’t tonight,” Callie closed her eyes at Maggie’s gentle touch, “I have Sofia.”

“Okay, I’m ready and willing whenever.”

“Hmm,” Callie sighed. “My legs feel like jelly…”

“Lactic acid build up,” Maggie replied. “You should get up and stretch. Or run some more and let the endorphins take care of that sensation.” She jumped up from her spot on the grass and started stretching her legs.

Callie, however, remained flat on her back, “Run more? Are you crazy? I can think of better ways to create endorphins.”

“Callie, we barely ran a mile! I can do that in my sleep,” she held out her hand to help the depleted woman up.

“That sounds like a good plan,” Callie allowed herself to hauled up to a standing position, “next time let’s do it in our sleep, I bet I could actually dream run a marathon. Ugh, it’s too early to be awake anyway.”

“Don’t give me that nonsense, we have work in an hour. You would definitely be up already.”

“Enjoying a coffee and a long hot shower…”

“Come on, neither of those are off the table, particularly the shower,” Maggie waggled her eyebrows. “As long as we hurry.”

***

Alex strolled into the kitchen, his hair still wet from his shower, and was surprised to find Arizona at the stove fixing breakfast, and she wasn’t alone.

“Good morning,” he said as grabbed a pancake off the platter in front of Arizona. “I don’t remember seeing her last night,” he whispered.

“Callie dropped her off while you were in the shower,” Arizona grabbed a plate for Alex, and indicated he should go sit. “How many do you want?”

“I can fix my own,” he replied.

“I’m already doing it, Alex,” Arizona smiled. “It’s no trouble.”

“Short stack is fine,” he poured some coffee and sat down a the table next to Sofia. “Hey, munchkin.”

She waved her syrupy fingers at him.

“Callie get paged? Something big happen?” he asked. 

Arizona sat his plate of cakes in front of him and went back to the stove to grab her own.

“She said something about running,” Arizona took a sip of her steaming coffee.

“Oh,” Alex said knowingly. He quickly took a bite of his breakfast, avoiding eye contact with his friend.

“Oh?” Arizona asked. “What ‘oh’? What does that mean?”

Alex swallowed his food, just as Jo walked into the room.

“Hey, Miss Sofia!” Jo greeted the young girl. “Where did you come from?”

“Mommy!” Sofia answered.

“Callie dropped her off this morning,” Arizona replied. “Your breakfast is on the stove,” she turned to Alex, “Now tell me what you meant by ‘oh’?”

“Callie and Maggie were talking about running, that’s all,” Alex answered. “It’s no big deal. Girls like to exercise together.”

“Wait, you think she’s with Maggie right now?” Arizona asked. 

Alex looked uncomfortable again, “I don’t know. Maybe. What’s the big deal, you guys are divorced. She can work-out with whoever she wants.”

“I know that,” Arizona bristled at Alex’s admonition. “I just…”

“Hey, if you need a work-out partner, I’m available,” Jo suggested. 

“That’s not really…” 

“Yeah, it’l be fun! Jo and Zo kicking it to some Hip Hop Abs!”

“One, Hip Hop Abs is a little bit too intense of a work-out for me, two, don’t ever call me Zo again, and three, I’m not looking for a work-out partner.”

“Oh, then why do you care about them working-out together?” Jo’s face twisted in confusion. “Dr. Torres and Dr. Pierce… aren’t… they aren’t… wait… are they?”

Alex kept his face in his pancakes, not wanting to make eye contact with anyone.

“More cakes, please,” Sofia said. Arizona smiled at her daughter, then got up from her spot at the table to get them.

Jo, still open-mouthed from the news, poked Alex in the shoulder, “Really?” she mouthed.

His eyes flicked to Arizona at the stove, then back to Jo and nodded an affirmative. 

Arizona returned to the table to find the two in a not-so-silent conversation. “Look,” she said, “it’s not a big deal, guys. They’ve gone on one date, and…”

“Have been friends for awhile now,” Jo added. She looked between Alex and Arizona, “That’s an awfully risky transition to make, friends-to-lovers, for ‘no big deal’.” She shook her head and said “sounds like a big deal” then, just as she was about to dig into her pancakes, the plate was snatched out from under her fork by Arizona and tossed in the trash. Pancakes, plate and all. Leaving Jo, once again, open-mouthed in shock.

Arizona then turned to Alex, “Would you keep an eye on Sof while I finished getting ready?”

“You got it,” Alex replied over a mouth full of pancakes.

When Arizona was out of the kitchen, Jo turned to Alex and said, “I was going to eat those.”

He just shrugged in response, happy his own breakfast was still there.

***

Callie poured two cups of coffee and delivered them to the table where Maggie was already seated with Owen and Richard. They were all having a quick breakfast before rounds. 

“You just ran a mile and now you are ruining all that hard work by eating a muffin the size of the Space Needle,” Callie said. 

“It’s whole grain,” Maggie replied, sarcastically. “Like that yogurt is going to hold you until lunch.”

“She’s right, Torres,” Richard said. “Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.”

“Says your nasty microwave oatmeal,” Callie snarked.

“That is some pretty sorry looking oatmeal, Richard,” Maggie concurred. “Where’s the brown sugar?”

Owen chuckled, his mouth full of bagel.

“Plain oatmeal is heart-healthy. Taste and texture aren’t as important as the benefits I get from it,” he took a large spoonful and forced himself to consume it. “Mmmm,” he swallowed, “good.”

“Catherine in town?” Callie asked.

“Yes,” Richard sighed, hung his head in defeat. He pushed the oatmeal away, “She wants me to eat more healthy, but I can’t eat this crap.”

“I think there’s a danish over by the coffee maker,” Maggie said. “We promise to keep your secret.” 

“We wouldn’t want you to have start looking for new love,” Callie laughed.

“That reminds me,” Owen looked at Callie. “How was your hot date the other night?”

“What?” Callie eyes went wide, “Um, what?”

Maggie sipped her coffee, the slight smirk on her face, hidden by the paper coffee cup.

“The other day you said…,” Owen brow creased with confusion. “You were asking for help with ideas? You seemed really excited.”

Maggie’s grin was now too big to be contained by the coffee cup, but she kept quiet, she wanted to see how Callie responded.

“Yes, yes, of course, it… it was,” Callie’s eyes flicked to Maggie, then Richard who was watching intently. “It was very nice.”

“What did you end up doing?” Owen asked.

“Super respectful first date stuff,” Callie replied, her eyes still on the former chief and Maggie’s biological father. 

Maggie laughed at Callie’s attempt to not say too much, but Owen looked even more confused. 

He was about to question Callie further, but was interrupted by Webber, “It’s good you are putting yourself back out there, Torres. It’s hard to move on after separating from a spouse. Do you remember when Adele and I separated?”

“Of course, I do. You and I were both living at the Archfield, how could I forget?”

“That’s right, that’s right,” Richard smiled. He shook his head, “God, that seems like ages ago.”

“It really was,” Callie smiled. 

“You know, I tried to move on, be a divorcee,” Richard said, “I eventually moved into that awful trailer out on Derek’s property, but I was miserable.”

Maggie’s smile had dropped somewhat, she was interested in Richard’s past, but she was suddenly feeling uncomfortable with where this conversation was going. 

“Well, living in one of those trailers…” Callie said, her smile also faltering a bit, “that’s got to be enough to make you miserable,”

“Hey,” Owen interjected. “I live in a trailer on Derek’s property.”

“Exhibit A,” Callie replied. “Cristina is gone, you don’t date, and you go home every night to that lonely trailer.”

“It’s not the trailer,” Richard said. “You are missing my point.”

“What is your point?” Maggie asked, it was the first she’d spoken since Owen inquired about the date.

“I was looking for something to make me happy,” he explained, “but the only thing that did was Adele.” He looked at the three younger surgeons, whose eyes were all on him. “My point is… be sure you are looking for happiness in the right place, Torres.”

Callie swallowed, “But… you are happy now, right? With Catherine?”

“Of course I am. I’m very happy with Catherine. But Adele will always hold a special place in my heart. A place that I’m not sure even Catherine will ever touch.”

Maggie’s attention was now on Callie, and she watched worriedly as the other woman’s expressive face digested Richard’s advice.

“But what do I know,” Richard laughed, breaking the sudden building tension. He pushed his chair back and stood up, “My track record in matters of love isn’t the greatest.” 

He trashed his oatmeal and grabbed the danish from the coffee station. “You all have a good day, now,” he said, leaving three suddenly introspective surgeons in his wake. 

***

Arizona had been searching all over the hospital for Amelia, she finally found her in the scrub room, as she was about to head into surgery to clip an aneurism. 

“I’m in.”

“What?” Amelia used the small sterile pick to clean under her fingernails. “What are you in? This lady isn’t pregnant, we don’t need a fetal surgeon.”

“No, no,” Arizona stuttered. “I… I’m in for the sitcom situation. You, me… and your evil plan to break-up Callie and Maggie.”

“Wow,” Amelia turned to look at the somewhat frantic blonde. “Why the change of heart?”

“I went a little nuts this morning and threw Wilson’s breakfast away for suggesting that Callie and Maggie might actually be… something real,” she bit her lip and sighed. “I… I can’t give up without a fight, Amelia. I have to try something.”

“Okay, then,” Amelia smiled and nodded. “Let’s do this.”

Chapter Text

After breakfast, Callie was paged to the pit to evaluate an artificial hip dislocation. She carefully examined the X-rays and determined it could be done in the trauma room under conscious sedation.

Realizing this would be a wonderful teaching opportunity, she headed toward Dr. Edwards and the ducklings. She felt a twinge in her inner thigh, the same one she’d felt when running earlier that morning. She was evidently still a little tender from the morning workout, being as she normally didn’t do much running, that was to be expected. It loosened up as she walked, so she put it out of her mind.

“Edwards, have your ducks seen an artificial hip reduction?”

“They’ve barely seen a catheter inserted, Dr. Torres. They are very green.”

“Well, then, follow me,” she strode off toward the trauma room where the nurses and anesthesiologist were prepping the patient for the procedure. “To the amazing world of orthopedics.”

She stopped in her tracks when she heard a groan behind her. “Dr. Edwards?”

“I heard it too, Dr. Torres,” Stephanie glared at her interns, trying to suss out who the offending party was.

Callie turned and faced the interns, she stared them down, one-by-one, until they all looked as though they were quaking in their various forms of stylish dress shoes. Callie chuckled internally. They’d all be wearing comfortable shoes soon enough. Eighteen hour shifts would put an end to their need to impress visually.

The good looking intern looked especially guilty. Callie pointed to him and addressed  Stephanie, “Does this one have a name?”

“DeLuca,” Edwards quickly answered.

“Dr. Deluca?”

“Yes, ma’am?”

“One, you can call me Dr. Torres, not ‘ma’am’” Callie asserted. She gave him her serious eyebrow, then asked, “Do you have a problem helping Mrs. Henderson—grandmother of twelve wonderful rambunctious children— walk again? Do you have a problem with that?”

“No, ma’… uh, Dr. Torres, I just…”

“Just what?” Callie asked. “What is more important to you right now than relieving this woman’s pain?”

“I was just hoping to see an actual surgery.”

“Cutting isn’t everything. The most important part of being a surgeon is knowing when not to cut,” Callie softened. Maybe those running endorphins were still with her, but she decided to have mercy on the young eager interns, and chose to make this a teaching moment. “You’ll learn that along the way. I know it’s hard, when all you want to do is apply your given craft, but this is an amazing program, with many amazing surgeons. You are going to learn so much, you’ll be doing appies in your sleep before too long. Trust me, you’ll learn to cut, and you’ll learn from the best. But there is more to all this than being a good surgeon. You need to be a good doctor too. Do you understand?”

“Yes,” Dr. DeLuca replied. The others nodded along with him.

“Now, what are we going to do?” Callie asked.

“Uh,” the young female intern raised her hand. Edwards nodded, indicating she could answer.  “We… We are going to go help Mrs. Henderson, so she can get back to playing with her grandchildren.”

“Very nice answer, Dr…?”

“Shaw. I’m Dr. Shaw.”

“Well, come on Dr. Shaw, let’s go reduce this hip.”

***

Maggie backed into the OR, scrubbed and ready to go.

“You paged, Dr. Shepherd?”

Amelia looked up, over her loupes, “I did, indeed.”

“What have we got?”

“Well, this as supposed to be a simple aneurysm clip, but he’s developed an arrhythmia.”

“I see that. You haven’t removed the bone flap yet. Maybe you should postpone?”

“Can’t, too much bleeding. We’ve gotta get this one clipped. It’s going to take a few hours, though, and I’m just in need of cardio to monitor. How many surgeries did you have planned today? Can you babysit?”

“I’m on pit duty today, no electives,” Maggie replied. “I’m yours unless paged.”

“You’re mine?”

“Unless paged,” Maggie repeated.

“I think I can handle that,” Amelia winked. “Can you handle it?”

“Handle what?” Maggie asked. “Spending the afternoon with you? It’ll be tough, for sure.”

Amelia laughed, “Come on. My company isn’t that bad.”

“No, you’re right,” Maggie sat on an empty surgical stool. “I enjoy spending time with you.”

“Good,” Amelia replied. “I like you too.”

Bokhee looked between the two women and shook her head.

***

Callie was standing on the table straddling the patient’s right leg. She pointed toward the patient’s hip, “You want to get the hip flexed up,” she firmly lifted the leg, getting a good grip under the thigh and allowed the leg to bend at the knee. “Mrs. Henderson’s hip is dislocated posteriorly, so you want to pull anteriorly. That’s why you flex up the hip,” she bit her lip and firmly pulled upward, “pull inline with the dislocation and it just pops right back in.” Callie felt the patient’s hip easily slip back into the joint. It made a satisfying ‘pop’ as it slide into place. However, the angle at which she was standing and the effort involved in pulling the femur back into place caused the twinge in her thigh to spasm and she involuntarily cried out in pain.

She didn’t move for a few moments. She just stood there holding Mrs. Henderson’s leg, for fear of inducing another spasm in her own leg.

“Dr. Torres?” Stephanie asked. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Callie grunted. “Just uh… making sure it’s in there good.”

“Does it normally hurt when you reduce someone’s dislocation?”

“Yes,” Callie replied. Still a little out of breath from the pain in her thigh. “That’s why we have the patient sedated.”

“No, I meant… you. Does it normally hurt you?”

“What? No!” Callie denied. “It didn’t hurt me. It’s… just an odd angle, that’s all. I’m fine.” She gently laid the patient’s leg back on the table and held out her hand to Stephanie. “Help me down.”

Stephanie did as she was told, and helped Callie down from the table. Callie closed her eyes and sucked in her breath at another spasm. “Are you sure you are okay, Dr. Torres?”

“I”m fine,” Callie lied. “Can you… finish up in here?”

“Of course,” Stephanie got to work explaining the next step to the interns, while Callie tenderly limped out of the room and disappeared down the hall.

***

Arizona looked at her pager again. It had been a long time since she’d been paged to an on-call room. A really long time. The person hadn’t even identified themselves, but she had to assume it was Amelia and it was part of their evil sitcom plan to win the hearts of the women they loved. Well, she knew she loved Callie, but Amelia’s motives were still a little sketchy in Arizona’s mind.

Did Amelia truly have feelings for Maggie? Arizona couldn’t say, but as long as their alliance lead Callie back to her, and no one got hurt, Amelia’s real reasons for doing what they were doing didn’t much matter to her. Her only concern was Callie.

She pushed open the on-call room door, “I thought you were in surg…?”  The question faded from her lips as she realized it wasn’t Amelia who was waiting for her, but Callie. “Calliope? You paged me?”

“Yeah, uh… Who else would page you to an on-call room?” Callie asked, her tone tinged with a little bit of jealousy.

“Someone who wasn’t my ex-wife,” Arizona shot back, suddenly perturbed by Callie’s tiny green-eyed monster. Sure, it felt good that Callie still cared enough to be jealous, but she was dating someone. Arizona was alone. She was having sex with someone. Arizona was not. She probably had sex that very morning. While Arizona fixed Alex and Jo breakfast. How dare she.

Arizona crossed her arms and sent Callie a grumpy scowl. She had gotten herself so worked up about her right or not to be jealous, that she failed to see the other woman wince in pain as she tried to take a step forward.

“Arizona,” Callie said. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean anything. I just… I need your help with something.”

Arizona’s irritation immediately melted away when she noticed Callie’s pained expression, the furrow in her brow, and pleading in her voice.

“Of course,” Arizona said. “Anything you need. I’m here.”

“Okay,” Callie breathed a sigh of relief. She started to untie her scrub pants.

Arizona’s eyes went wide, but Callie paid no attention to her ex’s shocked expression. She dropped her pants to the floor.

***

“So, James proposed to me and I freaked. Like really freaked. Fled the state freaked. You know that kind of freak?”

“Not really, no. I’ve never felt so strongly about something that I had to flee,” Maggie was standing behind Amelia now, watching her work. The neurosurgeon was at complete ease performing the surgery while also explaining to Maggie how she ended up moving to Seattle and living with her brother and sister-in-law.

“Yeah, so I came here, without calling. It was a complete surprise, but I ended up being the one in shock. Derek just like left the kids with me. All day. It was a disaster.”

Maggie tried to imagine Amelia with her niece and nephew. The picture that came to mind, made her smile.  

“I was trying to figure out if I could do it all, handle the husband and kids and career… and wow. I was not ready for that answer. I just didn’t think I could make it work. So I pretty much dumped him and moved here, where I have been painfully alone since.”

“Lots of people struggle with that balance, doesn’t mean you can’t make it work with someone.” Maggie said. “Meredith and Derek seem to have it all together. Like, no matter what happens to them, they got it.”

“You’re right. They do,” Amelia put her hand out for the clip, which Bokhee handed her without her even having to ask. “Super couple, those two. But James just wasn’t the right guy for me.”

“I’m sorry he didn’t work out.”

“Meh, he was really great, and I honestly thought I loved him… but,” Amelia glanced up at Maggie, “he didn’t get me as well as I’d have liked. He didn’t inspire me.”

“You’ll find the person that gets you. That inspires you. They’re out there and you’ll connect”

“What about you?”

“What about me?”

“Does you-know-who inspire you?”

“Maybe,” Maggie shrugged. “We have fun, she makes me laugh… which is important in any relationship.”

“So you two are in a relationship now?”

“I don’t know,” Maggie said truthfully. “Maybe?”

“Hmmm,” Amelia just hummed in response.

When she didn’t say anything more Maggie pressed. “What do you mean by ‘hmmm’?”

“Nothing,” Amelia responded. “Not really. It’s just… I shouldn’t say.”

“Dr. Shepherd, don’t play games with me.”

“From what I hear, Torres hasn’t had a single relationship that hasn’t ended badly.”

Maggie was about to respond to Amelia’s remark, but the patient went into sudden cardiac arrest, requiring her immediate attention. They managed to get the heart back into a circulatory rhythm, but it was touch and go for a few very dramatic minutes.

Amelia promptly finished up and closed while the patient was still stable.

“Good save, Dr. Pierce,” Amelia said as the two surgeons scrubbed out after the surgery.

The patient had already been taken to recovery and the OR team was breaking down the room.

“You could have handled that SCA yourself, Shepherd, and you know it.”

“Probably,” Amelia agreed. “A surgeon that couldn’t handle a cardiac arrest wouldn’t be very good surgeon, would they?”

Maggie shook her head in agreement.

“But anyway… like I said, I enjoy watching you work. You get this cute crinkle in your forehead. Just under your scrub cap.” Amelia decided it was time to bring her A game.

“Really?”

“Yeah, it’s kind of adorable.”

“Thanks, uh… I think,” Maggie looked a little confused at the turn the conversation had taken. Was Amelia calling her adorable?

“I will accept your ‘thanks’, despite your uncertainty,” Amelia smiled. She took a deep breath and charged ahead, “Are you busy tonight?”

“What?”

“I’m asking if you have plans tonight?”

“No, I don’t… Not really,” Maggie replied. “Callie has Sofia… so…”

“So… you can get dinner with me?”

“I don’t know…”

“Callie has plans,” Amelia pressed forward. “She won’t mind if we have dinner, right? You don’t really have to ask permission or anything, do you? I mean, you guys have only been on one date.”

“Of course she wouldn’t mind. We aren’t…”

“Good, then. It’s a date. My shift ends at seven. I’ll pick you up at your place,” Amelia looked down at her buzzing pager. “Oops that’s me. I gotta run. See you tonight!”

Maggie looked around the empty scrub room. “What just happened?” she said out loud to no one. She shook her head and wondered where that flirty Amelia had come from, and why she suddenly had butterflies in her stomach.

***

Meredith hurried forward at a steady pace down the hospital corridor. A pace so quick, that despite the tiny stride of Meredith’s usual gait, Bailey had trouble keeping up.

“Come on, Grey, he’s working with the president!” Bailey begged. “He can get me a picture or autograph.”

“He’s not working ‘with’ the president. He works ‘for’ the president. They don’t stand around at the coffee machine talking about last week’s episode of The Walking Dead.”

“Ooh, don’t say anything!” Bailey put her hands over her ears. “I haven’t watched it yet.”

“Bailey, thats… that’s not the point. He’s at a whole separate facility.”

“But he has met him?”

“Yes,” Meredith grudgingly admitted. “He has.”

“So ask him next time you talk to him to get me something from the president. Anything.”

“Bailey, I don’t know when the next time I talk to him will be,” Meredith lied. “We are both busy professionals.”

“Meredith Grey, you are a dirty liar.”

“What?”

“You think I don’t know you talk to him everyday approximately,” Bailey looked at her watch, “five minutes from now. You are always slipping into some storeroom or on-call room, what’s that for if not to talk to him?”

Meredith made a face that said she hadn’t been persuaded by Bailey’s efforts.

“Come on, Little Tuck really wants to do his school project on President Obama. How can you refuse his tiny little request?”

“Fine, but you are asking. Come with me”

***

“Callie!” Arizona closed her eyes and covered them with her hands. “What are you doing.” After her initial shock, she popped one eye open and peeked through her fingers. Callie was indeed standing there with her pants on the ground.

“Arizona, please…”

The confused blonde dropped her hands to her sides, then to forced herself to keep her eyes on Callie’s face. It was really hard, because Callie was standing in front of her, half-naked, and asking for something. No, begging for something. She could see Callie’s lips moving, but Arizona’s head was swimming from some sort of emotional disarray—her senses were so overwhelmed with Callie, she couldn’t make out what the other woman was saying.

“I’m sorry,” Arizona interrupted. She took a deep breath, “What are you asking me to do?”

Callie sighed and started over, “I think I have a groin strain. I need you to look for me. See how bad it is.”

Arizona still hadn’t moved from where she was standing, nor let her eyes move from Callie’s face. “What?” she asked again.

“I was with Maggie this morning and I…”

“Oh my god,” Arizona eye’s widened again. “Is this a sex injury? Are you asking me to help you with sex injury?” She allowed her eyes to flick down to Callie’s lower half.

“What?” Callie blurted. “No… no, I would never. We went running. I felt a twinge when we were running, but I just thought…” Callie tried to explain, but she couldn’t get past Arizona thinking she’d have her examine a sex injury. A sex injury with someone who wasn’t Arizona, and it made her stomach roll with some feeling that she didn’t want to explore at the moment. “No, Arizona I would never… I could never be that disrespectful to you. I just… I couldn’t…”

“I know,” Arizona sighed. “God, I know. I’m sorry. I’m.. I’ve had a weird morning already and I…” she trailed off. Callie needed her help, “Just… let me see it. Can you sit?” She gestured toward the small bed.

Callie sat gently on the edge, wincing as she bent.

Arizona pulled up a chair, so she could sit directly in front of Callie. They sat that way, facing each other, for a few seconds before Arizona gently put her hands on Callie’s thighs. Callie jumped slightly at the touch, but it was soft and familiar and she relaxed immediately.

Arizona didn’t move her hands, she waited for Callie to look up at her. When Callie’s gaze finally left the well known hands on her thighs and met Arizona’s, her breath stopped for a moment. The way Arizona looked at her, Callie could have sworn there was still love there. Love she’d thought was long gone.

“Why’d you call me?” Arizona asked.

Callie answered honestly, “Because I trust you.”

Arizona’s breath hitched. She thought she’d never hear Callie say those words— and truly mean them— ever again. She swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat and smiled. “Thank you.”

Callie simply nodded. She hadn’t expected Arizona’s gratitude at such a simple declaration, but she understood it.

“Are you ready?”

“As I’ll ever be.”

“You should lay back,” Arizona said. “Let me examine it.”

Callie did as she was told and laid back on the bed. Arizona tilted her head to let Callie know she was going to move her hand. Then she gently pushed on Callie’s thigh. Callie grimaced in pain.

Arizona pulled back, “If it’s that bad, we’ll need to get an MRI.”

“Just look at it,” Callie insisted. “It didn’t hurt at first, but it got worse as the morning went on. Then I had to reduce a hip…”

“Oh, Callie.”

“What?” Callie tried to sit up, but the pain was too intense. “Is it bad?”

“A deep bruise is forming. You may have a muscle rupture,” Arizona informed the prone brunette. “It’s obviously tender to the touch, and to movement. You need an MRI.”

“Will you do it?”

“You should get an ortho colleague to look at it.”

“Ugh.”

“Do you want me to call Maggie?”

“No!”

“Why not?” Arizona was surprised.

“I just… it’s embarrassing,” Callie, still laying back on the bed, covered her eyes with her arm. “She’s young and healthy and… in shape. She can run for miles and miles. But I injure myself after one try. I’m pathetic.”

“Calliope Torres! You are not pathetic. You are amazing and healthy and beautiful. And you are certainly not old.”

“You’re right,” Callie sighed, She reached her hand out for Arizona to help her sit up, who happily complied. Once she back in a sitting position, Callie continued, “But, I still don’t want you to call her.  Not right this second. I’ll call her later. After the MRI. We are too new for this sort of thing.”

“I get it,” Arizona looked around the room before bringing her gaze back to Callie. “Um, how are things going with her?” She tentatively asked.

Callie studied Arizona’s face for a moment, before answering, “Things are amazing, she’s a wonderful person.”

Arizona nodded, her eyes again darted around the room, before landing back on Callie’s, who hadn’t looked away. “That’s great. You deserve amazing.”

“So do you.”

“We don’t always get what we deserve, Callie,” Arizona smiled sadly, “I think I proved that to you.”

“Hey, it wasn’t you,” Callie insisted. “It was never you, it was circumstances. Without all the tragedy and hurt… we could have been amazing.”

Arizona believed what Callie said with her whole heart. That they could have been amazing, still could be, under the right circumstances. “I’m sorry,” she whispered.

“For what?”

“That we missed our opportunity to be amazing,” Arizona answered, her expression filled with regret, love, and hope.

Callie wanted to reply, but every response she could think of made her heart beat with anticipation and her stomach churn with guilt. The on-call room was suddenly becoming too small. Too confined. It had been a mistake to call Arizona. To be this close and vulnerable with her.

Arizona tilted her head and smiled sadly.

Callie’s heart was beating in her head so loud she couldn’t think, but she couldn’t stop herself from leaning forward.

***

Meredith and Bailey rounded the corner, the surgical on-call room just a few steps away.

“How did you know I spoke to Derek every day before lunch?” Meredith grabbed the on-call room door handle.

“Please, I am Miranda Bailey, I know everything.” They pushed through the door to find Callie sitting on the bed, her pants on the floor and Arizona leaning forward, their faces mere inches from each other.

The two women jumped apart at the interruption. Even though nothing had happened, they both looked guilty.

“Except this. I didn’t know this was happening!” Bailey said. “Are you two…?”

“Callie!” Meredith shouted.

“Meredith. No… it’s not what it looks like!”

“You swore to me. When you started dating Maggie you swore to me that you were over Arizona!”

“Wait,” Bailey shook her head. “Torres is dating Maggie? I didn’t know that either!”

“I am! Meredith! I am over Arizona. This is…,” Callie tried to stand but pain shot through her thigh, “Arrggh.”

“Callie, keep still.”  Arizona pushed down her disappointment at Callie’s declaration and doctor mode took over. “You don’t want to make it worse.”

“What’s the matter with you?” Bailey asked.

“She has a groin strain. She needs to go home and ice it. And rest,” Arizona said. “I was just… examining it for her.”

“So you weren’t… about to kiss?” Meredith asked.

“No,” Arizona asserted. “We weren’t. Callie is with Maggie… and I…,” she swallowed and looked at Callie, “I have a date tonight.”  Technically her plans with Amelia that night weren’t really a date, but given the circumstances, she felt she had to call it that.

Callie was surprised, but quickly tempered her expression. Whatever it was she was feeling… Regret? Sadness? She hoped it wasn’t obvious.

The others may have missed it, but Arizona hadn’t. She saw the fleeting moment in Callie’s eyes and it gave her hope.

Arizona genuinely liked Maggie. She was funny, quirky, and would be good for Callie. Is good for Callie.

Even knowing that, she couldn’t bring herself to give up. Maybe she was selfish—it wouldn’t be the first time she’d been called that—but she knew how she felt, and even though nothing had happened, she was sure Callie had felt the same.

“Let’s get you up,” Bailey suggested.

Arizona moved her chair back and allowed Bailey and Meredith to get on either side of Callie, to help her stand.

“Do we need a wheelchair?” Meredith asked.

“No, no… I’m fine to walk,” Callie said. “It’s the getting up and down part that hurts.”

“To imaging?” Bailey asked.

“Calling them now,” Meredith responded, her phone already at her ear.

“Do you need anything else?” Arizona asked.

“No,” Callie smiled. “I’ve bothered you enough for today.”

“Callie, it’s no bother. You know that.”

“Right. I know. Still…,” she trailed off. Unsure what to say, but suddenly not wanting their time together to end.

“Do you want me to take Sofia tonight?”

“No,” Callie shook her head. “No… You have a date.”

“It’s not… it’s not as important as helping you.”

“Arizona, I can’t ask you to…”

“I’m offering.”

“You should take her up, Torres,” Bailey said, her eyes trailing down Callie’s body. “You need some serious help.”

“What?” She turned to face Bailey, “Why would you say that?”

“Because you are about to walk out the door with no pants on,” Meredith answered. She’d picked-up Callie’s pants from the floor and had been waiting for the half-naked brunette to notice.

“Oh!” Callie blushed. She snatched her pants away from her smirking friend. She winced as she bent to pull them on.

“That settles it. I’ll get Sof from daycare this evening,” Arizona said. “We’ll need to stop by the house and get her stuff. You want me to bring some dinner when I do?”

“Are you sure?”

“More sure than ever,” Arizona smiled.

Chapter Text

Callie’s kitchen was a quiet and dark, as was the rest of the house on evenings like this. She rummaged through her freezer, trying to locate the ice-pack that Arizona used to use after particularly long days on her feet. She wondered if Arizona had one at Alex’s place. Was she taking care of herself as she should be? She shook off the thought, knowing it was no longer her place to have such worries. She also knew Arizona was adept at managing the perpetual physical discomfort that came with being an amputee, but she couldn’t help but think about it sometimes.

At first Callie enjoyed the solitude on the nights when Arizona had Sofia. It was nice to be alone and able to think. She loved her daughter with all her heart, but the occasional break from responsibility was welcome. 

She finally made it through several books that had been on her recommended reading list for years. She’d started cooking again, and was considering taking a class at the community center where she’d been to a meeting for spouses of veterans suffering from PTSD. Trying to find a support group that fit with her unique situation had proved difficult, but it didn’t stop her from trying. Callie had only recently realized that Arizona had displayed the symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder following the plane crash and amputation. Her wife’s anger, depression, and the subsequent cheating should have been big giant neon sign pointing to there being a serious problem, but at the time she wasn’t in any place to recognize it. 

Callie had come to realize, through that support group, that while they were together she’d been suffering too. Her own depression, anxiety, and anger had harmed them as well. After the meeting, she read a lot about secondary PTSD and the toll that it takes on marriage when both spouses are so damaged. She’d come to the conclusion that she had been treating her depression by self-medicating with alcohol, band-aids, and whole lot of denial. She knew they’d never heal while they were together, and that’s why breaking them apart had been the right decision.

Being alone had allowed Callie to make huge strides toward getting herself healthy. She could only hope for Arizona’s sake that she had been doing the same. Part of her own recovery had been letting go and trusting Arizona to take care of herself. 

Callie was brought out of her thoughts by the doorbell ringing. She winced and limped toward the small foyer. 

She threw the door open expecting Arizona and Sofia, “I thought I told you to use your key…,” only to find Maggie standing on her porch. “Oh, hi…”

“Are you okay?” Maggie blurted. “I didn’t see you all afternoon, and when I asked Meredith if she’d seen you around… she said I broke you. Are you broken?”

“I’m fine, Maggie,” Callie opened the door wider and stepped back to allow the other woman entrance to her home. Her painful wince at the move, however, belied her claim to be fine.

“You aren’t fine, Callie!” Maggie pushed into the house and helped the injured woman limp through the small foyer and to the family room. 

Maggie led her to the couch, where she unceremoniously flopped down with a soft grunt. “I uh… left my ice pack on the island in the kitchen… do you mind?”

“Of course not,” Maggie immediately replied and started to leave for the kitchen. She paused, “But you are going to tell me what’s wrong, right?”

“Yes, yes… I promise.”

Maggie returned to the room to find Callie laid back on the couch with her arm covering her eyes.

“Callie?” she softly prodded. 

Callie moved her arm enough to peek out and make eye contact with her concerned… friend? Girlfriend? Had they achieved that status? She had no idea, but she did know that though she had no reason to be, she was embarrassed to tell Maggie about her injury. 

Maggie just stood there waiting, so Callie figured she’s better fess up.

“I strained my groin running this morning,” Callie said quickly, then added under her breath, “because I’m getting old and I’m out of shape.”

“Oh, god. I’m so sorry! Why didn’t you say something this morning? I wouldn’t have pushed you so hard.”

“You didn’t push me, Maggie, I did.”

“Here, let me…” Maggie cautiously lifted Callie’s legs and sat on the couch bringing Callie’s calves back down across her own legs. “Is this okay?”

Callie nodded, so Maggie held up the ice pack to indicate she wanted to put it on the injured leg. Callie pointed to the strain and took a deep breath. Maggie gently placed the ice pack on the other woman’s thigh.

“Oh god… that feels… not really all that great,” Callie chuckled. “I hate icing injuries.”

“Come on now, you are a doctor,” Maggie joked back. “An orthopedic surgeon, even. You know the benefits of icing strained muscles.”

Callie just grumbled in return.

“Are we going to talk about why you didn’t mention this to me today? Or text me? Nothing.”

“Do we have to?”

“No,” Maggie simply answered. “I could just go if you want. I know I dropped in unexpectedly…” 

Maggie moved to get up from the couch, but Callie grabbed her arm, “No, I don’t want that either.” 

Once Maggie settle back onto the couch, Callie sighed, “I was just embarrassed… and we’re not… I don’t want you to think…”

“What?”

“That you need to take care of me.”

“Why… what?”

“I mean, I know I’m older than you…”

“By what… five years at most?”

“I know,” Callie sighed. “I just… don’t want you to have to do that. It takes something away from a relationship that you can never get back. Trust me.”

“We aren’t… in a relationship. We are just dating. Having fun.”

“Exactly! We are supposed to be fun and free. I don’t want to look at you and see my caretaker… I don’t want to feel the need to look elsewhere to feel sexy!”

Maggie was slightly taken aback at the sudden weighty turn of the conversation. “Callie it’s just a strained groin, I’m merely applying a bit of ice. I’m not…,” Maggie suddenly realized what Callie was getting at. “Oh.”

“What oh?”

“I think there are some deeper issues here, that maybe you should discuss with your therapist.”

Callie sighed. She realized Maggie was right. She still had unresolved feelings about being Arizona’s caretaker and the blonde subsequently needing to look elsewhere to feel good about herself. “I’ll put that on next week’s therapy agenda.” She grabbed the other woman’s hand and gave it a soft squeeze, “My life is complicated, Maggie, and my issues are ongoing. Are you still sure you want to get mixed up in this?”

Maggie just smiled in return. They had a mostly unspoken agreement to not talk about Callie’s failed marriage much, to both protect Arizona’s privacy, and to keep their own budding relationship separate. She wanted to keep Callie in the present, so she politely changed the subject, “Are you hungry? I can order us some food… I was supposed to go to dinner with Amelia tonight, but I can call her…”

“No, no, don’t cancel your plans because of me,” Callie waved the other woman off. “I’ll be fine. I promise.”

“Are you sure?” Maggie asked.

“Positive,” Callie reassured her.

“Okay, I don’t have to leave just yet, though,” Maggie said. “So, tell me about it,” she pointed to Callie’s injury. “Did you get an MRI?”

“Yeah, no major muscle tears, a few days rest and I’ll be fine. The ortho resident taped it for me, and it helped a lot.”

“See? No need to stress. I handled that bit of medical information just fine.”

“Now you are mocking me.”

“A little. You deserve it.”

“I do. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay, Callie. I get it. We don’t have to talk about our medical history just yet,” Maggie looked self-reflective for a moment, thinking about herself and the possible hardship she inherited from Ellis, “Some stuff is… personal and private. I get that we aren’t there yet. Though, one day you are going to tell me why you had you had your chest cracked.”

“How did you…?”

“Um, I’m a very good cardiothoracic surgeon, Dr. Torres. I know what a scar from open heart surgery looks and feels like, even one as faint as yours.”

“Okay, okay… I promise I’ll tell you all about it. But that feels like at least a fourth date conversation and we’ve only had one official date.”

“What do you consider appropriate second date conversation?”

“Oh, embarrassing high school stories, to endear myself to you.”

“Okay, and third date?”

“Third date is where I regale you with tales of my two years spent in Botswana, in the Peace Corps, in an attempt to seduce you.”

“Peace Corps? Really?”

Callie nodded. 

“I think there’s a good chance that seduction attempt may succeed.”

“It works every time.”

Maggie laughed and leaned across Callie’s prone form to give the other woman a kiss. Callie sighed, and held her in place. 

Maggie pulled back, and whispered, “Are you sure you don’t want me to stay?”

Before Callie could answer they were interrupted by keys rattling in door, as her daughter's voice rang out, "Mommy! Mommy!... We got pizza! Momma said we should get your favorite because you got a booboo, but pineapple is so gwross. I don’t like it, so we only got it on half…”

A smiling Arizona and chattering Sofia walked into the family room to a stunned Maggie and sheepish looking Callie. Sofia recognized Maggie as Zola’s aunt, but she still felt shy around her. She hid behind Arizona’s leg.

“Oh!” Arizona stumbled for words. “I…. Ah, I’m sorry, I should have knocked. God, this is becoming… I’m…  sorry, Maggie. Callie, I’ll just leave your pizza and get Sof’s stuff and go.”

“No, no,” Maggie calmly stood. “It’s fine. You guys stay, eat your pizza. I was just leaving anyway. I didn’t mean to interrupt your plans,” She looked intently at the speechless woman on the couch.

“Maggie…,” Callie sat up, she didn’t know what to say. Why hadn’t she told Maggie that Arizona was coming by with Sofia. It wasn’t as though she was doing anything wrong by having dinner with Arizona, yet she still felt the need to hide it. 

“Callie, it’s fine. I’ll call  you later,” Maggie waved to Sofia and nodded at Arizona and left without saying anything more.

“Crap,” Callie flopped back down on the couch. “I do everything wrong.”

***

Arizona took the pizza to the kitchen, and Sofia had run to her room to get a toy, giving Callie a moment to herself. She laid there and made excuses to herself as to why she hadn’t told Maggie that Arizona and Sofia were coming over, but at least she had the guts to admit to herself that they were just that. Excuses. 

***

Arizona stood in the familiar kitchen and plated the pizza. Seeing Maggie here hadn’t put a damper on her mood. She was happy. She was pretty sure, after this afternoon, that Callie still had some lingering feelings for her. Tonight had only solidified that belief. She didn’t want it to feel like they were sneaking around, because they weren’t, but she did take a tiny bit of pleasure from the fact that Callie hadn’t told Maggie they were coming.  That there was something about them that Callie hadn’t wanted to share with the other woman.

Arizona wished she didn’t like Maggie quite as much as she did. Why couldn’t Callie date someone she hated? Someone she could go home and think awful thoughts about and not feel guilty. 

The problem was, she really liked Maggie. She was a fantastic surgeon, with a wonderful personality. She funny and fun, and if Callie ended up with her, she couldn’t ask for a better person to be part of Sofia’s life. 

Suddenly, there it was. The guilt. She tried to shake it off, but it was hanging on tight. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and started typing.

I can’t do this anymore. She hit send.

Who’s this and what can’t you do?  Came the quick reply.

Amelia!

No, that can’t be right, because that’s me. 

You know damn well who this is and what I can’t do. I’m out.

Arizona’s phone immediately started ringing. She slid her finger across the phone and up it up to her ear, “Hello.”

“Robbins?”

“Yes, dammit,” she whispered into her phone. “I’m out.”

“Out?”

“Of the sitcom situation. It’s not going to work.”

“Having second thoughts about wanting Callie back?

“No, of course not. I like Maggie.”

“I like Maggie too, Arizona. That’s kind of the point. I really, really like her.”

“I know, and I was thinking about that… you should just be honest with her. Tell her you have feelings for her. Don’t play games.”

“You be honest with Torres, then.”

“I can’t…,” even though Amelia couldn’t see her, Arizona shook her head no, “it’s too soon. What if she says no?”

“She won’t.”

“But if she does… then it’s over,” Arizona sighed. “I won’t get another chance. I can’t take that risk. As long as she hasn’t said no… I have hope.”

“Hope can be a real bitch, Robbins, she’ll let you down more often than not. At some point you’re just going to have to take hope and make into something more. Make it a reality.”

“I know,” Arizona knew Amelia was right. “You do too.”

“I know.”

“But for now…,” Arizona trailed off, allowing Amelia to finish her thought.

“Status quo. You remind Callie how awesome you are. And I subtly and stealthily woo the hell out of Maggie. Look, just… Stay strong, Robbins. We aren’t doing anything wrong.”

“Then why does it feel wrong?” Arizona whined. 

“I know you have a wobbly moral compass, you’ll push through.”

“Oh… bite me. My moral compass is fine. I’m not that person anymore. I’m fine now.”

*** 

Arizona ended the call with Amelia and took the plated pizza into the family room where Callie and Sofia waited.

“Momma? What took so long?” Sofia asked from her spot on the couch next to Callie.

“Yeah, did you get lost?” Callie jokingly asked. She took the plate from Arizona and made room for her to sit next to them on the couch.

“I did. I was lost for a very long time, but I”m fine now.”

Callie looked a little confused by her ex’s statement.

 Arizona, however, just smiled and took a bite of her pizza.

***

Just after seven, Amelia walked into the Emerald City Bar. Maggie had texted her and asked that they meet there. She immediately spotted the other woman sitting by herself at the bar, playing one of those pegboard puzzles and sipping a beer.

“Feeling homesick?” Amelia asked Maggie, who seemed to be in deep concentration. 

“What?” Maggie looked up from the game. 

“You’re drinking a Samuel Adams, I thought maybe you were…” Amelia waved her hand in dismissal, “never mind.”

“Oh, Boston Lager. I get it,” Maggie gave a sincere attempt at a laugh, but it just wasn’t coming. 

“Oh, no… don’t you dare dishonor me with a sympathy laugh,” Amelia looked from Maggie to the bartender. “Hit me with your strongest diet Coke. Hold the good-stuff,” she winked, “I’m in recovery.”

“Oh, god. I shouldn’t have had you meet me at a bar!” Maggie was suddenly standing. “What was I thinking. We can go.”

“I’m not that fragile. I’ll survive a few hours in a bar.”

“This stupid peg game says I’m a genius because I end up with only one peg left every time,  but I’m starting to doubt its validity,” Maggie grumbled. 

“You don’t seem to be in a very good mood this evening, is everything okay?”

“I broke my almost girlfriend, and now she’s having dinner with her ex-wife.”

“Hold up, rewind, and start from the beginning. You broke Callie?”

“I took her running this morning, and…,” Maggie decided against sharing the details, as those were Callie’s to reveal as she saw fit, so she went with, “she injured herself.”

“Bad?”

“No,” Maggie answered as she set up the triangular peg board to play again.

“Then why are you so broody?”

“Because she didn’t want me there to take care of her.”

“Meh.”

“But Arizona is there,” she jumped peg and removed it from the board.

“Interesting.”

“No. It’s not. It’s… it’s fine. They have a child. I know there are times when they will need to interact.”

“But you’re kind of mad because…,” Amelia led, waiting for the other woman to continue.

“She didn’t tell to me that Arizona was coming over. And… and they still have all of these unresolved issues.”

“Sounds horrible,” Amelia exaggerated, “you should dump her.”

“Be serious. No one is getting dumped. I really enjoy Callie, I don’t want us to be over yet. We’ve only had one date. It’s too soon.” 

Amelia sighed and kicked herself internally for what she was about to say, “If you like her and want to keep seeing her, then ask her out again.”

Maggie jumped the last peg, once again leaving only one. “See,” she pointed to where the board listed the various levels of smartness. “I’m a genius.”

“Yeah,” Amelia replied. 

“But what does it mean if I play the same way every time? I always start with the same set up and use the same moves. Is that cheating?”

“No, it’s playing it safe.”

“I like to play it safe.”

“Dating Callie Torres isn’t safe.”

“Sure it is.”

“How do you figure?” Amelia asked.

Maggie looked at Amelia for a moment, really looked at her, “Because I already know we have an expiration date, Amelia. I’ve known that from the start.”

Chapter Text

The pizza long consumed, Callie read to Sofia, who was snuggled with her on the couch. Arizona tried not to stare at the pair, but she couldn’t bring herself to pull her eyes away. The two looked so much alike. At first, Arizona thought it’d be painful after the divorce— seeing Callie in Sofia. She thought it’d make her miss the other woman more, but it wasn’t painful. It was comforting. It reminded her that she’d always have this part of Callie. They’d always be in each other’s lives, even if they never…. Even if.

Callie looked up from the book and caught her gaze. Arizona knew she should have looked away, but she couldn’t help it. They stared intently for moment then Callie shook her head and said, “Arizona, I’m sorry.”

“For what?” Arizona asked, hoping against hope she wasn’t about to be asked to leave.  

“For keeping her here, it’s your night. You should take her. I’ll be fine.”

“Actually… it’s your night. You take all the time you need. I’m here to help.”

“Thank you,” Callie smiled. “I’ll just finish this chapter with her, then you two can go.”

“Sounds good,” Arizona said. She hated the sudden formalness between them, but that seemed to be where they retreated to when things got a little too familiar. Staring was definitely too much. She sighed, “I’ll clean up the pizza mess. Do you want me to bring your ice pack and the good drugs?”

Callie chuckled, “Yeah, I’ll take the pain meds. It’s a new script, so they’re still in my bag. It’s…”

“Hanging on the hook in the kitchen. I know… I remember.”

The two women shared another complicated look. Of course Arizona knew where Callie kept her purse, it was once her home too. Callie looked away, her face flushing a the thought.

Arizona left to fetch Callie’s medicine and tidy up the kitchen. She rinsed plates and put them in the dishwasher, wiped the counters down, and refrigerated the leftovers. She could hear Callie reading to Sofia in the other room. She could tell by Callie’s softening tone that Sofia was likely falling asleep, which meant she’d better hurry or she’d never be able to get the growing girl in the car without waking her. 

She quickly filled a glass with water and grabbed Callie’s bag off of the hook. She rummaged through the contents and chucked to herself at how much Callie kept in that bag. She found the RX bag and tore the top open and pulled out two bottles: one was an anti-inflammatory for the muscle strain, and the other was an SSRI. She examined the bottle, it wasn’t the first refill. It was from an ongoing prescription. Callie’s been taking these for a few months, at least. 

***

When Arizona didn’t immediately return to the family, Callie eased her way out from under the now sleeping four year old and limped to the kitchen. 

“Arizona, did you get lost again?” She stopped short when she saw Arizona holding the two prescription bottles.

“Are you taking anti-depressants?”

Callie tilted her head and nodded. 

“How long?”

Callie pursed her lips for a moment, she wanted to carefully form her words before proceeding, she decide the truth was the simplest route to take. “Since the divorce.”

“Oh,” Arizona’s brow furrowed in thought. “So you’re…”

“I’m going to therapy by myself, to get myself fixed.”

Arizona looked as though she had a million questions running through her head, but didn’t know how, or even if it was her place, to ask. She just nodded again and said, “Okay.”

Callie sighed, she wasn’t sure if it was a good idea to get into this with her ex-wife or not, but she felt the need to explain. “Look, Arizona… Sofia is asleep on the couch. If you want we can grab a bowl ice cream,” she pointed to the freezer, “and… I’ll tell you about it?”

***

The two women sat at the table with their frozen treat. Callie dug right in, whereas Arizona liked to let hers soften a little before she started. It was a habit acquired in childhood via picnics on the base with homemade ice-cream that never quite solidified. She liked it half-melted. She watched in silence as the distinct edges of the scooped ice-cream softened and spread, not quite ready to look up at Callie. As the contents of the bowl quickly blurred beyond recognition, she realized her eyes had filled with tears. 

She quickly picked up her bowl and took a bite hoping Callie wouldn’t see the tears, but the clatter of Callie’s bowl being placed on the table forced her to make eye contact with the other woman. Callie was giving her that look. The look that said she knew exactly what Arizona was thinking. Arizona knew she was a private person, she knew she held her innermost thoughts close to her chest. She realized she hid them, to her detriment, even from Callie. But every once in while, Callie knew. This time, Callie nailed it.

“It’s not your fault,” Callie said. “It’s no one’s fault.”

“But…,” Arizona wiped at her tears. “I didn’t help,” her eyes on her rapidly melting dessert.

Callie chuckled a little and nodded. Now was as good a time as any for the truth. “You’re right,” Arizona’s gaze rose to meet hers at the admission and Callie forced herself to maintain eye contact and to speak quickly before the other woman had a chance to retreat. “There’s no way around it, Arizona. The cheating contributed to my downward spiral. It was another tough blow in an already shitty year. But… it was a shitty year for both of us, and I was wrong not to seek counseling immediately. It probably cost us our marriage, and for that… I’m sorry.”

“Don’t do that,” Arizona’s face twisted in admonishment.

“Don’t do what?”

“Apologize. Please don’t. I should be the one…”

Callie reached over and grabbed Arizona’s hand, “I won’t, if you won’t. We’re beyond that now, okay? I know you are sorry. I know. I know you would do things differently if you could. We both would. But we didn’t and now we are dealing with the consequences of how we did deal with it. So, I’m seeing a therapist and taking anti-depressants.”

“But… the side-effects…”

“Are manageable.”

Arizona sighed, concern evident in her face, “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I’m going to be fine. I’m in therapy. I’ve been exercising. I’m getting all my ducks in row. My work is finally feeling rewarding again, Sofia brings me immeasurable joy, and now… I’ve got Maggie. She makes me smile, Arizona.. She’s exactly what I need right now. There is no heaviness here anymore,” she pointed to her heart. “Do you get it, at all?”

Arizona nodded, unable to verbalize her wants and desires. She hated being this way, she hated that she couldn’t just say the words that she wanted to say. She wanted to tell Callie that she was ready to be that person for her again. The person to make her smile. She wished she could trust herself enough to open up and lay it all on the line, but she couldn’t. She didn’t want to add any more weight to Callie’s recovery. She didn’t want to be the cause of heaviness in Callie’s heart. Callie wasn’t healed enough to be receptive yet, that much was clear. Callie said that Maggie was what she needed right now, which meant that at some point, she may need something else. Something that might include her. Arizona was going to hold on to that.

“I get it,” she finally whispered. “I’m… glad you’re happy.”

“What about you?”

“What about me?”

“Are you happy?”

“I’m not unhappy.”

“Arizona…”

“Okay,” Arizona sighed. “Maybe I have a little work to do too.” She’d been counting on Callie healing that last bit of her troubled soul, but perhaps Callie had the right idea. She needed to heal herself completely. She needed to learn to genuinely be happy without Callie— perhaps they both needed to learn to be happy without each other— before they could truly be happy again, together. 

Callie smiled at Arizona’s acknowledgment. Arizona hoped she was reading Callie correctly. That ultimately there was hope for them, but now wasn’t the time. 

“Good,” Callie pointed her spoon in the direction of Arizona’s bowl. “Now eat your ice-cream, before it turns into soup.”

***

Maggie and Amelia had moved from their spot at the bar to one of the tall tables beside the dartboards. They were about to start a game, when the bell over the door chimed announcing the entrance of another patron. Owen Hunt stepped through the door looking weary and ready to unwind.

He spotted them immediately and raised his eyebrows as if to ask if he could crash their party. The two women shared a look. When neither seemed to object, they waved him over. He pointed to the bar to indicate he was getting a drink before joining them.

“You should ask him out, Amelia,” Maggie poked the other woman in the bicep. “He’s single, and not unattractive.”

“You think so?”

“Yeah, you said yourself, you need to get laid.”

“Hmm, I do, but Owen is not… I’m sorry, but he is way too intense for me right now,” Amelia replied. “Besides, I’m interested in someone else.”

“Really?” Maggie was intrigued. “Who? Do I know him?”

“Uh… I’m not ready to share because it’s a rather new development… this attraction, but yes… you know them.”

Maggie was about to ask another question, but the pair was interrupted by Owen’s arrival.

“Good evening, ladies,” his eyes at once went to Amelia’s glass. 

She rolled her eyes, “It’s Diet Coke, Hunt.”

“Oh, I wasn’t…” he tried to backpedal. 

“Of course you were. You’re my chief of surgery, and I’m an addict in a bar. You’d be a fool not to.”

“Well, I didn’t mean to be so obvious about it,” he grimaced. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. One day I’ll earn your trust, and you won’t think twice about seeing me sip a drink in a bar.”

“Here’s to that day,” Owen held his drink up to toast.

Maggie, who'd been taking a sip of her beer at the time choked and spit beer all over the table. 

Owen immediate jumped from his stool and patted her hard on the back, helping to clear the liquid from her lungs. 

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“No,” Maggie started laughing, “I’m not… I’m sorry, but do you not see the irony of toasting Amelia’s sobriety with your double scotch on the rocks?”

Owen’s eyes went wide with realization and he looked at Amelia who had her hand over her mouth attempting to suppress her own laughter.  He chuckled at himself, “Wow, that was really thoughtless of me.”

“It’s okay, Owen,” Amelia patted him on the shoulder. “We like our men clueless. Right, Maggie?”

Maggie held up her beer, “To clueless men.”

Amelia roared with laughter.

***

Joe’s filled up quickly; Friday night revelers overflowed the bar area and encroached on the prime table the three senior Grey Sloan surgeons occupied. Amelia fought off interlopers, while Owen and Maggie engaged in a spirited game of darts. Both were very competitive and Amelia watched with a smile. 

Amelia’s phone buzzed across the table. She picked it up, read the message and growled in frustration. 

WTF, Robbins? Are you always this wishy-washy? What’s the problem now? She hit send. 

Her eyes immediately found Maggie again, who was laughing with Owen. God, she had it bad.

***

Across town, at Alex’s frat house, Arizona sat at the kitchen table and texted Amelia. Sofia was already back to sleep after the ride from 830, and Arizona needed to talk to her cohort.

She typed furiously, trying to get as much information as she could to Amelia without breaking Callie’s confidence. Callie is getting her ducks in a row, and one of those ducks is Maggie. She’s not ready for me. I need more time.

Arizona chewed on her lip as she waited for the response.

I don’t. I’m going for it. Tonight, maybe. Amelia responded.

She took a deep breath and typed, Don’t. Don’ t do this yet. Callie needs Maggie right now.

(…)

Arizona’s frustration grew as the dots to indicate that Amelia was typing just hung there. It felt like hours, but was actually only a few seconds.

I make no promises.

“Goddammit, Amelia,” she said out loud to empty room. “Are you really going to make me do this?” 

Arizona sat there and wondered how she went from being in cahoots with Amelia, to actively trying to protect Callie’s relationship from Amelia in one night?

***

Amelia watch with growing concern and Owen moved closer to Maggie with every toss of the dart. He practically had his arm around her.

She ignored the steady buzzing of her phone and the irate, urgent stream of texts from Robbins as Owen placed his hand on Maggie's lower back in a oh-so-see-through attempt at steadying her after a particularly enthusiastic throw. Oh, yeah, he was hitting on her. Amelia rose from her spot and strode confidently over to the pair, just in time to overhear Owen attempting to ask Maggie for a date.

“Remember this morning?” he asked. “Breakfast in the lounge with Torres and Webber… and the talk of moving on?”

Maggie nodded, “Of course I remember.”

“Callie was right, I’ve been allowing myself to wallow in that trailer for too long. Webber is happy. Callie has found someone…  and I was wondering if you’d…”

“Don’t!” Maggie’s eyes widened, as if she suddenly clued in to where Owen was going. She held up her hand. “I’m seeing someone, too. Someone special. Someone who makes me extremely happy. So don’t…,” she cringed, “Oh… this… this is really awkward…”

“It’s okay… it doesn’t have to be,” Owen beat a hasty retreat. He tried to salvage his dignity, “I’ve lived through awkward situations before. My ex, Cristina, she was the queen of embarrassing me. I think she would do it on purpose. We can… We can pretend this conversation never happened.”

“Thank you,” Maggie breathed a sigh of relief. “You are a very nice man, Owen, but I’m happy with my new person. I want to enjoy where I’m at right now.”

Amelia chose that moment to make her presence known. She’d gotten Maggie’s message loud and clear: Maggie wasn’t ready to give up on Torres. Amelia wouldn’t make the same mistake as Owen.

“So, uh… when do I get a turn?” she interrupted, a smile forming at her unintended implication. 

“Right now,” Maggie smiled, grateful for the intervention.

“So what did I miss?” Amelia casually asked. 

Owen and Maggie exchanged a glance, “Nothing much,” Maggie replied. 

“Maggie was just telling me she found someone special,” Owen took a sip of his scotch.

“She told you about Torres, did she?” Amelia said with just a hint of mischief.

This time it was Owen drink that sprayed from his mouth, with Maggie returning the favor in the form of a pat on the back.

“You and Callie?”

“Yep,” Maggie smiled. The smile that always formed when she thought of the other woman, “Me and Callie.”

Amelia pulled her phone out of her pocket and replied to Arizona’s string of admonishing texts.

Fine. We slow down. 

Amelia didn’t want to obstruct Maggie’s happiness, and though it hurt to admit it, Callie currently made Maggie happy. She could wait. Their time would come.

For now.

Chapter Text

Callie hobbled down the hallway in the direction of her foyer. She had no idea who could be ringing her doorbell this early on a Sunday morning, but she knew one thing: if it was someone trying to sell her religion or a politician or a freaking vacuum cleaner, they were in for an immediate dose of door-in-the-face.

She glanced at the hallway mirror as she walked by and caught a brief look at herself. Her hair was a mess and she still had the remnants of sleep in the corners of her eyes. She’d been awoken from a deep dreamless sleep by the insistent ringing, despite it being almost 9 AM. Normally she’d be up now, but Arizona had kept Sofia for the whole weekend and she’d taken pain medication the night before, which had knocked her out.

Maybe Arizona had been paged and was dropping her by on the way to the hospital. Even with her minor limp, she quickened her pace, eager to see the pair.

She pulled the door open with force, and found Maggie standing there in her running outfit, holding a bag of take-out.

“Hi!”

“Maggie?” Callie questioned. “What are you...?”

“I hope you haven’t had breakfast,” she interrupted Callie’s question. “I grabbed some omelettes from that gourmet place down the street. You know the one?”

“Yeah… I know it,” Callie replied, as she stepped aside to let the other woman in. “But what are you doing here?”

“Oh, well… interesting story,” Maggie led Callie into the kitchen and started unpacking the omelettes. “Do you want me to make some coffee? You look like you need it,” her eyes roamed the other woman’s face and sleep mussed hair.

Callie reached up and smoothed her hair down as best she could,and went to the cabinet to get the coffee, “I’ve got it, you get to telling this interesting story.”

“Okay… I was at the park running, thinking about how I was sorry I didn’t get to see you yesterday and trying to come up with a good excuse to stop by, when suddenly this dude was running beside me. One minute I was happily jogging along… alone, and the next I had company. Anyway, he struck up a conversation…”

“While you were running?” Callie had the coffee brewing and was reaching in the cabinet for some nice plates to eat their breakfast on.

“Crazy, right?” Maggie popped open the styrofoam containers and slid the still steaming hot omelettes onto the plates Callie had provided. “He asked me out...”  

“Wait, some guy asked you out?” Callie’s brow crinkled as she mulled over the implications of Maggie seeing other people

Maggie nodded.

“At the park?” Callie was still processing.

Maggie nodded.

“While you were running?” Processing.

“Yes, Callie,” Maggie laughed. “A strange man started running beside me, struck up a conversation…”

“And he asked you out?” She asked one more time.

“Why is that so surprising? He wasn’t the first one this week, either, well… since it’s Sunday I guess it is the first one this week.”

“Wait… someone else asked you out? When?”

“Friday night,” Maggie answered quickly, hoping to avoid throwing Owen under the bus. “But that’s not the point. The point is he asked if I wanted to go get some coffee and watch the game. Of course, I didn’t know what game he was talking about, but...”

“The Seahawks play at ten,” Callie answered distractedly. Her mind still fixed on the thought of Maggie dating.

“That’s what he said,” Maggie carried the plates over to the table. “I didn’t realize football was on so early here. I mean, it makes sense, but I’ve always been an east coast girl. I never thought about how the early games here were so… well, early!” She gestured for the still slightly dumbstruck Callie to join her at the table. “Are you going to sit?”

Callie took her place across from Maggie, her eyes never leaving the other woman. After they way they left things Friday night, then not hearing from Maggie all day yesterday, but for a text that said ‘In surgery all day’, Callie had been certain the other woman was mad at her. Add that to the confusing feelings brought on by the news that the other woman had been asked out… twice.

“Anyway, Seahawks are playing the Patriots-- my home team-- and since you are still somewhat laid-up, I figured I’d see if you wanted to just hang out and watch the game. Eat some omelettes.”

Maggie waited nervously for a response. She hoped that Friday’s little whatever-that-was hadn’t meant the end, but the longer Callie sat there silent the more she worried. “Or not… If football isn’t your thing, we could Netflix and...”

“I thought you went to dinner with, Amelia, Friday night?” Callie interrupted, her mouth finally catching up with her brain, which still hadn’t caught up with Maggie’s side of the conversation.

“Well, it wasn’t actually dinner. We went to Joe’s and had a few beers. Well, I had a few beers,” she quickly added at Callie’s raised eyebrow.

“So, who asked you out?” Callie tried to ask nonchalantly. It didn’t work.

Maggie narrowed her eyes at Callie, “Why do you want to know? Are you jealous?” She was mostly joking; Maggie figured their situation was far too casual, especially on Callie’s end, for there to be feelings of jealousy.

“What?” Callie blurted. “I’m not… unless… did you say yes?”

“NO!” Maggie answered immediately and emphatically, “I didn’t.”

“Was it someone I know? A lot of people from the hospital hang out at Joe’s.”

“Hmmm,” Maggie weighed her options. As much as she wanted to keep her promise to Owen and not divulge that information, she didn’t want to have secrets marring whatever it was her and Callie had going. She chose easily, “It was.”

“Oh,” Callie took a deliberate bite of her omelette, chewing way harder than necessary in order to keep herself from asking the inevitable follow-up question.

It made Maggie smile. She decided to have mercy on Callie, who was likely to choke on her breakfast if she kept up her current rate of consumption.

“It was Owen Hunt.”

Callie stopped chewing and managed a mangled “what?” over her mouth full of food. She knew she likely looked like a crazy woman-- hair still a mess, and food coming out of her mouth, but she couldn’t help it. She needed details now, there was no time for swallowing.

“Apparently, he was inspired by you moving on. He said something about his happiness not being all used up?”

Callie swallowed her bite, “Did he?”

“He did,” Maggie nodded as she finally took her first bite of egg.

Callie carefully placed her fork by her plate and got up from the table. She moved across the kitchen to the coffee pot, which had finally finished brewing, and grabbed herself a cup. “He needs to find his own happiness, not be moving in on mine,” she grumbled under her breath as she poured.

“What was that?” Maggie asked.

“Nothing, just… wondering if you wanted a cup,” she lied.

“I would love some,” Maggie replied, “cream, no sugar.”

Callie fixed their coffee and returned to the table. Maggie sat still, her eyes tracking the other woman. She couldn’t quite get a handle on Callie’s reaction. Not that she told Callie to elicit a reaction, she’d been honest with her intentions. She didn’t want this thing marred with secrets.

She wished she could more easily define this ‘thing’, it would help her if she had a place to file her thoughts on the other woman. They were friends. Friends who shared benefits, but they were more than friends-with-benefits. They were dating, early days yet, but not dating to lead toward a more serious relationship. That she was sure of. She may be naive when it comes to some things, but she understood that way lies hurt. She just wanted something fun and free and sexy, and Callie provide all three in droves. She was tired of being alone.

Callie placed Maggie’s coffee on the table in front of her, and then sat back down in her own spot. The two women made eye contact. The conversation suddenly stalled.

Callie bit her lip, as if she wanted to say something, but was holding back. Maggie raised her eyebrows in question. Callie just smiled in response and glanced Maggie’s coffee.

Maggie took the hint and picked it up to take a drink. She could still see the steam rising from the hot liquid, so she pursed her lips and blew before taking a swig.

“Owen Hunt kisses like an angry muppet,” Callie blurted.

Maggie’s newly drawn in mouthful of coffee went flying from her lips.

Callie continued talking like Maggie hadn’t just spit all over the table, “Not that I know firsthand. But we lived together for a while, and I was the unfortunate witness to many an Owen and Cristina face eating session.”

Callie grabbed a couple of napkins, handed one to Maggie to wipe her face, and started cleaning the table with the other, with nary a comment on the actual spit-take. Apparently it wasn’t an unusual happening in Seattle. Maggie had certainly done it more than once since moving here. These people all said the darndest things. She couldn’t help it.

Maggie smiled at Callie’s word vomit. She couldn’t help that either.

“I’m just saying,” Callie continued, “Owen is my friend, and he’s relatively good-looking-- also, he smells nice, but I think you dodged a bullet.”

“Sounds like I dodged a… what was it? An angry muppet?”

“Mmhmm,” Callie nodded, trying her best not to come off as jealous.

“Which muppet are we talking here? Because, I actually used to have a crush on Scooter.”

“I was thinking more like Bert, minus the unibrow.”

“Do you imagine muppets kissing often?”

“Oh yeah,” Callie laughed, her earlier discomfort dissipating. The other woman’s carefree, easy attitude and willingness to go with the flow always made Callie feel at ease. “It’s one of my favorite pastimes. Do you know how many hours of Sesame Street one has to watch when you have a preschooler?”

“I can only imagine,” Maggie took a bite of her omelette. Callie did the same. They ate in silence for a few moments, both wanting to finish the eggs before they got too cold.

Maggie finished first, “You never actually gave me a definitive answer, by the way. Are you into it?”

“Kissing muppets?”

“No,” Maggie chuckled. “Football, Callie, football. Seattle vs Boston. Tossing the ol’ pigskin or whatever.”

“Of course I am! Let’s finish up here and we can go watch some pregame.”

“I have to be honest with you about something… I'm not really all that versed in football. I mean I know Tom Brady is our quarterback, and our team is really good...”

“Tom Brady is your quarterback, not mine. I’m rooting for Seattle. And our team is really good, too.”

“Oh, well then… this should be fun.”

“Care to make it even more fun?”

Maggie narrowed her eyes at Callie, “How?”

“A simple wager.”

“What are your terms?”

“It involves kissing,” Callie raised an eyebrow, “Are you okay with that?”

“Will I be kissing muppets or you?”

“Me.”

“I’m totally in.”

***

“NO! No, no, no,” Callie shouted at the television. Tom Brady had just thrown his second touchdown pass, and it was only the first half.

“Thank you, Tom Brady,” Maggie said. “That’s another one you owe me. Right here,” she pointed to her lips, “I'm waiting, loser.”

“Hey! I’m not a loser! It’s only the first half. Wilson just hasn’t warmed up yet. He’ll throw some touchdown passes.”

“Sure he will,” Maggie jokingly condescended. She patted Callie on the leg. “But until he does you owe me another kiss.”

Callie leaned in and kissed Maggie, she pulled back and whispered, “It’s not like this is a hardship,” she kissed the other woman again.

The corners of Maggie’s mouth turned up and her eyes twinkled with delight, “I like winning.”

“Your coach is a cheater,” Callie grumbled between kisses. “Probably your quarterback, too.”

Maggie pulled back from the kiss and examined Callie’s face wanting to make sure the other woman wasn’t really mad. When she determined Callie was indeed okay, and just being playfully obtuse, she nodded to herself and went back to the kissing.

***

“Oh yes!” Callie shouted from her place on the couch. “In your Boston loving face, Maggie Pierce! My boy Russell just orchestrated the greatest comeback of all-time.”

“Really, Callie?” Maggie poked the other woman in the arm. “Of all-time?”

“All-time this season?” Callie chuckled. “Okay, okay… it was merely a mediocre comeback. But it was exciting at the end.”

“For you,” it was Maggie’s turn to grumble, “your team won.”

“Awe, don’t be sad. Maybe they’ll meet again in the Super Bowl, and we can have a repeat.”

“That’s months away. Do you think we’ll still be doing this,” she gestured between the two.

“I don’t know,” Callie answered honestly, then added, “I hope so. I like... this...”

***

The two women held hands as they went for a leisurely Sunday afternoon stroll. Maggie purposefully kept her pace slow to accommodate for Callie’s uneven gait. She didn’t want to be responsible for any more pain in Callie’s life. This though reminded her about something.

“Hey, so…  you said you’d tell me about your heart surgery,” Maggie asked. “Your scar?”

“You really want to know about that?”

“I do. It involves you and hearts… two of my favorite subjects.”

“You are a lot smoother than you give yourself credit for,” Callie squeezed Maggie’s hand. She took a deep breath, then exhaled. “I was in a really bad car accident a few years ago. Arizona was driving and I was five months pregnant. It was all still so raw for her-- me getting pregnant while she was away-- Anyway, we were bickering about Mark again, and… suddenly she proposed. She asked me to marry her and then… a truck came out of nowhere.”

“Wow, I had no idea.”

“I had a hole in my heart,” Callie said. “Cristina Yang saved me, they all did. Sofia had to be delivered, though. Sixteen weeks early. She was one pound and one ounce.”

“Oh my god, how did she…” Maggie stopped, realizing the question was probably not appropriate.

“Arizona,” Callie smiled sadly. “Arizona, saved her. She saved our daughter.”

“Callie, I don’t know what to say.”

“You don’t have to say anything, Maggie, just…” Callie pointed to an old fashioned ice cream parlor across the street. “Buy me some ice cream. I did win the bet, after all.”

***

Callie and Maggie return to the house, each licking a dripping ice cream cone. They giggled their way into the kitchen to get some napkins to wipe their sticky fingers.

A light was blinking on the phone indicating there was an awaiting message.

“Wow, you still have a landline?” Maggie asked.

“Arizona insisted when we moved in,” Callie explained. “Safety reasons. No one knows the number, though.” Callie walked over a pressed the button and Arizona’s voice immediately filled the room.

“Sorry to call you here. I tried your mobile, but the voicemail was full. You should clear that, by they way, what if someone had an important message for you? Anyway, just wanted to let you know that I’ll keep Sofia tonight and you can take her home from daycare tomorrow.” The line was silent for a moment, but they could tell that Arizona hadn’t hung up. “I uh… I also wanted to tell you that you were right. I need to get my own ducks in row, and I plan to do that. I made an appointment with Dr. Wyatt this week, and I think… I think I might dip my toes back into the dating pool. Hopefully I can find someone who makes me smile as much as you have been lately. Happiness looks really good on you, by the way.” A deep breath could be heard as if Arizona were going to say more, but the machine beeped, signaling the end of the message.

Callie turned to Maggie, her face unreadable. “I’m sorry about that.”

The slight frown that had appeared on Callie’s face at Arizona’s mention of dating hadn’t gone unnoticed, but she ignored it for now.  “It’s no problem,” Maggie said, forcing herself to smile.

“Looks like you can stay tonight if you want?”

“I do want.”

“Good,” Callie replied. “Because I want you to stay, too.”