Title: Forever Can Never Be Long Enough

Author: Trance-Faith

Rating: M

Pairing: Callie/Arizona

Disclaimer: I do not own Grey's. All characters in this story sadly do not belong to me; they're simply being borrowed for a little while, and then will be returned. This story was not written for profit and no copyright infringements are intended.

Author's Note: This is the sequel to It's all your fault (which was the sequel to It's enough now).I'm sick…that's all I'm saying

Beta: No beta was used while I wrote this, so all spelling and grammar mistakes are my own.

Reviews: Are much wanted please!

Callie's POV

Love is stupid. The first Saturday of November found Callie Torres tiredly completing her latest patient's chart. The patient who was a high school student who decided it was a good idea to ask her boyfriend to the Sadie Hawkins Dance using fairy lights and a tree in his backyard. Inevitably it had resulted in Charlotte Harris falling from the tree and breaking various bones throughout her body. Once again, she would say it. Love is stupid. The idea of Sadie Hawkins Day annoyed Callie no end, she hated it growing up even more. The girls asking the guys to some stupid dances. The surgeon had been to one when she was sixteen only because the idea was if a girl asked you, you had to say yes. The guy in question disappeared an hour in, and Callie found him getting extremely drunk and friendly with one of the cheerleaders. Sadie Hawkins Day when you grew up was for girls to ask the guys on dates, to marry them, to... Basically it was an assigned day, for anyone who wasn't adept in the art of communication to make a total fool of themselves.

In a loopy attempt at her usually neat signature, the surgeon moved onto her next chart. She just felt annoyed, which annoyed her. Everything except today was perfect. She and Arizona were perfect. Except she hadn't seen the blonde since yesterday. In passing. The ten months after the shooting at the hospital had held a lot for them. They now officially lived in 502, together, as a couple. Both had gone to therapy, something which Callie hadn't been too happy about, but had only lasted until April, while Arizona's had only finished last month. The sessions for Arizona had been most helpful; there was no doubt about that. Both women were talking, sure after Africa and the shooting things had improved, but it wasn't comparable. The PEDs surgeon's nightmares had lessened considerable, though the little coffins still made their appearance from time to time, but those of Callie's death and the shooting were gone. Arizona's therapy had also helped her with her thoughts about her brother. The blonde talked much more openly about him now, sure there were moments where she'd stumble and the brunette could tell Tim's name had gotten caught on her lips. But those moments were becoming less and less.

Callie could also account this change to the two visits, and many phone calls from a young boy going by the name of Joshua Daniel Parker-Robbins. The young Robbins boy was slowly filling their spare room, which now was his assigned room, with cuddly friends for Timmy the giraffe. The first visit had been with his mother, Nikki as she had a business trip. They had only stayed a few days, but it had been then Callie had realised how much Arizona had grown. The second night of their stay Nikki, Arizona and Callie had stayed up and talked about the gang growing up, and soon found that the young blonde told her so many different stories of her brother, without shedding a tear. The glint in the other brunette's eye, told Callie, that like she, Nikki had noticed the change in the petite woman.

Josh's second visit had been due to a family wedding which hadn't allowed children, which in Callie opinion was just ridiculous! Callie had returned home to find the young boy in the arms of her girlfriend as they both swayed to the music playing on some TV channel. Callie had been struck just like she had been so many times before, at the resemblance of the Robbins duo. Arizona could have been dancing with her own son. Their son. The moment was interrupted, but not destroyed by the little boy shouting "Dance with us Auntie Callipee!" Arizona had turned to see the intruder and both blonde's had looked back at her with the same blue eyes, and beautiful dimples. She couldn't refuse, and so the Latina had danced.

"Hey!" said a cheery voice which broke her from her daydream. Looking up from the same damn chart she had been staring at her at least ten minutes, there was the same dazzling smile. Arizona Robbins stood before her, grinning away as she did, momentarily distracting the young Latina. Therefore it took a few moments for her to realise that the PEDs surgeon was in her street clothes, and then to remember that today was actually her day off. "Hey, I thought you said you weren't coming in, because you were busy" Callie asked, trying to keep the slight disappointment out of her voice. At some point in the last twenty-four hours, she had spoken to the blonde requesting lunch with her, only be shot down because of chores that needed doing on her day off. And yet here she was.

"I am. Got an appointment with the Chief in five, just signing off some of these and thought I'd say hello to my gorgeous girl", the older woman said with sweet smile. The nurse behind the desk handed Arizona several charts before the woman could ask for them. Now that was service. It still surprised her after so many years of being together, that Arizona's "claim" made her stomach fill of fluttering butterflies. Arizona started to flick through the charts she'd been presented with, which Callie now saw had Alex's untidy handwriting all over it. Being department head it seemed had its pluses. They had celebrated the night Arizona had been reassigned as Head of PEDs. Big fancy restaurant, elegant dresses, lots of wine and lots of sex.

"The Chief?" Callie asked, realising she had once again fallen into her own daydream, though the small woman beside her hadn't seemed to noticed. "Yeah, I want to talk to him about December's trip", Arizona said without looking up, but doing her fancy signature at the end of one of her charts, before moving onto the next. The letter from the African clinic had come a few days previously, explaining due to complications Arizona would be unable to go during the second week of every other month as she had become accustomed to, the last five times she'd been. Her December visit had been moved to the sixteenth, meaning Arizona would return on Christmas Eve. Sure it wasn't ideal, but they had agreed as long as the blonde was back for Christmas it was going to be okay.

Callie no longer feared the blonde was going to leave, and never come back. She just hated it when her girlfriend went away. This in her eyes was completely reasonable! "What do you mean?" Callie asked, slightly sceptically. Arizona looked up briefly before continuing on with her chart, "I'm going to ask if I could arrange with the clinic if I could go on the fourteenth". There was something in her tone that the brunette couldn't put her finger on. Why the fourteen? Without breaking stride Arizona continued, "So I can come home on the twenty-second, plenty of time for Christmas".

The twenty-second. That date would mark a year exactly since Arizona's return from Africa. A year since Callie had tried to kill herself. Since Arizona had saved her life, in more ways than one. She felt her eyes prick with tears, and a small hip bump from the blonde next to her. "You okay?" the small woman asked. Arizona didn't look up from her chart, but Callie could tell from her demeanour, she knew the effect her statement had, had on her. "Thank you", Callie whispered, allowing her eyes to flicker the surrounding areas.

The blonde's hand came to rest on her own, giving it a small squeeze in response. The small smile which came when their eyes met, said more than Arizona could have ever said. "Could you come to lunch with me after your meeting?" Callie asked quietly, trying to divert the conversation. With one last squeeze of her hand, Arizona removed it and returned to her second chart. "Sorry Calliope, I'm busy. Do you know when you'll be home?" the PEDs surgeon asked, looking genuinely sorry at the need to turn down the request. The brunette knew it was irrational to be upset at being turned down. Again. But she guessed this is what happens when you are already half way through your second shift, when your beautiful girlfriend can come and go as she pleases. "Probably about seven. Eight. I dunno depends how things go, I had only one surgery booked, until a girl decided to ask her boyfriend out using lights in a massive tree", the annoyance was clearly laced in every syllable that came from the Ortho surgeon's mouth.

"Ah, Sadie Hawkins", the blonde replied back with ease, as another chart was signed off, leaving her with just one. A disgruntled noise fell from Callie's mouth before she could stop it. "What?" Arizona asked humorously. "You can't tell me you don't like Sadie Hawkins", the other woman asked, with a clear look of surprise on her face. Why wasn't she surprised that Arizona liked, this damn day. "Oh yeah what's not to like. The anxiety, fear, dread, rejection, all rolled into one. You can't tell me you do like it" Callie shot back. "Well yeah. Got plenty of dates for Sadie Hawkins dances without needing to tell people I was gay, so if for nothing else, yeah. I'm guessing you don't" the older woman looked in disbelief, though there was something else as well, which Callie couldn't name.

"Had an experience. Didn't end well", Callie stated, noting rather coolly that they had both just signed off their last charts simultaneously. "Sorry", the older surgeon said, and yet again it looked as if she meant it. With a shrug of her shoulders, Callie just smiled at the look on Arizona's face. "I'd come to lunch if I could", the blonde said, seemingly sensing her emotions. "I know, just long day…days, just fried. I've missed you" the Latina said in what she knew was a slightly whiney voice, but she was passed tired. The blonde moved forward, placing a kiss on Callie's slightly pouted lips. It wasn't soft, but couldn't be described as heated neither. Just as Arizona trailed her tongue across Callie's bottom lip she pulled away. Reopening her eyes, though Callie couldn't remember closing them, she was dazzled yet again by the ice blue eyes looking back at her. "Me too" was her only response. Usually the blonde wasn't quite so touchy when it came to the hospital, understandable since she was the best child surgeon, and parents could take their sick kids somewhere else if they had a problem with their relationship.

"Pizza date tonight?" Callie asked, a hint of statement in the question. Stepping away from the tall woman, the blonde handed her now completed charts back to the nurse behind the desk. "Maybe" was Arizona response. Maybe. She couldn't deal with maybe. She wanted her girlfriend, pizza, beer, good movie and ice cream. Maybe some sex in there too. The trace of a smile on the older surgeon's face told Callie, she knew she'd been having dirty thoughts. "Oh crap!" Arizona exclaimed after looking down at her watch. "I'm late. Bet he shouts", the blonde said grabbing her discarded purse from beside her, and leaving a peak of a kiss on Callie's lips. "You're a grown woman he won't shout", the brunette said in what she hoped was a reassuring tone, without laughing at Arizona obvious authority figure issues. With a glare, the other woman turned on her heel and rushed away throwing a "Love you" over her shoulder.

Callie hadn't seen Arizona again. She also hadn't gone to lunch at the time she had planned either, because one of her patients had coded and needed surgery. A four hour long surgery. She had needed food. It might only have been a few hours before she was due to leave, before pizza, but she had needed food. So had gone to the cafeteria to find Mark sitting alone, eating his trademark apple. If Callie could have just curled up and gone to sleep she would have but she still have three hours of her shift left, and she planned to waste as much as she could. The conversation between Callie and Mark was much of the same old stuff. Things were no longer awkward, and Arizona on the whole had stopped being jealous of Mark, though on those occasions when she was, she told Callie. And Callie listened. The first time Callie kicked Mark out their apartment had shocked Arizona, that was for sure, and the Latina was rewarded…repeatedly.

"When do you want me to come and take a look at that stupid tree girl?" Mark asked seemingly to inhale a large amount of his apple. Callie had to resist the urge to laugh; if nothing else it would only aid her approaching headache. "Her name is Charlotte, and whenever. Avery did a good job…as far as I'm concerned", the brunette threw in a tone of fake admiration, to which Mark, the man holier than thou, only narrowed he's eyes before taking another bite. "What was she even doing in the tree?" Mark asked, and this time Callie did laugh.

"Apparently she decided that last night she was going to string a bunch of fairy lights in this big tree in her boyfriend's backyard while his folks were out. She was meant to be asking him to the Sadie Hawkins Dance at their school. She slipped and hit like every branch", Callie explained, feeling the familiar rush of amusement doctors felt when a ridiculous case like this appeared in their OR. Mark on other hand did laugh, "Fairy lights?" The Ortho surgeon did allow a smile to grace her lips as she not so gracefully tucked into her food. "Apparently he did it when he asked her out; she wanted to do it for him. The idea I think is sweet", Callie said noting Mark's look of amusement hadn't waned. "The idea maybe…" Mark said, though looked slightly disgusted. "But reality not so much?" Callie finished with a laugh.

"I loved Sadie Hawkins Day in high school", the plastic surgeon said with a glint of mischief in his eye. Pulling a disgusted face, she pulled the lid off her pudding, "Girls fighting over you, making fools of themselves. Bet you were in heaven". Stealing one of the fries she'd chosen to leave, Mark's easy reply came, "Yeh, pretty much". The Latina rolled her eyes, before forcefully spooning her desert into her mouth. "How do you manage to still amaze me?" she asked. That mischievous glint was back in his eye, which clearly told her that there was a dirty rematch right on the tip of his tongue, but their boundaries were stopping it from coming out. "I was one of those girls, its hell", Callie said with a dramatic wave of her freshly licked clean spoon. "Now you know what its like to be us", Mark said in his deepest manliest voice, causing Callie to snort on her next spoon full. "Mark Sloan, are you telling me there's been a point in your life when you couldn't get a woman? And by that I mean, if one did turn you down, you didn't have another lined up", the Latina said, trying her hardest not to laugh openly in her friend's face.

"Well no because I'm a plastics god", Mark said looking slightly dejected. Picking up one of her fries she threw it at the man's head, before saying, "You never know when you get in Lexie might be there on a bed of rose petals, and bottle of champagne, just waiting to propose". The man just shook his head and laughed, "She isn't proposing to me. That's a good plan though". "It's been done" was Callie's reply. Mark Sloan actually glared. "It's classic for a reason. Anyway, she is not asking, I am…or I will", he said with a slither of doubt in his tone. "Hmmm you seem so sure. I was convinced I would be the one to ask, only to be told by Arizona she was going to ask. When she thought we were ready. Nine months down the line, we are ready. We've even talked about houses and kids, and those damn chickens, and yet. No proposal!" the Latina said feeling her annoyance rising. Why did Arizona think they weren't ready? Or was it that Arizona wasn't ready? It was the one doubt, the one little thing that got to her that she hadn't talked to the blonde woman about.

"She'll ask, stop worrying", Mark said, dropping all pretence of taking one or two of her left over fries, and just dragged the tray towards him. Did this guy ever do anything but eat and have sex? "We're ready Mark", Callie said in one last plea to make her friend understand. It was only then that Mark looked up; look right into her eyes, "You ask her then". A mirthless laugh sounded from inside Callie chest. "And ruin Arizona Robbins plans, hell no. She has a ring, which she won't let me see. I have this", Callie explained, raising her hand up and wiggling her fingers allowing the band to shine. "Cal, its pretty much an engagement ring", Mark said, in what was clearly his man logic tone. "It's a promise ring. Which I love, I really and truly do. But she's just my girlfriend. And I am so honoured and happy I can call her that, but I want it all. I want her to be my wife Mark. I'm ready, we're ready. I nearly lost her. We nearly lost each other", the Latina said in a hushed voice, and to her surprise, her best friend looked touched.

Her page almost screamed at them from her waistband. Looking down she saw it was Bailey. Great she couldn't hide here for the rest of her shift. Not that she'd thought she could, but a girl could dream. Standing quickly, she grabbed her trash, including her chip tray, and binned them. "Torres!" Mark shouted after her, making her turn with a sigh. "Tell her", he said, all humour and Markness gone from his face. With a smile, she genuinely felt, she walked straight out of the cafeteria for the last few hours of her shift, knowing without a doubt she was going to talk to her future wife.

Her head felt heavy. Her legs, arms and feet felt heavy. How she was even managing to stand, never mind walk home was anyone's guess. And yet here Callie Torres was, about to enter her building at…looking down at her watch she saw it was quarter to nine. She wasn't too late. She stupid patients needed saving. Sometimes she really hated being a doctor. Sometime she wished she could be anything else. But most of the time, she loved what she did. As she jabbed at the button to call the elevator to the ground floor, she knew it wasn't one of those days, but she would hold out before looking for a new career path. If only until morning. "Torres" Mark said was way of greeting, come to stand beside her, his phone in hand. She made a weird grunt in response. "Charlotte should be fine. You were right, Avery has a good teacher and his work was great", Mark said in his cockiest voice, texting away on his cell. At no point could the Latina recall saying that, but at this point in time she couldn't be bothered to point this out. Noticing that Callie had seen him on his phone, as they both stepped into the elevator he said, "Lexie's been called in". A low chuckle rumbled through her as they ascended to their floor, "So no bed of rose petal proposals then".

Mark laughed back, a little too much for a simple joke, or maybe Callie was just too tired to appreciate her own humour. "Alas no", the amused man said, slipping his cell into his jean's pocket. When the elevator came to halt on their floor, Mark exited first rushing to his door. "Got a cold one with your name on, if you want it…" the plastic surgeon offered. Shaking her head in refusal made her feel ditzy, she said, "No thanks". "No offence Cal but it looks like you need it", he said throwing his door open. "Cheers Mark" the brunette said, only in fake annoyance. She bet she looked gorgeous right now. A sheepish and apologetic grimace took over Sloan's face, "Sorry. But you should at least have one drink". The Latina couldn't help her eye roll or the sigh, or the grin. "Mark I am only to go in my home", the waved vaguely at the blue door behind her. "I am going to have a relax shower, throw on some of my comfiest pyjamas and watch a film with a stupid amount of pizza and my girlfriend. And maybe talk to her about proposing to me", she finished her confident speech with a weird face. Having to talk your girlfriend into asking you to marry her, not all that romantic.

Turning, Callie opened her apartment door with a turn of her key, just as Mark said, "Cal, wait…" She stood opened mouthed. Turning her head back she saw Mark standing in the same spot, though now he was stood with his head in one hand, gently massaging his eyes. "What…." was her only response.