Chapter 13

Not only did Callie brew coffee, but she also made omelettes; egg whites only with spinach and mozzarella cheese, her absolute favorite. Arizona took a bite, but it made her stomach spin and her already raw nerves went on hyper drive, making her shiver almost uncontrollably. She put her fork down and folded her hands in her lap, trying to keep them still.

Callie looked over her coffee cup as concern washed over her. "Would it be easier if I held your hand?"

Arizona looked up at Callie and realized how concerned she was. She blushed and shook her head. "No, no, I'm fine."

"But you're really not," Callie said simply.

Arizona politely refused again, but without even realizing it had happened, her hand was in Callie's and their fingers were entwined. A sheepish smile flew across her mouth as her eyes fluttered at the contact. "Actually, that really helps."

Callie smiled and ran her thumb across the back of her hand, feeling the soft skin hiding the muscles and bones that had healed and repaired a truly remarkable number of children. "Good. Focus on our hands and just let the words out, okay?" Callie suddenly grew extremely nervous. What if she had murdered someone? No, Arizona wouldn't do that, would she? It had to be on that scale of bad though with how nervous she was. She knew it had something to do with Kim; there's no way it was a coincidence that Kim ended up in a hospital, belligerent and with a head injury from a fall on the same day that Arizona had such a big meltdown. She couldn't know for sure, but Callie had a very strong feeling that Kim had something to do with this.

"I..." Arizona's voice cracked. "Please, just don't judge me for what I'm about to say, okay? And don't get angry. Promise me you won't get angry."

Callie took in the seriousness of her tone and nodded, not wanting to break Arizona's resolve with unnecessary words.

Arizona shut her eyes. "A couple of years ago, I was raped."

Callie's thumb stopped moving.

"It was while I was in med school. I was finally excited that I had discovered so much about myself, come to terms with the fact that I am a lesbian." Arizona opened her eyes, but couldnt' pull her gaze from her hand in Callie's. "I guess I flaunted it too much. I don't know," she rambled. "I went to this party with Kim and saw this guy... this guy from when I was working on my undergrad. He was in my organic chemistry class. Anyways, he didn't know that I was gay, but he saw me dancing with Kim and came up to say hi. I thought he was being nice, that he genuinely wanted to catch up, see how I was doing. When I introduced him to my girlfriend, though," Arizona paused. "Well, his attitude changed."

Callie felt a ripple of pure rage course through her body, but she remembered Arizona asking her not to be angry, so she kept quiet and allowed the story to continue.

"He started following me around, getting me drinks, asking to dance," Arizona's gaze fell, "I guess I didn't really understand because I had just told him I was a lesbian, I thought he was trying to be overly friendly or something." Arizona paused and took a deep breath. "Well, Kim was pretty sensitive and jealous, so she got tired of him and told him to beat it... it didn't work." Arizona was looking far off into the corner at this point, she wasn't in the room anymore, she was far away in a different time. "I told her to calm down, that he was just being nice, but she got pissed and left. I had a laugh with him about it and then he went and got me another drink. I don't remember much of anything else until he had me in a bedroom upstairs. I should have seen it coming," Arizona's voice was angry now, "I shouldn't have been so stupid."

"Hey, this wasn't your fault," it was the first time Callie had interrupted.

Arizona was thrown back into the present. "But it is. I should have known that my drink tasted weird. I should have known that I shouldn't trust this guy I hadn't seen in years. I should have stayed with my girlfriend, but I was so stupid."

Callie dropped Arizona's hands long enough to grab Arizona and pull her into a hug. "This is not your fault, Arizona. He should not have touched you. This is not your fault. Not your fault." Callie repeated the words over and over as she rocked a trembling Arizona in her arms. "You don't have to say anymore, honey. You're done. It's over. I've got you."

Arizona's voice caught as she tried to say something and realized she was sobbing. She collapsed into Callie's embrace and buried her face in her shoulder.

"Shh, shh.. it's okay, I'm here." Callie smoothed Arizona's loose curls and kissed her head, her forehead, her hands, everything she could touch.

Arizona leaned back and wiped her eyes. "I tried SO hard to forget, to put it behind me. You're the only reason I even got this far."

Callie leaned back in surprise. "I am?"

Arizona nodded with a dumb smile on her face. "Yes, you are. You reminded me that people can be good and pure and honest." She paused. "You really are incredible, Calliope."

Callie blushed and let a small smile put at her lips. "Can I kiss you?"

Arizona took a strangled breath. "I would like that, but just, give me a minute?"

Callie nodded and took her hand, placing a single gentle kiss on her knuckle. "Take as long as you need, my love. I'll be right here."