The Song Remains the Same

Chapter 2

Callie was late leaving the hospital Friday night, late to meet Arizona at the bar, but she still took a second to check her hair and makeup in the visor mirror in the car, telling herself it was silly even as she did it. She was meeting a friend for drinks. It wasn't a date. She had a husband so it couldn't be a date.

Arizona's lingering look of appreciation before she caught herself and blinked made Callie glad she'd taken the pause. “Hey,” Arizona greeted her, gesturing to the seat beside her at the bar. “How was your day?”

“Ellis liked that suggestion you made about the budget for Cardio, so I actually got to spend some time in the OR,” Callie reported with a smile. “Of course, Yang and Webber are friends now, so it was -” Arizona made a face. “Yeah, it's really weird.” Callie laughed and the bartender, Joe, came to them. “Um, I'll take a glass of the house red, please. Thank you, Joe.”

He nodded, smiling at the pair. “It's nice to see you, Dr. Torres. It's been a while.”

Arizona arched a curious eyebrow at that. She spent a reasonable amount of time here and she'd never seen Callie in here before. She would have remembered seeing her in here, probably would have let alcohol lead her to hit on her new friend at least once if she'd ever noticed her in Joe's before.

Blushing, Callie nodded. “Yeah, since the kids came I don't have much time,” she told him, sneaking a sideways glance at Arizona. She'd been here with Owen their first night together. And he'd found her here the next time he'd been in Seattle. Her second date with Erica had been at this counter. But a surgeon training to be the best and raising a daughter on her own had no time for drinks at the bar.

Joe filled the wineglass for her and lined up two shot glasses on the bar as well, pouring them each a shot of Callie's favorite whiskey. Arizona reached for hers willingly when Callie sent her a questioning look. Pleased with the answer Callie clinked her glass lightly against Arizona's before they both tipped them back.

It had been so long that the once familiar burn of alcohol down her throat made Callie gasp, her eyes watering and her head shaking. Arizona laughed at the reaction, swallowing her own shot without missing a beat. “Shut up,” Callie gasped, one hand on her chest, the request just making Arizona laugh harder.

“Sorry,” Arizona said amidst her laughter. “I'm sorry.” She couldn't stop laughing though.

“I used to be good at this,” Callie insisted. “Tell her, Joe!”

Their bartender grinned, his head bobbing as he nodded. “Oh, I'd say she could have given you a run for your money, Dr. Robbins. In her day,” he added with a wink. “Let me know it you need anything else, ladies.”

Callie was blushing again, took a sip of her wine to clear her throat as Joe walked away down the bar. “So, how about you? Did you get any OR time today?”

Arizona grinned. “Yes, but I think I want to hear more about Dr. Torres' colorful past,” she said playfully. “I haven't seen you in here before.”

“Well, having three kids means you have no life,” Callie said with a laugh. “But I used to do alright for myself. And that's all I'm giving you.”

“We'll see about that,” said Arizona with a laugh, sipping her wine. “But I bet you did more than just 'alright,'” she teased. Callie coughed lightly at the return of the flirty tone but didn't say anything to object. It seemed they just couldn't help themselves. They had both established that nothing would happen though. They were becoming friends. If flirty was just how they related to each other she supposed she could live with that. “Your kids are cute though,” Arizona acknowledged lightly. “I looked in on them when the twins were admitted for that cough they had in the fall.” Callie looked surprised and Arizona shrugged almost sheepishly. “Dr. Grey insisted. I'm not a pediatrician.”