Grey's Anatomy 1. Chapter 1

"Welcome to the Roundview Retreat." A friendly voice greeted.

Silence fell upon the room as all eyes directed to the source. A pleasant looking man stood on top of a small platform, arms outstretched on either side, a huge, beaming smile across his face. His hair was blonde with silver signs of aging and he looked rather ridiculous in his crisp, matching tracksuit. I heard a rather immature man noticeably snigger but the man addressing us didn't seem to discouraged.

"Oh good, now that I have your attention, allow me to introduce myself, my name's Doug and I will be your retreat co-ordinator. Everyone in this room is here with their own purpose and agenda and our goal is to make sure you get exactly from this retreat what you seek! This is not a therapy session, it is a way for all of you to escape reality for two weeks. You here are to enjoy yourself, I encourage to do so and have no doubt that you will. Should you have any problems or queries, please, do not hesitate to ask. My office is located on the ground floor opposite the entrance. Now, without further adieu I will hand you over to your group leaders.

A small number of people from the front row stood and faced the room. They all wore similar lime green polo shirts with black sweatpants and freakishly white sneakers and all bearing a similar chirpy grin to Doug's, all except one.

One by one the leaders called the names of those in their group and escorted them out of the hall. Numbers dwindled fast as I sat firmly in my seat while those around me disappeared.

The large man with red hair and without the creepy grin worn by the other leaders stepped forward.

"My name is Hunt. You can call me Owen, it really doesn't matter." His voice was matter of fact, but didn't seem bored. "When I call your name stand to my left."

I didn't know why but I hoped beyond hope I was in this man's group. It made little sense why I had this desire to be placed in his charge, he seemed by far the most stand-offish of them all, but maybe that was it, maybe his authoritiveness was what I craved, I didn't want to slack on this retreat, it was important to me.

"Jackson Avery, Meredith Grey, Alex Karev, Cristina Yang, Calliope Torres," I cringed at the use of my full name but sighed gratefully that I had been placed in this group, "Annnnd, Arizona Robbins?"

I eyed up the others, they seemed like an odd bunch. Unlike the other groups there was no rush of introductions or warming smiles, everyone seemed to be as miserable as each other, almost as if forced to be here. Everyone, except the last member to join us, she beamed like a small child at Disney Land.

"Ok. That's everybody." Owen spoke again, taking one last glance at his list before addressing us, "Please follow me." He led us out of the room, down a brightly lit corridor with splendid wooden walls and into a small room with numerous types of activity equipment and chairs placed in a circle.

"Everyone take a seat." We did as we were told and waited for Owen to instruct us further.

"This," he gestured around the room, "is where you will find any equipment you may need over the course of the next two weeks, it is also where you are likely to find me during working hours should you need to do so."

He paused, scanning the group, nodding when he was satisfied everyone was paying attention. "I don't know why any of you are here and I don't need to know. I will not force you to partake in any activity you do not wish to, but I do ask that you make an attempt. At the end of these two weeks you will compete against the other groups for an undisclosed prize, I am not at liberty yet to tell you what this competition will entail but I can tell you that every activity we do between now and then will be of advantage to you in the end. You must learn to trust one another, depend on one another and to do so you must work together! Are we all clear?"

The circle nodded in agreement prompting Owen to speak again, "Now before I let you go to get settled in in your rooms, we will go around the circle and introduce ourselves, generally this just involves your name, occupation, some random fact, whatever you want."

He took his seat, gesturing to his left.

The first of the two guys stood up, I noticed he was also the one who had sniggered inappropriately earlier and couldn't help but frown. He was attractive in boyish way, his skin was dark but his eyes a piercing blue, he gave a rogue-ish smile to the group before making his introduction,

"Hi my name's Jackson Avery, I'm a personal trainer and… I like grapes." He shrugged at his closing words and sat back down.

Next up was a rather mousey looking woman, her hair pulled back in a messy ponytail, she forced a smile for half a second and then spoke, "My name's Meredith Grey, I'm a doctor, I like ice cream and tequila. That ok?" She looked to Owen for approval, sitting down when he nodded.

"Christina Yang, I am an associate attorney at Wolfram and Henderson. I don't like to lose or people invading my personal space. Just a word to the wise." She was small but fiesty I could see that, and judging from the intrigued look on Owen's face he thought so too.

Next up was the only other male of the group, like Cristina, he did not attempt a smile but kept a brooding look placed firmly on his face. "Uhm… I'm Alex Karev, I coach college football and wrestling, I don't do liers and I hate being told what to do."

I jumped after a few seconds, not noticing it was finally my turn. I could feel my palms begin to sweat, I always hated public speaking, granted this wasn't exactly a large audience but I could feel everyone's eyes boring into me none the less. I looked around nervously, trying to avoid making eye contact with anyone, until my eyes were met with stunning blue ones, not the alarming blue of Avery's but a more calm, soothing blue, accompanied by an adorable dimpled smile, I felt the corners of my mouth curve into an embarrassed smirk as my whole body relaxed under the gaze of the beautiful woman to my left.

"Hey everyone." My mouth still felt dry, I inhaled deep, but subtly to compose myself, "I'm Callie Torres, I'm a journalist, I enjoy Cuban food and occasionally dancing around in my underwear."

I felt my stomach somersault as my closing line earned a laugh from the gorgeous blonde as she stood to introduce herself.

How had I not noticed her initially? She was miraculous. Her curly, blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail, her ocean blue eyes lighting up the room and her never fading smile that made you feel relaxed with just a glance. I was so wrapped up in awe I almost missed her introduction,

"Nice to meet everybody. My name is Arizona Robbins, I teach kindergarten and third grade, obviously not at the same time." She giggled to herself, unfazed by the lack of response she received from the others. "I like pizza. Oooh and rollerskating." Her eyes lit up at the mere mention of roller activity. She was insanely cute but still hot. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little smitten. I smiled at her as her eyes locked with mine once again.

Owen stood up, breaking the intense momentary gaze that we had quickly settled into,

"Ok. Yang, Grey, Robbins and Torres, you're in room R15. Karev, Avery, R16. Go get settled in and I'll meet you back here in an hour. Don't be late."

Cristina and Meredith appeared to acquired some type of instant unspoken bond as they made their way down the corridor in what looked like an extremely comfortable silence. Alex and exited the room before Avery even had a chance to stand up and neither were to be seen. Which left me alone to walk with Arizona. My palms began to sweat again, I felt like a nervous teenager suffering their first crush.

"Uhm… S-so, what brings you here?" I asked, desperate to make conversation, panic overtaking instantly, "I'm sorry, that was invasive, you don't have to answer that."

She laughed at my obvious regret and slight hysteria. "It's ok," even though I wasn't looking at her I could hear the super magic smile in her voice, "I go to retreats pretty much every year, they're a nice escape, I've never been to this one so I thought why not?".

I had a feeling there was more to her story but thought better than to pry this time. We engaged in light conversation the rest of the way to the room, mostly about what types of activities one usually has to go through on a retreat. The way she talked about it with such passion I almost felt excited by the prospect of copious amounts of outdoor activities. She had an odd way of doing that, making me both relaxed and excited and I had only know her for the bones of an hour.

We reached our lodgings to find the other two had already claimed the best beds by the window, typical. I froze in awkward shock upon laying eyes on my bunk. Correction _our _bunk. I guess they didn't see any problem with a double bed between two females. I swallowed dryly, watching as she went about placing her belongings in the bedside locker, seemingly unfazed by the sleeping situation. Why should she? How was she to know her bunk buddy had the mind of a horny fourteen year old boy.

She turned to look at me. Obviously I wasn't doing a very good job at hiding my embarrassment.

"Calliope? Are you ok?" She questioned softly, concern flashing through her features. I could see the other two turn their gaze to me.

"Uh.. Yeah.. Fine.. Just thought we'd all have our own beds is all." I stammered out, trying to sound nonchalant, satisfied that it came across somewhat convincing.

"If you're not comfortable, maybe someone would switch with you?" she looked to the others for response.

"Hey don't look at me roller girl, I was here first. You snooze you lose." Cristina responded bluntly.

"No! No. It's fine, really!" I assured her. "I'm just a bit of a restless sleeper is all."

_Yeah and by restless I mean sexually frustrated horndog_.

She smiled at me, accepting my excuse before removing her shirt and walking across the room to where she had dropped her larger bag.

I gulped at the sight of her. Only a light fabric covering her perfect bossoms.

This retreat just got a whole lot more complicated. So much for an escape!


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: First of all, I am SO SO sorry it's taken me so long to update this story, but I've just found it so difficult to decide on a second chapter or even where I wanted to take it, and to be honest I'm not very happy with this chapter and in all honesty, writing it was like pulling teeth, it just didn't feel right! So I'm sorry in advance but please don't give up on it JUST yet!I took a bit of an easy way out, but I do now have some semblance of a plan so hopefully updates will be more frequent.

* * *

**

The next few days passed in a blur, every waking moment seemed to be filled with activities, the night time ones were a lot less strenuous, usually bingo or karaoke, but attendance was poor with everyone exhausted from days spent abseiling, kayaking and hiking (to name a few). I have to admit though, I was having fun, and the constant excursions were a welcome distraction from my thoughts.

Bonds had formed surprisingly quick between retreaters in the five days of being here. Cristina and Meredith had accumulated a rather sister-like bond, rarely leaving each other's side, they kept to themselves, avoiding unnecessary interaction with outsiders and had been dubbed 'The Twisted Sisters' by other lodgers who found them intimidating. Alex and Avery didn't gel quite as well, they engaged in easy banter but seemed tense when left alone too long, their competitive nature had placed somewhat of a barricade in the potential friendship. Alex had actually entered into quite an unlikely comradery with Arizona. This had invoked some jealousy in me around day three when she began showing him more attention, but it quickly faded upon realising the pure platonic nature of their friendship, it was almost sibling like, they would put each other in their place and bicker for easily an hour straight every day, then proceed to carry on, laughing and joking as though nothing had happened. As for my _myself _and Arizona, that was a slightly more complicated scenario, well, on my part anyway. I found her difficult to read. She oozed confidence and there were many moments when I was certain she would flirt with me but then others when she acted almost aloof, but never _un_-friendly, just keeping her distance a bit.

We certainly had formed a strong bond of our own. We were each other's 'person', as Owen would call it. He had informed us on the very first day we would need to trust each other, find at least one body within the group to become our 'person', explaining it to be the same effect as the universally known buddy system, but instead of choosing your buddy, you let it happen. And it did. By day two we spent the majority of our time together, chatting, pairing up for activities. We just clicked and it was easy, or, easy to be around her at least. The initial physical attraction I had for her had developed into a situationally, inappropriate crush. I was unsure whether she could tell or not, but if she could, she was a mean, mean woman. She was a cuddly sleeper (or so she claimed the first morning after I woke to find her spooning me), she'd prance around in her underwear and keep burning, seductive eye contact when we spoke. I gave her the benefit of the doubt, concluding that no one would inflict this kind of sadistic torture. But it was difficult, she had an unnerving affect on me. I had never felt such a raw magnetism to another person. I've always been a sexual being, but never has anyone been able to set me on fire with just a gentle hand graze or sideways glance.

"Calliope, you ready?" my name fell from her lips like honey. I looked in her direction. _WOW._

It was Friday, which meant the daytime activities had an early end and the night time activities no longer consisted of numerical balls and power ballads. Arizona stood in front of me in a plain black dress which hugged her slender frame, black gladiator sandals that drew attention to her gorgeous legs, her blonde curls pulled back into a classy ponytail, she was angelic.

"Okaaay, roll your tongue back in your mouth Torres." She winked, an amused smile playing across her features. I could feel my cheeks burn red with embarrassment.

"I- I wasn't…" I began to attempt a cover up but stopped when she rose her eyebrows in a way which let me know I could try, but she wouldn't believe me. Instead, I shook it off, stood, casually brushed the creases from my own clothes then turned to face her, my exterior confident.

"Wow." She breathed and it was my turn to tease.

"I hope you're gonna mop up that puddle of drool Robbins."

Her eyes widened slightly, and the tiniest shade of red crept onto her cheeks, but she was quick to compose herself, straightening up, she looked me directly in the eye, her blue eyes piercing into mine bravely, luring me closer, I closed the distance until we were inches apart, I could feel her warm breath on my neck, eye contact never faltering. I could feel the hitch in my own breath as she leaned in closer, my body stiffened in excited anticipation riddled with expectant nerves. I shut my eyes and licked my lips.

"We're late." She whispered seductively in my ear then turned and walked towards the door, holding it open and gesturing me to exit.

I released a shakey breath. Although I had become almost accustomed to her flirtatious behaviour, she had never been _that _bold. She had worked me into a frenzy and I could see she was loving every minute of my distraction as we made our way to the bar. I wasn't even sure she was gay, but then again, she didn't know I was either, so maybe she thought all this was just playful banter, harmless fun.

The lodge's bar was small but comfortable. Neon signs and rustic trinkets adorned the walls, with pictures of previous guests pinned to a large notice board behind the bar. A large man with dark hair and a friendly face greeted us,

"Welcome! I'm Joe, I haven't seen you two around before! What can I get you?"

"A white wine." Arizona ordered, gracing Joe with her signature dimpled grin.

He looked to me for an answer.

"Red." I stated plainly, propping myself against the bar with my elbows, avoiding eye contact with Arizona, if this was a game to her, two could play it.

She turned and addressed me for the first time since leaving the room once our drinks were placed in front of us.

"I think that red head's checking you out." She said, gesturing subtly towards the end of the bar. I followed her gaze to a stunning red head who was engaged in what looked like highly unstimulating conversation with a rather attractive man with a goatee. She smiled when she caught my eye. I panicked and swiftly downed my wine, ordering a gin and coke instead.

I stole a sideways glance at Arizona who was clearly amused by my sudden unravel.

"Something funny?" I quizzed, feigning annoyance.

"Nothing at all." She replied sarcastically, smirking into her next sup of wine. "Just thought you more hardcore."

"Excuse me?" I laughed, "I'm plenty hardcore."

"Mmmm hmmm" She agreed mockingly. "Yeah, looks like it." She winked before heading to a nearby booth containing the rest of the group.

I smiled to myself, turning back to the bar to claim my drink. As I turned back around to follow my new friends I was taken off guard by an unexpected presence.

"Addison Montgomery." The flame haired beauty introduced herself.

I stole another glance in the direction of the table, Arizona was watching our exchange intently, uninterested by whatever it was Alex was spinning in her ear, the entirety of her attention placed firmly on me. _Two can play it this game._

Returning my attention to the vixen in front of me, I grinned broadly,

"Callie Torres."

I took her hand and shook it, accepting her follow up offer of a drink, throwing one last look over my shoulder to catch the, (what looked uncannily like jealousy), look on Arizona's face.

* * *

**Please let me know if you have any suggestions or anything you'd like to see from this story? **


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I've been slacking in most of my stories lately, but I have no real excuse for this one, utter laziness is all I can say for myself, so I'm sorry! This chapter is all thanks to Roqqstar-with-scalpel, who gave me the push I needed to finish this chapter. Now that I'm back on track, I'll try have more frequent (and longer) updates.**

* * *

I was nervous as I sat down opposite the flame haired beauty, I was hiding it well but avoiding eye contact. She must have sensed my awkward discomfort and she spoke first.

"I know this must seem very odd to you…" She began. I sat upright, not wanting her to think I was entirely uninterested; she was very beautiful after all, but it wasn't her I wanted to be sharing alone time with.

"No- please, not at all." I protested. "I'm flattered, really." I gave her, what I hoped, was a reassuring smile. She shifted in her chair, now it was she who looked awkward.

"Uhm, wow…" she looked down at her fidgeting hands, "wow, this is- this is kind of embarrassing."

I reached across the table and gently placed my hand over hers, willing her eyes upwards to meet mine, desperate to calm her. I noticed to the right of my vision, Arizona jolt upright and stiffen, smiling inwardly, knowing her curiosity had peaked.

"Don't be embarrassed." I tried comforting the woman in front of me, giving her my utmost attention.

"Callie, I-" she took a deep, composing breath, then looked at me with a serious, but still slightly awkward expression, "I wasn't _coming _on to you." She whispered, leaning in closer.

I sat back a little, "You weren't?" I questioned in confusion. She shook her head.

"No. I'm sorry, I just-, I'm big fan of your work and I wanted to talk to you."

I felt the familiar blush creep onto my cheeks for the umpteenth time that night.

"Oh." Was all I managed to squeak as the realisation set in.

"I hope you don't find this inappropriate?" Addison asked nervously.

I smiled at her and shook my head, "Not at all. So, you're in the journalism business?"

After getting past the initial humility of the situation, I found myself able to engage in quite a stimulating conversation with her. She was friendly and spoke with passion about our shared interest in writing for the arts. I had managed to keep my mind off Arizona and had not even noticed her depart.

* * *

The bar had mostly vacated by the time our chat came to an end, looking around, the only patrons left were Alex and Avery who had been joined by Addison's friend from earlier. Looking at my watch I noticed it was after 2am.

"It's been great talking with you Addison, but I think it's time for me to get to bed." I gestured at the neon wall clock.

"Wow, is it that time already? Well, it was definitely a pleasure talking to you, maybe I'll see you at that beach barbeque thing tomorrow?" She questioned hopefully.

"Definitely." I smiled warmly at her.

She mirrored my expression and rose from her seat. "I better go save my boyfriend from himself." She nodded with a laugh in the direction of the man sitting with my friends, and with that she was gone.

I said my quick goodbyes to Alex and Avery before heading back to my room, entering quietly to avoid waking my roommates. I winced as the door clicked shut louder than I had intended and creeped on my tiptoes further in. I was startled at the sudden illumination of the lamp on Arizona's side of the bed.

"Shit." I gasped, placing a hand over my now, racing heart. "Arizona, you scared the crap outta me!" I looked towards the other beds to find the twisted sisters in an unconscious state, drool forming a dark patch on Cristina's pillow while Meredith snored lightly, indicating that both were sound asleep, without hope of being disturbed.

"Have fun tonight?" Arizona questioned, her tone slightly hostile but with an air of nonchalance. I knew she was jealous that I had given so much attention to my new friend, I could tell by the way she had stared so intently at us at the bar and now her eyes gave away that same sentiment. I couldn't help but allow a small smile tug at the corners of my lips, she was quite hot when she got like this. I decided to roll with it.

Nodding my head and allowing the smile to break further across my face, I responded. "Yeah, actually, I had a great time."

Addison was straight, with a boyfriend, but Arizona didn't know that and technically, I wasn't lying. I did have a great time.

"You left early?" I could see her brow raise slightly at the realisation I had acknowledged her comings and goings.

She shrugged indifferently. "Yeah, just wasn't really feeling it. I was kinda tired after the week, guess it just caught up with me"

"Is that so?" I challenged, a slight teasing tone to my voice at what I knew was a lie.

"That is so." She dared me to continue.

I heard Cristina shift behind me and decided that we had played enough games for one day.

"Well then, you better rest up, wouldn't want you missing out on the weekend fun." I surrendered as I changed into my nightwear. Out of the corner of my eye I caught her eyeing me before turning over to face the opposite wall.

"Goodnight Calliope."

I climbed under the duvet and scooted closer to her, moving close to her ear, delighting at the noticeable shiver that ran through her as my breath tickled her skin, before whispering seductively,

"Goodnight Arizona."

Her breath hitched when I lingered for an extra second before reaching across her and turning off the bedside lamp and rolling over to my own side.

* * *

**A/N 2 : Also, if you're reading this, THANK YOU, for sticking with this story!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: I know I haven't been GREAT with updating this story but I'm trying, I've been suffering with a little bit of writer's block lately, which is becoming increasingly frustrating as I literally have a notebook full of ideas, but just can't seem to put them in to words. With saying that, I've decided to power through in the hopes of getting past it. It's 1am here and I have work at 9 and so bed beckons; unfortunately that means that I haven't proof read this and it's completely different to the chapter I set out to write, but I kind of wanted to slow the pace a little bit, however due to my lack of following plan and thoroughness, it's probably shit. If that's the case, I can always remove it tomorrow and try again, or we can all pretend this chapter never existed? ha.**

* * *

Arizona's POV:

The sun beat down over the lake, I sat alone, the area was unnaturally serene, a refreshing change from the high rise landscape of the city. I had been here a week and this was the first time I had actually stopped to take in the lodge's garden, obviously I had seen it while coming and going from various activities but I had never really taken a moment to soak in the large oak trees, the flowers that had freshly bloomed or the absolute stillness of the expanse of the lake. It was almost magical, as clichéd as it sounds.

I hadn't intended on taking this little venture into the grounds this morning, no, this morning I had vastly different intentions. Today, I was going to put the games to an end, or so I had planned, of course, it didn't quite work out that way.

I was usually confident in my interpretations of people, I typically knew almost immediately if someone was into me, my gaydar was nothing short of amazing, and I was quite certain in my assumption that the stunning Latina who plagued my mind on an hourly basis, played on my team; even though she had yet to confirm it, all the signs pointed in my favour. Calliope Torres had my mind running a million miles a second with her hot and cold persona. There were often times when I thought I had finally figured her out and then she'd do a 180 and send me into yet another tail spin. Under other circumstances, there would be no doubt in my mind that she liked me the way I liked her, but then I walk into the dining hall this morning and there she is, all chatty and flirtatious with that random red head from the bar, this did not lead me to believe I had misjudged her sexuality, more that I could not judge how she felt about me.

I knew she had seen me; I should have just stayed, taken the high road and joined the rest of the group, along with their new friends, for breakfast, but I just couldn't. I wasn't even sure why, I barely knew Callie, but I kind of felt that if anyone deserved a shot, it should be me, after all, I was the one that was taking the time to get to know her instead of jumping straight in for the kill, but I guess it's true what they say, you snooze you lose.

So here I sat, staring aimlessly out at the glorious scenery, searching for a way to make it through the next week, sharing a bed with the most stunning woman I had ever met, while watching her fall for someone else. The conclusion of my thoughts? I couldn't, there had to be a way to turn this situation in my favour.

"Hey." A gentle voice sounded from behind me, pulling me out of my scheming, for want of a better word.

I turned my head and smiled warmly at Alex, who gestured to the spot next to me, silently requesting permission to sit. I nodded and he threw himself down on to the grass with a light thud.

I had really begun liking Alex; honestly, I found him oddly beguiling, he exhibits an outward macho-male persona but I've come to find he's a lot more sensitive than he wants people to think; I consider myself lucky to have been allowed the opportunity to see such a side of him that he did a good job hiding from the other members of the group. I had come to rely on him, almost like a brother and he was the only one to whom I had expressed my true feelings for Callie.

"What's on your mind?" He finally broke the silence I had caused to watch over us.

"Callie." I sighed heavily. He nodded his head, giving me a knowing look.

"Why don't you just tell her how you feel? I mean seriously, what do have to lose? Man up!"

I chuckled at his bluntness, he made it all the answers sound so obvious.

"I wanted to, but I can't- it's, it's more complicated than that." I trusted Alex completely, well, as much as you can in one week, but I was reluctant to share with him my insecurities about the red head because I knew it made me sound like I was giving up, which I guess, in a sense, I kind of was.

"Robbins, we're here for two weeks, the whole point of this thing is to help us figure out whatever shit we've got going on; seems to me like you're a glutton for punishment." He smiled, placing a comforting hand on my shoulder and squeezed. "At least talk to her, the sexual tension is driving me _crazy_." He joked, before getting up and heading inside.

I finally realised why I had taken such a shine to Alex Karev, he reminded me _so _much of my brother.

* * *

I spent most of the rest of the day reading, I wanted to talk to Callie and had every intention of it, but not today, today, I was enjoying the peacefulness of this retreat, Alex was right, I came here to figure out my issues and part of those issues was learning how to connect with who I used to be, so I sat contentedly on my bed with my copy of The Hunger Games. I had bought the book weeks ago but never found time to stop and read it, so I figured now was a good a time as any.

I was barely through the second chapter when I heard the room door open and the sound of familiar footsteps making there way closer.

"Hi." Callie greeted cheerfully. "We missed you at breakfast?"

"Yeah, I just felt like being alone for a bit, taking in the surroundings and what not." I smiled up at her, only momentarily tearing my eyes away from the page.

I could feel her eyes still upon me, sense a slight shift in the mood, it felt almost _awkward_. This was a first.

"Where's the Twisted Sisters?" She questioned, clearly hoping to lift some of the unexplained tension that had settled between us.

"Uhmmm- I think they said they were going for a run, which, from what I've seen of their fitness levels, probably means they've jogged a few steps and passed out on the grass."

I felt my cheeks blush as my comment garnered the most beautifully melodic laugh I had ever heard come from any human. "How come you're not out and about?" I asked, genuinely curious as to why she would be back here in the middle of the day, the barbeque wasn't for another few hours, so getting ready now would be a little unnecessary.

She appeared to stiffen at my questioned, stumbling over her response. "I-uh- I was looking for y- my camera." She responded clumsily setting about searching through her bedside locker for the item to claimed to be in need of.

"Uhm, Callie?"

"Huh?" She looked up, an look of, what I can only describe as hopefulness in her eyes.

"Your camera's around your neck." I felt a little sorry for her as her cheeks flushed a light shade of crimson. I would have just continued to let her try and find it herself, but it wasn't the smallest of items and I didn't really believe that's what she had be looking for when she came here; I hoped by pointing out it's obvious location, I'd come closer to getting the truth out of her.

"Oh." She looked down and shook her head, chuckling a little to herself. When she brought her gaze back up to meet mine, a small smile had spread across her features. "Hey, mind if I take a picture of you?"

I was surprised by her request, and certainly in no condition to be posing for photographs that she would no doubt show her friends back home, so I shook my head in the negative. "I look like shit." I laughed.

"You look beautiful." I locked my eyes with hers, she had said those last words with more sincerity than I think she had intended as she looked a little taken aback herself.

I cleared my throat, trying to calm the added tension that piled up significantly since she entered the room.

"Okay, one picture."

A wide smile spread across her features, reaching all the way to her eyes.

I placed my book to one side and allowed her to snap a shot. She took more than one and I jumped from the bed.

"HEY! No fair, you said one! Gimmie the camera Torres!" I moved to grab the camera from her hand but she playfully rose it up out of my reach.

"Nuh uh!" She laughed at my jumping. I climbed atop of the bed and jumped like a small child, lunging in her direction. She side stepped slightly in an attempt of avoiding me, but instead, lost her footing and fell forward, grabbing my leg in a last ditch attempt and gaining her balance, which only resulted in dragging me down with her.

We erupted in a fit of laughter that lasted only until our eyes met and the hysterics died out and both our faces became sombre.

"Arizona…" She whispered, inching slightly closer to me.

"Mmm?" I responded, allowing my eyes to almost flutter closed as I went to remove the remaining gap between us when…

**BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG.**

"Hey Callie, come on, we're gonna be late for the ping pong tournament and then we'll have to forfeit."

Calliope dropped her head and released an exasperated sigh. "That's Addison." She explained. "I better go."

And with that she threw me one last, apologetic glance,

"I'll see you later, at the beach?"

I merely nodded, yes, in response, and with that, she exited the bedroom.

Although I had yet to officially meet her and wasn't normally a very prejudice person, I was having a serious problem with this Addison character.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: This appearance of this chapter is all down to Megan1504 who so kindly requested an update :) It's not super long and once again I apologise for the delay(my new favourite phrase), I'll try speed things up! I'm reading a book that's got me both distracted and inspired so hopefully I should do ok for a bit... I'll try proof read later, I'm feeling in a writing mood right now so off I trot :)**

* * *

The sun was showing the first signs of setting and the sky was a magnificent shade of pink as we made the short journey from the lodge to the beach, I hadn't seen Callie since our almost kiss in the bedroom and I was undeniably anxious which clearly, I wasn't doing a great job of hiding.

"What's up with princess perky?" I heard Cristina mutter to Alex and Meredith, receiving a quiet yet giggled 'shhh' from her equally twisted sister and a hushed 'shut up' from Alex who then quickened his steps to catch up with me, throwing a protective arm around my shoulder I couldn't help but smile when I saw him, in my peripheral vision, give my roommates the finger.

"Don't worry about them, they're just bitter old _hags._" His voice rose with his last words, making sure the other two could here him easily.

"Whatever lover boy." Cristina teased back, she clearly wasn't as intuitive as I had thought her the first day, she seemed to solidly believe Alex and I were engaging in some secret affair, I had heard her express this view to Meredith a couple of days ago when she thought I was in the shower, Meredith appeared doubtful even suggesting she thought I was more into Callie but Cristina shot her down immediately, defiantly insisting she had a sixth sense about these things. Evidently not.

"Thanks Alex." I said placing my head on his shoulder, I always felt a little more relaxed in his presence which was a good thing, relaxing had been something I was seriously struggling with back in the real world, I felt constantly tense but here with Alex, I felt safer, more secure. I really hoped this was a friendship I could hold on to once all this was over.

The beach was smaller than I had anticipated, we had passed a larger beach on our way to some of our activities and it was there I had expected to be located tonight, but this beach was much prettier, more intimate, there was a sense of inclusion and comradery already in the air.

The bonfire stood, already lit, to the left of the beach near some oversized palm trees decorated with fairy lights, a little bit away were various small tanks filled with a variety of alcohol which seemed to be the current gathering area. I looked around at the group which seemed much smaller here, all spread out, than it did on that first day in the dining room, obvious cliques had formed although each individual group seemed to stick close together, much like our own, and then I spotted her, even in an oversized Columbia University hoodie she looked stunning, this thought lasted about half a second however when it registered that Callie was from Miami and to my knowledge hadn't attended Columbia; the familiar face of my red headed competition caught my eye and only now had I noticed her arm interlinked with Callie's, my heart sunk to the pit of my stomach, I was fooling myself to think I still stood a chance, all our little flirtatious games now seemed so obviously just playful banter, I could feel my cheeks blush with slight embarrassment at ever thinking it was more, maybe at first it could have been but I'd waited too long, clearly Callie was more into the straightforward type, no messing around, all action.

Luckily she hadn't yet noticed me and I was easily able to conceal myself at the opposite side of the bonfire.

"There you are." I looked up with relief when I saw the voice belonged to Alex who sat next to me, offering an ice cold beer. "I was wondering where you disappeared to, why are you hiding over here by yourself?"

I took a large sip from my bottle, trying to buy myself some time to come up with a believable excuse that didn't involve Callie, I was verging on pathetic on that front.

"I just wanted to sit and take it all in for a minute." I decided sharing a little bit more about myself to Alex was probably the best way of side stepping my real reasons. "Back home, I don't allow myself much time to just stop and think, I've kind of taken on my dad's method of planning every second of every day so that there's no time left to just-" I stopped, not really sure I was ready to address my issues just yet and thankfully Alex was buying my distraction, which wasn't at all a lie, and finished how he thought was knowingly, "be?"

"Exactly." I smiled at him. Deciding that moping around wasn't doing me any good I sprung to my feet, reaching my hand out towards the closest thing I had to a best friend here. "Come on, let's go have some fun."

* * *

The sun had long since set and everyone was well into party mode when the group leaders arrived with several large kegs, receiving a large cheer from the already buzzing crowd. Normally the leaders were relatively highly strung so it was nice to see them interact and let loose with everyone else. I hadn't spoken to Callie, but I was certain she saw me, I had caught her looking in my direction countless times; I know it's ridiculous that we seem to, for some reason, be avoiding each other but I just didn't really know what I would say to her, not to mention Addison had been practically surgically attached to her for most of the night, on the bright side, this was the first time I had gotten the chance to interact with people from the other groups, one girl in particular had taken a rather keen shine to me and seemed to pop up every 15 or so minutes, I couldn't help but be slightly amused by her eagerness and wondered how many more lesbians could they have gathered together on a retreat that consisted of just 30 people. The girl, whose name she kept reminding me was Heather, at 28, was a little younger than me and extremely friendly, in fact she sort of reminded me of myself when I was her age, she was very pretty and if blondes were my type, I would have showed a lot more interest, but I humoured her with conversation none the less, out of politeness more than anything else.

We had taken a seat by the bonfire, not talking about anything particularly important, she was currently telling me about her ideal date, not that I can remember asking but I paid as much attention as was needed to satisfy her with a decent response, but I was busier stealing glances in the direction where Callie sat with Addison, Alex and some other attractive guy I hadn't seen before. I had noticed her staring at me numerous times also, but I pretended not to notice, it was only when Heather slowly ran her hand down my arm and linked our fingers together did my eyes lock directly with Calliope's and I noticed a flash of what, if I didn't know any better, looked uncannily like jealousy. Maybe I wasn't out of the running just yet. I winked mischievously at the brunette whose complete attention I now had, and excused myself from Heather's company, telling her I needed the bathroom but making no promise of return. I headed towards the rocks at the other end of the beach, chancing a final look over my shoulder only to find Callie following in my direction. My heart beat faster and my palms grew sweaty, all good things, all indicating my excitement and it took all my self control not to break into a joyous skip.

I reached the rocks and climbed carefully over them, falling clumsily down into a more concealed area of the beach.

"Graceful as ever I see." I felt my stomach flutter at the sound her voice and looked up to see an amused expression on her face. She jumped to the ground with much more elegance than I had and walked closer to me. "So Robbins, you been avoiding me?"

"What? No!" I knew I didn't sound even close to convincing but I didn't really want to explain my behaviour.

"Hmmmm." She eyed me suspiciously. "I'll buy it for now but only because I can't wait any longer."

"Any longer for wha-" She silenced me by placing her lips quickly yet delicately over mine, it was not a frenzied kiss, which I'll be honest, I'd been expecting, it was gentle and comfortable and as cheesy as it sounds, perfect.

I had thought about this moment a lot over the last few days and in my head it never went quite like this, but this, this was much better.

It was over much too soon for my liking, but for the sake of oxygen, was necessary. I was rendered somewhat speechless, the only word formation I could manage was, "Oh."

Callie beamed wildly back at me. Also remaining silent, words seemed irrelevant. Missing the contact, I leaned forwards and pressed our lips together again. She reciprocated instantly and although it was slightly more heated it didn't lose the gentle touch.

When we finally parted again, we stood mere inches apart, both my hands were locked with hers.

"So…" I began.

"So…" She mirrored, the bright smile never leaving her face.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: If any of you are still out there, HELLO! I know I seemed to have fallen off the face of the earth and I have no excuses :( Summertime made me lazy and that's really all it comes down to, I became complacent with sitting by and becoming solely a reader. But I've missed writing and have gotten some wonderful responses from some of you, and the push I needed from a few others ;) I will offer a proper thank you to all those who didn't let me forget to return from my spontaneous hiatus! Now, this chapter isn't nearly as long as you deserve for waiting oh so patiently but I wanted to get something up tonight. Please forgive me for becoming a little rusty.**

* * *

A stream of sunlight flooded into the room through the slightly askew curtain, Cristina had made a somewhat failed attempt to close them when we returned from the bonfire but her intoxication level overpowered her balance and sent her crashing onto her bed; she was out like a light on contact.

Given the unfortunate positioning of the furniture, it was only I who was disturbed by the morning's intrusion. I winced as the brightness stung through my eyelids like daggers, my mouth was clamped tightly shut from dehydration and my temple throbbed. Resigning to the realisation that sleep was now no more than a distant memory, I attempted to remove myself from the bed in search of liquid; standing just that little bit too quickly, I stumbled slightly, hitting my toe off the nightstand; I threw my forearm over my mouth to stifle a pained whimper and glanced around the room to see if my clumsiness had woken my roommates: Cristina lay in the same position she had fallen in the night before, still fully clothed, body perched half way down the bed, one foot hanging off the side and a dark patch of navy on the blue sheets under her cheek from where she'd been drooling, Meredith had managed to change into at least a different shirt but had given up on removing her make up half way through, leaving her with black smudges around each eye, I stopped short as my focus drifted to the spot next to my side of the bed that was usually occupied by a lightly snoring Latina, finding it was vacant and from the looks of it, hadn't been slept in at all, my throat dropped into my stomach (figuratively speaking, of course).

Callie hadn't returned to the lodge with the rest of us, opting to stay with the final few stragglers on the beach. I had thought nothing of it at the time, but now fear rushed through me like boiling water, did she not return because she regretted what happened? Had she decided that she'd rather be with Addison? I sat slowly back onto the bed, forgetting about how thirsty I was, the pain in my head fading to a slight hum. I felt so stupid.

"_So…" I began._

"_So…" She mirrored, the bright smile never leaving her face._

_I smiled back, still in disbelief that it was real life. Callie had kissed me and it had felt euphoric, an almost out of body experience, it was perfect. _

_Realising I probably looked slightly insane, standing there smiling like a loon, I searched my brain for words, any words; noticing her shift slightly awkward ,I said the one thing that stood at the fore front of my mind. _

"_What now?" _

"_Well," She started, the goofy smile never leaving her face, "I didn't think I'd actually get to do that so I hadn't exactly planned anything past the impulsive kiss."_

_We both laughed somewhat nervously, but the situation remained oddly comfortable. _

"_I liked the start of your plan." I stated, smiling warmly at her, trying to convey just how much I liked it in just one look._

"_One of my better plans." She replied with a flirtatious smirk, then becoming more serious before continuing. "I like you, Arizona."_

_My stomach fluttered, making me feel like a teenager after my first kiss, although, my first kiss had been __**nothing **__like that._

"_I like you too."_

_We stood for a minute more, just staring at each other, smiling until our cheeks began to hurt and we had no choice but to force our faces into as much composure as we could muster._

_Callie spoke first, _

"_I think we should maybe keep this between just us for now," I could feel my expression fall with disappointment and a hint of hurt, she must have noticed it too as she was quick to comfort, "no, not like that, it's just, I'm not sure how the retreat counsellors would feel about it, and I wouldn't want Cristina and Meredith to feel uncomfortable."_

_I knew she was right but now that I had had a taste; I was certain, for me, there was no turning back. "So, we're just going to pretend like nothing happened?" I asked hesitantly, not wanting to come across as needy._

"_Just for now, but we should talk about it, just, not tonight." _

"_Tomorrow?" I knew I sounded childlike in my hopefulness but I wanted nothing more than to be able to freely hold her hand or kiss her at will. _

_She leaned in closer until our lips were centimetres away from one another, whispering, "Tomorrow." before closing the gap and once again pressing her lips gently against mine._

I wiped my hands over my face, trying to reel myself back to reality. We had returned to the bonfire together, maintaining a safe distance but mingling in the same circles. She naturally gravitated back towards Addison, but after our encounter by the rocks, although jealously still lingered, I had no longer felt threatened by the red head.

I felt like an idiot now for believing just because we shared a kiss that things would be different, clearly Callie was keeping her options open and I was stupid enough to buy her line about the counsellors and our roommates. I always was too gullible for my own good. And now, she was probably nestled up close, sleeping soundly in the arms of the other woman.

Standing from the bed once again, this time more carefully, I grabbed my shoes and a nearby sweatshirt and exited the room.

* * *

I often found when I got frustrated, it helped to run. I had been running a lot lately and was proud at how fit I had become, even though my newfound fitness resulted at a cost, a cost that ultimately led me here.

I ran aimlessly for a while, out the back of the lodge, down the gravel path by the forest we walked through most days, taking the shortcut by the large boulder that I subconsciously knew would take me to the location of last night's events. I paused briefly, scanning the surrounding area, hoping that by some chance I'd find her there, asleep under a palm tree, alone. When I confirmed she wasn't there, I picked up pace again, heading back towards the lodge.

I slowed when I reached the lake I had sat at the previous morning with Alex. It was so peaceful; for a short second, I felt all my troubles and pain ease, but just for a second, before my eyes caught sight of the dark haired figure sitting on a bench a few feet away.

"Callie?" I approached with caution.

Callie turned her head away from me, wiping at her face furiously before turning back, plastering on a fake smile in an attempt to mask the sadness that riddled her features.

"Hey." Her voice was quiet with a hint of forced cheerfulness.

Seeing her sitting there looking so vulnerable, all the anger I felt, at her, at Addison, at myself, disappeared. I sat down beside her and stared at the water in front of me, glistening like diamonds in the sunlight.

There was so much I wanted, no, needed, to ask her. Why she did what she did? Did she really like me at all or was she just fooling around? Making the rounds of girl retreaters?

But now was not the time. No one came here entirely without reason, sure, some simply enjoyed the experience, but most of us had some kind of story, a journey we were trying to figure out but had not yet discovered enough to be willing to share it with others. Callie was no different, there was a story behind her dark chocolate eyes, something that plagued her.

Now was not the time to pile on more burden, so instead, I shifted my hand an inch to the right, placing it delicately over hers. She exhaled in response and whispered a quiet,

"Thank you."

She'd share when she was ready.


End file.
