The Song Remains the Same

Chapter 7

Callie still wasn't getting much sleep as she adapted to sleeping alone and dealing with her kids on her own but the first Friday after Owen had taken them to their grandmother's house was unbelievable. She was completely on her own for the first time in years and she couldn't even manage to doze off on the couch. Instead she was restless, actively missing the activity that was normally rampant all over her house. The quiet was unnerving. She'd already done all of the laundry, straightened up the living room and the kitchen and it wasn't even nine o'clock.

The jump she gave when her phone buzzed on the coffee table would have been embarrassing if there had been anyone around to see it. Arizona's name on the text indicator made her smile. She felt like an idiot though. As far as she knew Arizona was now happily dating that nurse from Ortho. Callie hadn't had the nerve to ask and if she'd seen her again Arizona had at least had the grace not to flaunt it in front of her. Arizona had always kept her personal relationships out of the hospital though. That was how Ellis Grey preferred it. And Arizona was a private person so it was a policy that worked for her.

'Hey, what are you up to tonight?' Arizona had been supportive and kind since their conversation on the catwalk, a perfect friend when she desperately needed one. But they hadn't been alone together either. It had taken a conscious effort from them both to keep their interactions always somewhere public, where they'd be less tempted.

'I'm trying to get used to all this quiet,' Callie sent back. 'The kids are with Owen for the weekend and I'm already going a little crazy here by myself.' She sent the message and typed another. 'What about you? Hot date tonight?' She regretted sending it as soon as her finger touched the screen.

Arizona had actually only managed one date with the Ortho nurse, Colleen, during which she'd been completely distracted and disinterested. Colleen hadn't seemed to care about her lack of communication. She felt sure she could have gone home with her if she'd wanted to, despite her bad dinner conversation. Arizona could admit to herself that she'd given it half of a thought before rejecting the idea. She couldn't go home with Callie but that didn't mean she wanted to go with anyone else. Arizona wasn't sure that she was waiting for Callie, exactly. She just hadn't met anyone (else) that interested her, excited her (the way Callie Torres did). At least, that's what she was telling herself. It felt too pathetic to think that she was sitting around getting no sex until Callie was ready to move on from her failed marriage.

'Nope. Joe's?' Arizona sent back. 'You can stay out late and everything,' she added teasingly.

Callie grinned to herself, pleased with all of Arizona's reply – the lack of a date and the offer of drinks. How much trouble could she get herself into at Joe's? She wouldn't let herself get drunk like the first time, wasn't sure she could drop her guard that much around Arizona after she'd kissed her and ended her marriage in one week. She feared she might say things she couldn't take back. Or worse, maybe she wouldn't want to take it back. 'I'll see you there in twenty,' Callie answered her, pushing herself up from her slouched seat on the couch.

It was actually just over thirty minutes before she got to the bar, having to rush upstairs to change clothes before leaving the house. Like the last time she'd been late to meet Arizona here it proved to be worth the extra effort to slip into a dress she hadn't worn since before Allegra was born, tease her hair into casually unruly waves. Arizona choked on her drink when she caught sight of her and Callie smirked proudly to herself.

“You did that on purpose,” Arizona accused her, wiping her chin with a snatched bar napkin. And she wasn't the only person who'd noticed, spotting several other eyes tracking Callie's route across the room. She'd already ordered a drink for Callie but she took it before her friend could reach for it, draining it herself. “For that, you can get the next round,” she declared, waving Callie toward the bar and pushing their empty glasses into her hands. And she could take the time to compose herself.