Who: Ellis and Arizona Where: Java The Hutt When: Tuesday afternoon Status: Closed and complete
Ellis was hoping, praying, that Arizona would appreciate the work and the time she'd put into this idea. God knew that other than spending time with Erin, this was the only thing she'd done in close to a month.
So now she sat in a booth at Java The Hutt, her own coffee in front of her, and another already waiting for Arizona, fidgeting in her seat as she waited for the other woman to arrive. She'd made sure to dress in a manner that was classy, yet also sexy: a wonderfully short black dress that hugged her in all the right places.
Arizona wasn't dressed nearly as sexy as Ellis was as she entered the coffee shop. But she was still dressed nicely in a pair of dark jeans and a blue sweater that accentuated her figure. Her blonde hair fell in a sleek, shiny sheet down her back and her cheeks were naturally pink from the crisp air outside. She spotted Ellis at the booth and maneuvered her way over to join.
She allowed herself a moment to enjoy the view before she stopped herself and focused on sitting down. "Hi," she smiled almost bashfully for a moment before she leaned over to kiss Ellis on the cheek.
Ellis nibbled her bottom lip cutely as she watched Arizona. She really was the epitome of beauty in Ellis' eyes. "Back atcha, gorgeous..." Ellis said with a wink, before taking a deep breath. "So.... like I said. We should talk."
Arizona's mind was racing. Rarely had the phrase "we need to talk" every been followed by something good. And Ellis had said she didn't need to be concerned, but her mind kept jumping to worst case scenarios. She tried to quiet her thoughts and took a sip of her coffee as a distraction. Ellis had somehow ordered exactly what she'd been craving. She smiled a little and warmed her hands on the cup.
"So what is this mysterious talk about?"
"Ok. So. As you've obviously seen, we're in the middle of a place with technology far beyond anything we knew of in our world." Ellis said, figeting adorably in her seat. "And it got me thinking... that if that's the case, why not try to do something special for someone who means so much to me." She cast her glance at Arizona's legs, a sad sigh barely held back. "And I always hear about how... years ago... you were so bright and happy zooming around on your shoes with the little wheels... and it kills me that you have to live with such a reminder of the trauma you suffered..." She caught herself rambling, and closed her eyes to calm down.
"What I'm saying is.... I've spent the last month using every moment of my time I could spare working with Tony Stark and Rocket. And utilizing technology they and the Galadorians have developed for cybernetic technology, and.... long story short, I did it. I found a way to replace your prosthetic with a cybernetic leg that would look, feel, and work like a real, flesh and blood limb."
Whatever Arizona had been expecting...this had not been it. Her mouth actually dropped open a little. Sure, when she'd seen some of the technology available here, the thought of a new leg had crossed her mind. But, well, to be honest, she hadn't wanted to get her own hopes up. In case it wouldn't work out. After all, she'd lost her leg years ago and the type of technology Ellis was talking about was used for recent injuries.
"Ellis... are you being serious right now?" Her tone she managed to keep somewhat even. But the look in her eyes was intense. Her grip on the coffee cup was now enough to turn her knuckles white.
"Very serious." Ellis said, before dropping a bit more information, to show Arizona how much effort she'd put into this. "Typically, a full, humanoid cybernetic prosthetic is used soon after the initial loss of limb. But luckily, between Tony's sheer brilliance, and Rocket's insane knowledge of cybernetics, the three of us worked until we found a way. I'm going to ask Mark to help me here, since he's going to mentor me in plastics, but I'm going to use synthetic flesh, some of your own DNA, and craft an exact replica of the leg you lost. And you'll be able to move it, feel it... it will literally be like you never lost it."
She was literally at a loss for words. Losing her leg had been one of the most painful experiences of Arizona's life. It was something that she legitimately didn't feel like she would recover from from a long time. And she had recovered. She'd grown, and evolved, and she'd learned how to still be herself. Because she'd had to. But now she was being presented with an opportunity that would have been impossible at home. It was almost too much for her to process at once and Arizona just sat there in stunned silence, unable to adequately express the wealth of emotion that was coursing through her.
In the absence of those words, tears began to fall down her cheeks.
"Oh..... fuck my life, seriously?" Ellis grumbled to herself, assuming she'd upset Arizona greatly. Moving to lean across the table to place her palms on the woman's cheeks, she 'shh'ed her soothingly, kissing her forehead gently. "Please don't cry... I'm sorry. I overstepped my boundries again... I just wanted to give you something nobody else could. I wanted you to be able to be whole again..."
Did Ellis quickly see any chance she had of ever being with Arizona swirling down the metaphorical toilet? Youuuuu betcha she did.
It only took another moment before Arizona realized how Ellis had construed her response. She grabbed the other woman's hand tightly and shook her head. Blonde hair swung gently over her shoulder with the movement. "No, Ellis, no." Her voice was still thick with emotion and tears and she prayed to god she'd be able to make herself understood. "You didn't." She turned her mouth into a smile and patted the hand that still cupped her cheek. "Happy tears. I'm not.. It's all amazing. I'm just...feeling a little overwhelmed."
"I didn't mean to overwhelm you..." Ellis sighed, not realizing that she was gazing at Arizona with that deep, intense want again. "I can back off... give you time to think about this... I just want you to be happy. Whether it's with me, without me, with a new lifelike leg, with the same prosthetic you have now.... it doesn't matter to me as long as you're happy."
"I don't want you to back off. This..." She inhaled through her nose and exhaled a deep breath to try and get her emotions a little more in check. "What you've done is incredible. So much so that I can't properly explain how much it means to me." She grabbed a napkin from the dispenser on their table and used it to dry her eyes. "I had to resign myself to my prosthetic a long time ago. I didn't think I could ever have my leg again. But you made it possible for me." She leaned across the table and pulled the other woman into a deep kiss.
Ellis was surprised, yes. But she didnt let that stop her from enjoying the HELL out of that kiss. She poured every ounce of love, lust, and admiration she felt toward the woman into it, hoping that maybe, just maybe, this was her way of telling Ellis she wanted to be with her. "You're... the most beautiful woman I've ever known. And I don't even feel like I deserve someone as wonderful as you. But no matter what, I will always do what I can to make life better for you."
Arizona still wasn't quite sure just what it was that some other version of herself had done to win over Ellis Shepherd so entirely. But as she broke their kiss and looked across the table at her, Arizona finally began to catch glimpses of what they could be together of the things they could accomplish. And where she'd so recently been dragging her feet, she was suddenly ready to dive in. She wanted to immerse herself in this vibrant, beautiful, brilliant woman and see where it led them.
"Let's do this," she said, meaning more than just the leg.
"Does... this mean the town bicycle is no longer for rent?" Ellis asked with a chuckle, trying not to get too excited until she knew Arizona meant what it sounded like. "Because... wow. If so? I might recommend you calling off for tomorrow. Because you are going to be far too worn out to do your normal shift." She took Arizona's hand, squeezing it affectionately. It was strange, how she'd become so enamored of the woman... it was a long and strange story she wasn't even sure if this version of Arizona would ever want to hear. But right now? For the first time in what felt like forever, all felt right in her world. "I can't wait to tell Erin. She adores you, by the way. And she's been pulling for us since realizing you were the person I was pining after."
A small crease appeared between Arizona's eyebrows. She never liked it when Ellis referred to herself that way, and especially not now. Not in this moment. "It means," she said gently. "That I want all of you. The good, the bad, everything. I want to see where this goes."
And now? It was Ellis' turn to let tears form in her eyes. She knew Arizona could see them, and thus didn't even bother trying to hide them. "I've made a lot of mistakes in the past. I have. But I have goals now. I want to be a great plastic surgeon. I want to be a great mom to Erin. And... I want to be a great girlfriend to you." She gave, hilariously, the same look Meredith tended to when about to be sarcastic, before adding, "Of course, the part about wanting 'the bad' means you're gonna have to hear me singing. A lot."
Now it was her turn to cup Ellis's face with her hands. She wiped a few of the tears away with her thumb and she leaned in closely. "I can't wait," she said softly before she moved in for another kiss.