Callie leaned back as far as she could in the uncomfortable plastic chair. Stretching her feet out in front of her under the table and popping a green grape into her mouth, Callie blatantly stared straight ahead at Mark, who was currently ignoring her in favour of his sandwich.

"Undressing me with your eyes again Torres, it's easier once you've seen the goods, hey maybe we should get Arizona in on the action." Mark said slowly raising his eyes to meet Callie's. "Well that's a serious face Callie…care to explain?"

"We decided to take things slow, after the Nintendo debacle." Callie started seriously, watching as Mark's ears perked up at the mention of that night.

"Care to divulge any details… because Lexie's lips are sealed and that confirms my suspicion that something sexy, hot and or dirty happened that night." Mark said with a sleazy smile.

"Focus Mark," Callie said quickly popping another grape into her mouth to hide the grin that wanted to spread across her face as she thought back to that night. "Alright so our mutual agreement to take things slow has us…well taking things slow. And don't get me wrong slow has been awesome, our last six dates have been awesomely slow. But now Mark I am done with slow, now I want…"

"Fast…hard…rough…"

"Christ Mark…I…it's…I'm" Callie stammered.

"Not denying it."

"Eventually yes, yes to all of those things and probably more but not our first time. I want our first time to be…Stop it Mark, stop laughing." Callie demanded as she threw a grape across the table and smacked Mark right in the middle of his forehead.

"Callie Torres you've got it bad for Blondie." Mark said through his laughter.

"Yeah…so?" Callie said staring directly at Mark.

"And you're admitting it Callie, my, my, my, you're growing up right before my eyes." Mark said, huge smile spreading across his face as he stretched his arms behind his head. "So now you've come to the master on romancing women."

"No not women, just Lexie. I know exactly what techniques you used on the women before Lexie and I really don't need to hear them, but how'd you keep Lexie. She is seriously the most romantic girl I know and if you can do it there has to be some hope for me. So hit me with some serious knowledge and don't lie, because if you do I'll just go to Lexie and she will be more than happy to share your entire little romantic…."

"Cook for her." Mark said in a low growl his eyes firmly planted on the floor.

"…and" Callie prompted when Mark didn't continue.

"Candles in the bedroom, no music because no matter how hard you try it always ends up being weird, wear something low cut and clingy, and most importantly bake something very chocolate-y for dessert."

Callie just stared completely slack jawed. Mark Sloan and candles and a home cooked meal, something just wasn't computing.

"And Callie if you repeat a word of this to anyone and I mean anyone I know exactly where to find you."

Pen to paper. Breathe in. Breathe out. Pen to paper. Breathe in. Breathe out. She'd read it a million times, over and over until all the words blurred together and lost all meaning. It is the right thing to do. Treatment wasn't working and the cancer was spreading, aggressively spreading. She had one month, at the most. One month spent having toxic chemicals pumped into her veins, one month spent nauseous, vomiting, bedridden with crippling fatigue, one month spent in a hospital. Or one month spent with the family she loves in the home she grew up in. Either way Sawyer Grayson was going to die. Arizona knew that signing the discharge papers was the right thing to do, she just didn't know that it would hurt this much.

Leaning forward Arizona pushed the pen to the paper and signed, letting the pen fall from her limp hand the second she was done. Before she could stop it a stream of tears began falling from her eyes. Three wet salty tears landed smack dab in the middle of her signature before she thought enough to move her head. Swiping furiously at her eyes Arizona jumped up, papers in hand, and made her way to the nurse's station. Thanking God for the late hour Arizona deposited the papers at the deserted station and made her way over to Joe's for a drink.

"Gin and tonic please Joe" Arizona ordered as she hopped up onto a stool, quickly shrugging out of her jacket. The second Joe slid Arizona her drink she lifted it to her lips and took a good long swig.

"Peds you don't seem to be your perky, bubbly, annoying self…bad night?" Cristina asked from behind her beer bottle.

"A bad night, I think a bad night would be an understatement. Tonight I had to tell a patient of mine and her family, who I've become very fond of, that the cancer won. I had to tell my twelve year old patient that the cancer won. Do you know what that's like Cristina…to walk into your twelve year old patient's room and tell her that the cancer she has been fighting against so hard is going to kill her; that the cancer is going to steal the rest of her life away from her and leave her with a month at the most, then to look at her and not see fear, and to not see anger, but acceptance. You should never have to look into the eyes of a twelve year old who has just been told that she's never going to see thirteen and see acceptance." Arizona finished off the rest of her drink and ordered another before Cristina could respond.

"She's a smart girl and she knows how important goodbyes are." Cristina's eyes never left her beer bottle as she continued, "I was nine when my father died; actually I was nine when I watched my father die. It happened so fast, the car spun out of control, there was so much blood; I tried to hold his chest closed to stop some of the bleeding but I wasn't strong enough, my hands weren't big enough. He was gone in minutes. Goodbyes are important. Life is far from being fair, and I'm sure your cancer girl knows it, but seriously Arizona she has the right idea." Cristina finished as she traced her finger along the condensation on her beer bottle.

Arizona swiped at a stray tear as she let what Cristina said sink in. Life was short and the people you love and who love you are precious. Life was short and there's not enough time to go slow. Life is short and you don't always get to say goodbye. Hopping down from the stool and swaying a little as her feet hit the ground and the alcohol rushed through her now exhilarated body, Arizona walked over to stand beside Cristina.

"You're right Cristina…"

"I usually am."

"…Life is way too short to be lived slowly especially when we never know if we get to say goodbye." Wrapping her arms quickly around Cristina she hugged her tightly. "You know he'd be super proud of you…super proud." Grabbing her jacket from the stool she made her way outside.

"Hey Peds…" Cristina yelled to a retreating Arizona.

Arizona spun around, blonde curls slightly blocking her view of Cristina still sitting at the bar facing Joe.

"I don't do hugs."

Arizona laughed out loud as she pulled the door open and made her way outside to catch a cab, there was a certain doctor who she didn't want to live slowly with anymore.