Waiting Game
Episode Title: Waiting Game
Episode Summary: Conversations and games lead to some clarity.
"Your love is a waiting game..."
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Leaving the house on time for once, Callie expertly maneuvered her car through Seattle's busy morning traffic. As Sofia chattered in the backseat about her plans for the day, Callie's thoughts drifted to Arizona―a regular occurrence in the two weeks since she received the voicemail.
The voicemail that she'd listened to every night since.
Callie couldn't help it. The message was adorable. Between the blonde's grand gesture and her own decision to stay in Seattle, she had become consumed by Arizona. And she had been trying to sort out her feelings―and there were definitely feelings―but she wasn't quite ready to acknowledge them out loud just yet.
And she was so wrapped up in thinking about those feelings that she missed a question from Sofia.
"Mama!" Sofia repeated. "Did you hear me?"
"Um…" Callie bit her lip, lying, "Yeah."
In the backseat, Sofia crossed her arms. "What did I say, then?" she tested.
Shit. "Sorry, sweetie," she sighed, offering her daughter a guilty smile. "Can you repeat your question?"
"I asked if you or Mommy's taking me to practice tonight."
"I'm taking you tonight." Callie affirmed instantly. Due to conflicting work schedules, Arizona had taken Sofia to her first two practices. Now that Callie was finally available, she was looking forward to being able to go to one. "Is that okay?"
"Yeah!"
"Did you bring your cleats, or do we have to get them before practice?"
"Mommy's bringing them for me."
"Oh, good," Callie smiled. That meant she had a reason to see the woman on her mind.
Arizona and Andrew walked through the doors of the hospital together, having taken advantage of carpooling while the young resident recovered from his injuries inflicted by Alex Karev. Ever since the misunderstanding, Andrew had been on a lighter and more structured nine-to-five work schedule.
Neither him, nor Alex, had been able to perform surgery, and Bailey had been livid for weeks. It was bad enough that Alex had broken a finger, but the resident's injuries were more severe and visible―he'd even suffered an orbital fracture, which had resulted in extensive swelling and a consult from a specialist.
Andrew pressed the button on the elevator and the two waited for its arrival.
"Oh, Dr. Robbins?" Ever the professional, he never called her 'Arizona' at the hospital. "I forgot to tell you, I have my final follow-up with the surgical ophthalmologist this afternoon. Will you need me to swing by and pick you up tonight, or-"
Arizona shook her head. "No, I'm good. It's trivia night, so I'm going out with Dr. Webber. I'll get a ride home."
He nodded, smirking a little. He knew what trivia night meant.
"Wait." Arizona tilted her head in question, "You didn't see the opthamologist here?"
"No," he shuddered. "Dr. Butts is…a complete ass."
"I can't argue with that," Arizona chuckled. No one at the hospital liked the man. "Who'd you use?"
"Dr. Canner. She has a private practice downtown, and-"
Arizona's eyes widened at the name. "Julia?"
Andrew nodded. "I think so. You know her?"
"I used to," Arizona admitted. Thinking of Julia reminded her of a time when everything in her life had been happy and carefree. A time when her family had been intact. "How's she doing?" she asked, a hint of melancholy lacing her voice.
"She seems fine to me." Andrew shrugged. "Why are you so interested? Old girlfriend?" he joked, nudging her with his elbow.
"Not of mine."
"Oh, Dr. Torres?"
"No, no. Sofia's father. He uh…" She paused. "I haven't seen her since before everything went to crap."
The elevator dinged its arrival, and the two surgeons continued chatting as they prepared to begin their busy days.
"Hey," came a voice as someone moved through the doorway of the lab, effectively breaking Callie's concentration. "You busy?"
Callie looked up as Miranda Bailey strode towards her, setting down her kale smoothie and pulling up a chair.
"Not anymore, I guess," Callie replied with a teasing smile, turning to give the chief her full attention. She knew that if Bailey was there, it was for a reason. "What can I do for you?"
"Actually," Bailey clarified, "I was wondering what I could do for you."
Callie's eyebrows knit together in confusion.
"I'm the chief," Bailey clarified. "It's my job to take care of my people. So I'm checking in."
Callie's brows shot up. "You're…'checking in'?" she quoted in disbelief. That seemed out of character.
Bailey rolled her eyes. "Torres, don't argue! It's something I do, now! I check in!"
Callie laughed. "Fine. Check away. What do you want to know?"
Bailey was a straight-to-the-point kind of woman, and she didn't need to waste time with politeness or be asked twice. She'd come prepared with questions she wanted answers to.
Crossing her arms, she wondered, "I've been wanting to ask you since you got back from Miami. I heard a rumor that Arizona gave you her blessing to go to New York...but here you are. What happened?"
"Nothing happened," Callie insisted. "I just realized that I didn't want to leave home."
Bailey sensed there was more to it. "You and Blake?"
Callie released an exhausted sigh. She was tired of talking about her ex-girlfriend. She was done with her. "We've been over for months," she stated emphatically. "I haven't even talked to her."
"Hmm..."
"Bailey, are you judging me, again?"
"If I judged the people in this hospital on their love lives, you'd all be fired."
Wanting to prevent Bailey from any further questioning, Callie eagerly changed the subject. "Speaking of love lives, how's the salsa dancing?"
"What?"
"I bet you like to lead, don't you?" Callie wiggled her eyebrows. "Are you Ben's boss in the bedroom, too?"
"Torres! My vajayjay is none of your business."
Callie grinned at Bailey's horrified expression, happy to have successfully steered the conversation away from her own private life.
"So, why are you really here, Bailey? I know you're not here to talk about either of our vaginas."
Bailey took a deep breath, recentering herself. "The Armed Forces Amputee Coalition contacted me, again. And I figured, now that you're staying and continuing your work, you might reconsider their offer."
Callie bristled at the suggestion. "Bailey, I don't deserve an award," she countered. "Especially not from wounded veterans."
"It's not an award!" the chief maintained. "It's a charity event, where you'll be one of many people in the Seattle area who are honored for going above and beyond to help wounded veterans."
At that, Callie began to soften. That is, until Bailey continued, "You probably wouldn't even have to speak."
"I might have to give a speech?" Callie squeaked, eyes bulging.
"No, no," Bailey quickly backtracked, fibbing, "I'm sure you won't. You'll probably just have to schmooze with donors, and your name might be announced with other honorees. You can even take a date… orfind someone there to salsa with." That earned her a smile from Callie.
"Look," Bailey continued. "Just think about it. It's an honor for you, and it wouldn't be bad publicity for the hospital. You have a huge heart and an even greater talent. You deserve the honor. You earned it."
Callie eyed the materials in front of her—the notes and hardware to the prototype of a new-and-improved prosthetic leg she'd begun. It had been months since she last thought about the project, having distracted herself with the idea of leaving everything behind.
And, in retrospect, she realized the scope of her moving away was beyond what it did to her relationship with Arizona and to Arizona's relationship with Sofia. The decision had affected more people than she cared to think about.
While on the beach in Miami, she'd had plenty of time to think about the consequences of her rash decision and why she had felt so stuck. She'd mistaken infatuation and excitement for love and passion. Being bound to Seattle and the rules of the new custody arrangement had left her feeling sorry for herself. But when Arizona had given her an out, immediately, she'd known she hadn't wanted it. She wasn't stuck, after all. She was free.
"And for what it's worth," Bailey added with a good-natured poke to Callie's shoulder. "I'm glad you stayed. I liked Blake, and she was a decent doctor, but you are exceptional and should work at a place where your talents are appreciated. A demotion in New York would have diminished what was so special about you, and you deserve to shine."
After one final look in the mirror, Arizona grabbed her bag, locking up her office and heading out for the evening. As she made her way to the elevator, she spotted her protégé at the nurses' station. "Dr. Karev," she greeted him, somewhat coldly.
"Oh, come on," he grumbled. "You can't still be mad at me."
"Oh, yes I can! You beat up my roommate and a fellow doctor! And neither of you will tell me why!"
"Because it's none of your business."
"Alex," Arizona began, softening her tone. "I'm your friend. You can talk to me. If something's going on with Jo and DeLuca and y-"
"There's nothing going on!" he interrupted.
"So you just beat him up for no reason?"
"It was a misunderstanding. That's all. Not everyone is a cheater."
Arizona felt like she'd been punched in the stomach. She narrowed her eyes, "That's a low blow."
Alex sighed, feeling guilty that his mentor had taken his words personally. "I wasn't talking about you. I just…" He paused. "It's not what you think. And I don't want to talk about it."
"Fine," Arizona relented. "But you need to fix things with DeLuca. You can't just ignore the fact that you assaulted him. Your actions affect more than just you! I don't like feeling stuck in the middle, worrying about you two. I have my own stuff to deal with right now."
"Nobody asked you to worry."
"Yet here I am, worrying. You broke your finger! What if the damage had ended your career?" she scolded. "Or his career? He had to see an ocular surgeon! You're lucky he didn't press charges."
"I know! Alright? I know. And I already feel bad about it, so you don't have to tell me what I did wrong."
"I know I don't, but I feel responsible for you, Alex." She reached over and squeezed his arm affectionately, offering her sweetest smile. "You're my guy."
When Arizona stepped off the elevator, she heard a familiar laugh filtering through the lobby. Her heart filled with joy knowing that she wouldn't have to live without that glorious sound, after all. Scanning the area, she spotted her little girl talking animatedly with her mama near the exit doors, ready for soccer practice with her hair up in pigtails.
The matching smile on Callie's face momentarily stopped Arizona in her tracks―she'd forgotten how breathtaking it was.
Shutting her eyes, she shook her head to rid herself of the thought, writing it off as an old habit.
Callie looked up as the blonde approached them, and Arizona watched her smile widen. Sofia broke through the reverie when she saw who'd stolen her mama's attention.
"Hi, Mommy!"
"Hi, big girl," Arizona gushed. "You ready for practice?"
"Yeah! Are you coming with us?"
"No, it's Mama's turn to watch you play." She ran her fingers over her daughter's soft hair. "But I'll be there on Saturday! We both will," she added, her eyes flicking up to meet Callie's. "Right, Mama?"
"Of course!" Callie promised. And there was that smile again.
Arizona held out the bag with Sofia's cleats. "Why don't you go sit and put these on while I talk to Mama for a minute?"
"Okay!" Sofia grabbed the shoes and headed toward a group of empty chairs by one of the large windows.
Callie raised an eyebrow. "What's up?"
"Watch out for Jarrod. He's a ball hog and kind of mean. He upset her during the last practice—said she wasn't good at passing. But just because she doesn't want to pass to him doesn't mean she's not good at it. I was so mad, but you can't just yell at a six-year-old."
"But you can yell at the parents," Callie reminded her. "Or are you waiting for me to do that?"
"No, I'm subtly trying to warn you not to!"
Callie laughed. "I promise to be on my best behavior." Her eyes quickly perused Arizona's outfit, running over her slight frame. "You look nice. Hot date?"
Arizona smirked. "I'm going out with Richard."
"Ah, the infamous trivia night."
"You aren't going to use it against me again, are you?" Arizona automatically recalled the horrible courtroom experience.
"Arizona..." Callie exhaled, lowering her head in shame. "I'm sorry. That was-"
"I know, I know," Arizona interrupted, immediately feeling sorry for bringing it up. "You've already apologized. We've moved on. We're moving on."
"Don't," Callie stopped her from minimizing her pain. "I get it. I was wrong. I went about everything wrong. You don't need to be sorry for still feeling angry. It's okay to be mad."
"I'm not mad, Callie. Not anymore. But..." she trailed off, unable to articulate her hurt.
And, even though they were often strangers to one another, Callie recognized the sadness in those blue eyes. Suddenly, she realized that what she'd done hadn't just pissed Arizona off—it had hurt her. It had been an act of betrayal, and that was a hurt that took time to heal—a hurt she knew all too well.
"Mommy!" Sofia called from where she was sitting, effectively ending her mothers' poignant conversation. "I can't get them tight enough."
"I've got it," Callie offered. She reached out and touched Arizona's arm in comfort, much like Arizona had done with Alex. "You go have fun with Webber."
Arizona answered Callie with a soft nod, and as she watched her ex walk towards their daughter, she supplied, "Double knot them for her so they don't come untied while she's running."
Richard Webber was a smart man. He was an intuitive man. Not much could get by him.
So, ever since they'd arrived at the bar, he had noticed that Arizona was unusually quiet. She seemed pensive, and he wanted to know why.
Popping a jalapeno popper in his mouth, he looked towards his friend to see her hunched over the bar, cheek in hand. Something was plaguing her thoughts, and he knew it wasn't the current riveting trivia question, How many pairs of underwear do men buy in a year?
"Robbins?"
Richard's authoritative tone snapped Arizona out of her haze, and she instinctively straightened up on her stool. "Sir?"
"'Sir'? Really?"
"I'm sorry, Richard. You just sounded like my dad for a second, and I reverted to my fourteen-year-old self, sitting down at the dinner table."
"Well, you're sure acting like a sulky teenager tonight. No one's going to want to take you home if you keep putting out this vibe."
"Honestly, I don't want to go home with anyone tonight but you," she grumbled back, picking up her glass of wine and taking a sip.
Richard's eyebrows rose as he waited for her to realize the implication.
"Oh!" she choked. "I didn't mean…I just meant..."
"I know what you meant," he assured her. "I'm a happily married man, and you're... how did you put it? 'Lesbianic.'" He took a sip of his water. "You are really off your game tonight, though."
"What? We're in second place!"
"Not the trivia. I just mean you don't seem interested in any of these lovely ladies. And," he looked around, "some of them sure seem interested in you."
Glancing around at the bar's female patrons, it occurred to Arizona that none of their smiles compared to the bright one she received earlier. "Callie took Sofia to soccer practice tonight. I saw them right before we left, and now I'm all…preoccupied."
"Oh." Richard watched her carefully. "Is everything okay? I thought you two had gotten back into a regular routine? It's been a little while since-"
"It's not that. We're…fine. I, uh…" She paused. "Can I tell you something?"
Webber nodded. "Of course."
"About a month ago, I told her to go to New York. I even bought her and Sofia plane tickets."
"Arizona," he admonished."I saw the emotional toll the custody case took on you. Why, after all that, would you change your mind and let her take Sofia across the country?"
Arizona bit her lip as she thought about how to best answer. Finally, she settled on the truth. "She was sad. I wanted her to be happy."
"And you think she can't be happy here?"
She shrugged. "I don't know what makes her happy anymore."
"She's a grown woman. I think she's capable of figuring that out on her own."
"I know, I know," Arizona conceded. "And I get that she's not mine to worry about, but I can't help it, sometimes. We're still connected. We have a child together."
Richard eyed her knowingly. "It's okay to care. When Adele and I were separated, I worried about her all the time. And Ellis? She was long gone―moved across the country― and I still thought about her. Hell, twenty-five years went by, and Meredith Grey showed up in my hospital. Suddenly, I was worrying about her, too. Still do. All because of my relationship with Ellis."
He paused for a moment, lost in a memory. "For better or for worse, there are some people in this world who just mean more to us than others. But all any of us can do is take care of ourselves the best way we know how and hope the people we love are doing the same."
Arizona attempted to brush-off his implication. "'Love'?" she scoffed.
Despite the blonde's dismissal, Richard knew that—on some level—Arizona still loved her ex-wife.
"Listen to me," he insisted, reaching over and gently patting her arm. "I think you need to start evaluating what it is that you want."
The first game of the season—and of Sofia Robbin Sloan Torres' soccer career—fell on one of Seattle's rare but beautiful sunny Saturday mornings.
Arizona was all smiles as she carried her camp chair and mini-cooler full of orange slices toward the field where the Bumblebees were playing. She immediately located her daughter among the kids running around in their little black and yellow uniforms, her heart leaping at the adorable sight. She loved being a mom.
But it wasn't long before her gaze found Callie, seated along the sideline in a chair similar to her own. There was an empty space beside the brunette, and her steps faltered for a moment as she wondered if she should sit next to her or move further down and sit by herself. Luckily, Callie saved her from making a decision when she sensed her presence and turned to greet her.
"Hey." Callie smiled and gestured to the space beside her. "I saved you a spot."
Arizona offered a tentative smile. "Thank you."
They remained silent while Arizona set up her chair, and the absence of their normal polite conversation made Callie feel a little uneasy. It never used to be that way, even after they divorced, so she tried to reassure herself that it was part of the healing process and not an indication of their new normal.
The sound of a whistle broke Callie out of her internal musings, and she looked up to see Sofia running toward them. God, she was cute. She'd come so far since the start of her life. No one would have ever guessed that she was born "one pound, one ounce of strong"—as Arizona used to affectionately say.
Sofia was as rambunctious and curious as any other six-year-old, and the smartest—if you asked her mothers. And there she was: part of her first team. Callie's heart soared with pride, but the feeling was short-lived when it suddenly dawned on her that she had been so close to missing that, or so close to robbing Arizona of the experience, had she left. She felt her eyes sting with regret.
After setting herself and her belongings down, Arizona looked over and saw tears in Callie's eyes. She was about to ask what was wrong when Sofia came grinding to a halt in front of her.
"Good morning, Mommy!"
"Good morning, sweet girl." Arizona beamed as she pulled her daughter close, planting a big wet kiss on each of her dimpled cheeks. "Are you ready for your game?"
"Uh huh," Sofia nodded excitedly.
Arizona smiled, but her eyes flitted back to Callie, just in time to see the woman rapidly blink away her unshed tears.
"Want some water, baby?" Callie asked, holding out Sofia's Sofia the First water bottle. Though she was getting a bit old for the show, the little girl loved that there was a princess named after her.
"No, Mama! The game is getting ready to start! That's for halftime."
"Oh," Callie lifted her eyebrow and fixed Arizona with a conspiring look. "I guess it's for halftime."
"I thought the orange slices were for halftime?" Arizona's lips rose into a playful smile. "Should we eat them, instead"
"They're both for halftime!" Sofia insisted. "Coach says we gotta get re… re…hyderateded."
The coaches called for the kids to gather in the middle of the field, and, after hugs and high fives, Sofia waved goodbye to her moms and ran over to stand with her team. Callie pulled out her phone from her bag as the two teams began to line up side by side.
One by one, each child showed their cleats and tapped on their shinguards as the young referee walked by for the equipment check.
"Aww, did you see that?" Arizona reached over and grabbed Callie's arm. "That was adorable."
Callie looked down from the camera app on her phone to Arizona's soft hand on her forearm, and then up to meet excited blue eyes. "So adorable," she agreed. She lifted her phone. "I got a few pictures. I'll text them to you, if you want."
"Of course I want." Arizona started digging through her pockets looking for her phone. "Oh my god, Callie!"
"What?"
"Should I have brought the video camera? It's her first game! We should record it, shouldn't we?" Arizona panicked. "I didn't even think of it! Are we bad moms?"
"We're great moms!" Callie assured her. She pointed to a man on the other side of the field that had a camera on a tripod. "You see that guy over there? That's Simone's dad. He's recording the game and making copies for any parent who wants one. I already told him to make us a copy."
"Oh, good." Arizona's dimples made an appearance as she recovered from her momentary panic. "Wait…" She paused. "Did you tell him one or two?"
"One or two what?"
"Copies."
Callie's smile faded. "Oh. I'll tell him we need two."
An uncomfortable silence settled over them after the stark reminder that they were two separate families.
The silence prevailed through most of the first half, but it never became stifling. They shared smiles and glances as they watched the little ones chase the soccer ball up and down the field.
But, by the time the second half began, Arizona wanted to ease out of their awkwardness, so she took a deep breath and worked up the courage to begin a conversation.
"Hey," she began. "So I meant to tell you, Andrew's been seeing Julia for his orbital fracture."
With her eyes still on the game, Callie absentmindedly wondered, "Julia? Julia who?"
"Julia, Mark's Julia," Arizona clarified, watching as Callie's head whipped around to face her.
"Oh," Callie understood. "Julia."
Arizona nodded. "Apparently, she's married now. And very pregnant," she added.
"Really?"
Arizona nodded. Oh, how things had changed.
"That's crazy." Callie shook her head in wonder. "I feel like it was just yesterday she wanted to have a baby with Mark. Remember how much he freaked out?"
Again, Arizona nodded. She remembered everything.
Turning back to the game, Arizona's lips curled up into a sad smile as she realized how much their daughter's father was missing out on. "If Mark were here, he would love this."
Callie's eyes followed Arizona's gaze, proudly watching Sofia slip on the grass and get right back up. "Yeah," she agreed. "He really would."
The ice broken, Callie and Arizona spent most of the second half talking: first reminiscing about Mark, and then transitioning into hospital gossip. Callie couldn't believe Arizona didn't know more about the Alex/Jo/Andrew situation, given her relationship with the the two men. But Arizona was adamant that she was just as much in the dark as everyone else.
Then, after swearing her to secrecy, Callie told Arizona about Meredith and Nathan. Arizona was shocked; she thought Meredith hated Nathan. But after hearing about Maggie's feelings, she couldn't help but sympathize with the woman.
"Poor Maggie."
"I know," Callie sighed. "But Meredith deserves at little…you know…sex," she whispered.
"Yeah," Arizona agreed. "Derek's been gone for years."
For once, they both enjoyed not being part of the hospital rumor mill.
Later in the second half, Arizona motioned towards the field, loudly protesting, "Do you seethis?"
Callie turned to face her. "See what?" She wasn't sure what she was supposed to be looking at.
"Jarrod the freakin' ball-hog, that's who!" Arizona clarified. "Look at him! He won't pass the ball. Sof is wide open!"
Callie chuckled. "He's a boy, Arizona. They do that."
"Well, it's unacceptable!" Arizona insisted, in full-on mama-bear mode. "Soccer's supposed to be a team sport. Team."
Callie's smile slowly widened as she watched her ex-wife get herself worked up.
"I mean, look!" she continued. "The coach isn't even doing anything!"
"Arizona, they're six," Callie countered. "They don't even know the rules yet. It's their first game."
"But she's open!" Arizona started to get up from her chair, determined to go talk to the coach so that the other team-members might actually get some playing time.
"Wait!" Callie put up her hand, fixing Arizona with a stern look. "You told me not to make a fuss over this kid the other day, so you don't get to, either."
"Bu-" Arizona began to protest.
"Nuh-uh," Callie decided, placing a strong hand on her ex-wife's soft shoulder. It's a peewee soccer game for crying out loud, she thought. Not the World Cup.
Arizona huffed, though she found the warm hand on her shoulder to be inexplicably calming. Taking a deep breath, she maintained, "I still don't like him."
Callie's lips curled up into an amused smile, and she lightly traced Arizona's shoulder with her thumb. "I know."
Callie and Arizona watched the game more intently in its final few minutes. The Bumblebees were two points ahead and positively buzzing with energy.
They watched as Atticus kicked the ball towards Simone, who—after nearly tripping—kicked it to a wide-open Sofia posted in front of the goal.
Caught up in the moment, Callie and Arizona stood in anticipation.
"Kick it, Sof!" Callie called out, instinctively reaching for Arizona's hand.
And from a distance, they watched as Sofia stuck out her tongue in concentration, swinging her leg back and kicking the ball right past the goalie.
"GOOOAL!" The crowd cheered, and Callie and Arizona clung to each other, jumping up and down and screaming like the proudest—and loudest—parents on the planet.
"That's our girl!" Arizona practically sang, overcome with joy.
Callie was consumed with happiness; the Bumblebees had won, and their daughter had scored the winning goal.
She looked over at Arizona, brown eyes briefly connecting with exuberant blues, and Bailey's question from months ago echoed in her mind: Twenty years from now, who do you want screaming and cheering beside you? Who do you want screaming and cheering beside you? Who do you want?
Callie felt her heart take off in her that moment, she knew the answer to that question. Deep down, she'd always known.
The only person she ever wanted cheering beside her was Arizona.