Grey's Anatomy: The Rescue (1/1)

Fandom: Grey's Anatomy
Title: The Rescue
Rating: PG
Status: Complete (1/1)
Author: englishstrawbie
Characters/Pairing: Callie/Arizona
Disclaimer: Here.
Author's Note: You're going to have to cast your minds back to episode 5x18 where Callie spends the day at Derek's trailer. Something light and fluffy.

Callie leaned lightly against the bonnet of her car, gazing out at the view of Seattle beneath her. The sun had disappeared behind the thick clouds that filled the sky, leaving behind a beautiful mixture of blue and purple. She could see a small haze of light below where she knew the streetlamps had been turned on; their brightness just a spot in the distance from where she waited.

It was peaceful up here. She understood why Derek had chosen this place to hide away from the hospital. No people, no traffic, no noise; a place where you only had your own thoughts for company.

She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. She was starting to regret that fifth can of beer. A sudden breeze caught her by surprise and she shivered, zipping her jacket up to her chin to protect her skin from the cold evening air. Dusk would soon be here and she willed her ride to get here.

The Chief had left in a storm, the wheels of his car tearing up the grass. She had stood in an awkward silence with Owen for a moment until he stated his intention to walk back down the mountain. Callie had declined, not so politely. She was most definitely a city girl and the beaten track that she had driven up looked full of unwelcome surprises.

So here she was, waiting to be picked up. Thank god for cell reception. She had gone straight to ‘M’ but there had been no answer from Mark. She had tried Cristina next; no answer. With a heavy sigh, and a brief moment of self pity when she realised her options were limited, she had started at the beginning of her contact list in a desperate hope that someone would be willing to trek up a mountain for her.

Arizona had answered her phone within seconds. Callie had been surprised at her enthusiasm and was sure she’d heard her say something about being a ’knight in shining armour’. They had only had three dates, and ok they had been successful, but this was not the kind of situation Callie had intended to be in so early on in their…well, whatever it was. She was pretty sure she was going to be mortified about this tomorrow, but right now she was simply grateful that Arizona had agreed to come and find her.

The sound of an engine caught her attention and she turned to see a taxi cab pull up behind her. Arizona emerged from the car moments later.

“Calliope!” her voice sang out.

Callie watched as Arizona paid the taxi driver and waved him off, before walking over to where she was perched on her car. An embarrassed smile spread across Callie’s face and she dropped her head slightly, her hair falling forwards. “Hey. So uh… thanks for coming.”

Arizona tipped her head to one side and smiled cockily. “I wouldn’t have missed this,” she teased. A small giggle escaped from her as she looked around them. “It’s beautiful up here,” she sighed, breathing in the fresh air that was lacking in the city. “What are you doing here anyway?”

“I was sent on a mission by Bailey.”

Arizona frowned. “A mission? Up a mountain?”

Callie nodded towards the metal trailer. “Derek Shepherd.”

“Oh.” She shook her head slightly, still not getting the connection. “Why you?”

Callie laughed. “I wondered that myself.”

Arizona looked curiously at her. Whatever Callie’s reasons for being here, hospital politics was not something that Arizona cared to indulge herself in.

“And you can’t drive yourself because?”

“Because he was upset and we got talking and I had a few beers and…”

“Are you drunk, Calliope Torres?” Arizona grinned.

“No, I am not drunk!” Callie defended herself. “I just had a few beers and being a responsible doctor, I know better than to drive.”

“So, you want me to drive you home?”

Callie squirmed. “Yes please.” She stood up and reached inside her jacket pocket for her car keys. “Have you driven one of these before?”

Arizona rolled her eyes. “Yes, Calliope, I have driven a car before.”

“No, I mean this kind of car.”

Arizona frowned and peered around Callie’s body. It looked like just another old car to her. “No, I haven’t driven this kind of car,” Arizona answered. “But it’s just a car, right?”

She stretched out her hand to take the keys from Callie but didn’t reach them in time before Callie whipped her hand away.

“Just a car? Just a car?!” Callie exclaimed.

“Not just a car?” Arizona murmured, biting her lip to stop herself from laughing.

“This is a ’57 Thunderbird,” Callie announced proudly.

“Uh huh,” Arizona said.

Callie sighed. “You don’t know anything about cars, do you?”

“Nope,” Arizona shook her head.

Callie dropped her shoulders in defeat. “Ok,” she said slowly, realising she didn’t have any other option. “But I want you to know that I don’t let just anyone drive my car…”

“Calliope.”

“…and in letting you drive my car, I’m putting a lot of trust in you…”

“Calliope!”

“…and I’m going to apologise in advance for being a backseat driver the whole way home…”

Her outburst was cut short as Arizona pressed her soft lips against hers and she felt her body relax under the embrace. Arizona rested her hands on her shoulders, running them down Callie’s arms and using the opportunity to steal the keys from her hand.

“Ah ha!” she cheered in triumph.

“Hey, that’s not fair!” Callie grumbled.

“I’m just takin’ advantage of you in your drunken state,” Arizona teased.

“I am not drunk. Just please don’t hurt my car,” Callie pleaded.

Arizona chuckled and leaned towards her, sliding her arm around Callie’s body and opening the car door. “Get in,” she said.

Callie climbed into the car. It felt unusual to be on the passenger side. As the gravel crunched under the wheels, she closed her eyes and tried to shake her uneasiness about letting someone else drive her car. With nothing but the sound of the engine filling her ears, her mind to turned to the conversation she’d had with Derek earlier that day.

“Are you ok?” Arizona asked softly.

Callie opened her eyes and looked at her companion. “What’s your story?”

“My story?” Arizona questioned, keeping her eyes on the road.

“You know, your story. The one that changed the way you work. The first time you made a fatal mistake with a patient.”

The question hung in the air for a moment. Callie watched her with interest. She’d heard nothing but good things about Arizona’s work ethic and it wouldn’t have surprised her if she didn’t have a story like everyone else.

Arizona exhaled loudly. “I, uh… I was second year resident, it was the middle of the night. I was treating a bunch of 14 year old kids who’d been to a party and had too much to drink. One of the girls was pretty sick and she kept complaining that she had stomach pains. We were slammed and I thought it was just because of the alcohol, you know? So I didn’t bother with an examination, I just gave her fluids and pain medication and told her to sleep it off. The next thing I knew, her appendix had burst and she was being rushed to surgery. There were complications and she died.”

She fell silent as the picture of her the girl’s devastated parents played in her mind. “If I’d just taken the time to check her belly, you know? It would have been such an easy to do and I didn’t bother because I thought she was just drunk.”

“I’m sorry,” Callie said quietly. She didn’t know much about Arizona just yet but she couldn’t imagine her dismissing a patient’s complaint like that, no matter how annoying the patient might be.

Callie loved this part of a new relationship. It was moments like these that she knew that this was going to be more than just a few dates. She was learning slowly that Arizona was more than just a perky peds surgeon who wore heeleys and had butterflies on her scrub cap. She got the feeling that it was something that Arizona kept private from mere acquaintances. Callie was grateful that she considered her more than just an acquaintance and had let her in.

Arizona looked over her shoulder, nervous about Callie’s silence. “This is pretty heavy stuff for a fourth date.”

“You call this a date?” Callie raised her eyebrows.

“You, me and an open top car? There’s potential,” Arizona smiled.

“You just wanna take advantage of me in my drunken state,” Callie smirked.

“I thought you weren’t drunk?”

“Maybe a little,” Callie admitted

Arizona laughed and reached her hand out and wrapped it around Callie’s, squeezing it gently.

“Arizona?”

“Yeah?” There was a flirtatious tone to Arizona’s voice.

“Please keep both hands on the wheel.”