Prologue

The blazing Miami sun is doing the tanned brunette wonders. Her skin glows darker than usual, her hair hanging down far past her shoulders. Callie's long black sundress clings to her curves, covering the deep red bikini she is almost certain she is too old to wear these days. She's well into her 40s now and some of the time, she feels even older. Her life is exhausting and her body isn't as young as it used to be but that doesn't stop the blinding smile she's almost certain hasn't left her lips in months, years even. Her warm brown eyes, always full of expression, practically twinkle with delight. She may be feeling older than ever, but she's also feeling lighter than ever.

Calliope Torres is ridiculously, insanely, disgustingly happy.

Looking out from where she stands, she can see the calming waves of the ocean, barely moving on the warm summers day. The beach is full of the laughter and love of a hundred different families and from where she pauses by her car, sunglasses pushed on top of her head, she can see her own. Today feels a little like heaven, she thinks.

"Callie?"

The brunette's head shoots up from the scene she had been contently staring at, her mouth falling open slightly in utter shock. The woman standing in front of her is honestly somebody she thought she would never lay eyes on again and it makes her heart pang slightly with guilt.

"It is you! I wasn't sure. I can't believe it," an awkward laugh escapes the woman's mouth and Callie shakes her head slightly, moving from her car and towards the person who had once been an everyday, an always, in her life.

"Penny? What? I- woah!"

Penny nodded, walking so they now stood directly in front of each other, "It's really you. I never thought I'd see you again after you left New York." The smile on the red head's face is welcoming and warm but Callie can see the hint of sadness lurking behind. Sadness for what ifs, she assumes. For could have beens and might have beens but never weres.

"You look really happy."

Callie can't help the dazzling smile that appears on her lips, a natural reaction whenever she thinks about how her life has fallen into place.

"I am. I'm really, really happy."

"You're back with Arizona." Callie thinks that should be a question but it sounds more like a statement and she wonders if the younger woman has already seen her wife before this unlikely meeting. She tilts her head slightly, chewing almost nervously on her bottom lip. She's happy. Stupidly happy. But she isn't a bad person and she really doesn't want to cause anyone anymore hurt than she already has.

"I – We-"

"It's okay, Callie. Really. You- You're glowing. Karev. Alex," Penny corrects herself, "I heard him talking once. I guess it was around the time of the court case. Someone was asking how you two had ever been together when you seemed to hate each other so much at the time. Alex just said he'd seen you happy before Arizona came along and he'd seen you happy after you divorced. He'd never seen you glow like you did when you were together." Penny smiles almost wistfully, "I always thought it was kind of sad, that I'd never see you glow like that. Now I have."

Callie looked at her ex-girlfriend with wide, tearful eyes. She can't deny that she loves hearing how evidently happy she and Arizona make each other but she still feels guilty none the less. She swallowed back quickly, a regretful smile falling across her face, "I'm so sorry Penny. I was never stringing you along, you know. Not even for a second."

Penny nods, "I know. Really Callie, I know. We're good, no bad feelings. We just weren't meant to be."

A thankful smile quickly replaces the sad one and Callie takes a minute to gather her thoughts, "So you ended up in Miami?"

"God, no. I couldn't handle all this heat full time." Penny laughs, shaking her head, "Nope, I'm still in New York. My fiancé is working on a case at a hospital here and we decided to make the best of it and turn it into a bit of a vacation."

"You're engaged?! Penny that's fantastic, I'm so happy for you!" Callie grins, genuine happiness and relief radiating from her. She only ever wants good for the woman who had come to mean so much to her during a difficult time in her life.

"Thank you, Callie. We're really happy." She looks around, trying to ignore the slight awkwardness, "so, home or vacation?"

"Oh Vacation, definitely vacation. I couldn't handle my wife turning into a lobster every time I let her leave the house without sunscreen." Callie giggled, her eyes falling to the beach area where Arizona currently was in all her sun kissed glory. Thank god for sun protection because hot damn did her wife look good with a tan.

Penny smiled, following Callie's gaze to the blanketed area and spotting the blonde by the large sun umbrella instantly.

"Well, you've had a busy few years!" Penny remarked, her voice only full of happiness though. Her ex had been good to her, mostly and she was happy to see everything had worked out for her.

"Tell me about it." Callie chuckled, biting her lip in an attempt to hide the face splitting grin she was sure she was about to display but it was a futile attempt.

"The one building sandcastles, that's Maddie. She's three and a half and she's the biggest diva you'll ever meet. I swear she was singing and dancing before she could walk and talk."

Penny laughs, watching the obviously energetic young girl kick her feet in the sand, embracing the attention from her mommy and big sister as Arizona and Sofia helped build ridiculously detailed moats and castles with happiness radiating from every inch of them.

"When I moved back, I was just so desperate for another kid so I hired a surrogate. Things were a bit rocky for a while and Arizona was our doctor. That's actually how we ended up back together. I think she fell in love with Mads the second she knew about her. Their bond is kind of ridiculous." Callie shock her head but the love she clearly felt for her wife and daughters oozed from every inch of the brunette.

"She's beautiful, Callie. Really."

"Thank you! We think so too. The little bundle in Arizona's arms is Livvy. She's our little miracle."

Finally dragging her eyes from her family, Callie turned to look at Penny again, a nostalgic look on her face as she did.

"You remember meeting my friend Addy, right?" She waited for the other woman to nod before continuing, "she moved back to Seattle about two years ago now and she set up this organisation at the hospital called Safe Place. It was something her old practice had done where moms could take their newborns if they weren't able to keep them safe, instead of abandoning them, you know? Anyway, I was volunteering one night and they brought this tiny little premie in. She looked so like Sof when she was born and we both just fell in love. No one ever came to claim her and the rest is history, I guess. She's ours now and she's growing like a weed."

Penny let her eyes fall back to Callie's family as she listened to the story and it was kind of crazy to imagine they'd all ever been apart. Even from a distance the surgeon could see how happy Arizona was. The glow about her matched her wife's and it was blindingly obvious how she adored her children. Sofia looked ridiculously like her mama but Penny could see her mannerisms were still all her mom's. Arizona cradled a small baby one arm, tenderly, ensuring the little one was constantly covered by the large sun umbrella. The small baby, only around four or five months, the red head would guess, looked to be sleeping and Arizona seemed to be thoroughly enjoying playing silly games with her two eldest child, looking very much like a big kid herself. It was kind of beautiful to see and Penny realised she'd never seen anything like this side of Doctor Robbins when she'd been around. Clearly they brought out the best in each other.

Dragging her gaze back to her ex, Penny smiled softly, "you have an incredible family, Callie. I'm really happy for you."

Before Callie could open her mouth to speak she was interrupted by her eldest daughter who ran to her mama with a grin, "Mama, I have a message from mommy." Callie's little girl was almost eleven now and every time she looked at her, her heart burst with pride. She grinned cheekily, an eyebrow arching, "Uh uh, whats that Sof?"

The miniature Callie grinned, not yet noticing the other woman she had once lived with, "she said 'Calliope Robbins-Torres, get your cute little butt back here with the cash and get your wife her ice cream'" Sofia giggled cheekily, "she said she wants two scoops now cos you made her wait. And extra sprinkles."

When Penny laughed, Sofia looked up quickly, recognising the woman her mama was talking to, "Hi Penny!" she grinned, leaning back into Callie.

It was reminiscent of the first time they'd met; Callie couldn't help but think. Her daughter didn't look any older in that moment as she stood in front of her now ex-girlfriend, grinning up at her warmly. This time though, they weren't all leaving to get ice cream together. This time, Callie had a wife waiting and three beautiful children and she couldn't help but feel insanely grateful for the way the universe had chosen her life to be.

"Sorry Penny, I should really head back before Arizona sends out an entire search party. She really loves ice cream." Callie giggled and Penny laughed too, nodding, "it was so nice to see you, Penny. Really. I'm so glad you're happy now."

"It was really nice catching up. I'm glad things worked out in the end. Nice seeing you, Sof!"

Saying their goodbyes once more, Callie and Sofia made their way hand in hand back to the beach and Callie really couldn't believe how the last few years of her life had turned out.

It sure had been one hell of a journey…