Title: Insides
Author: A. Windsor
Pairing/Characters: Callie/Arizona
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: All television shows, movies, books, and other copyrighted material referred to in this work, and the characters, settings, and events thereof, are the properties of their respective owners. My one semester of law school could allow me to legalese this a little more, but it also tells me it's pretty useless. So please don't sue; it's not mine, I'm just playing!
Series: Zeq!verse.
Summary: "So she doesn't regret the three co-parent system, especially with how well it's come together, except in moments like this."
Author's Note:It's been nearly a month since I posted any Zeq!verse, and little EZ has been feeling neglected. Enjoy! Beta'd by the wonderful, snarky roughian. Thanks, you weirdy reindeer.
The three-parent thing has its perks and its drawbacks, but Callie is actually surprised at how well it is working out. She knows Mark often wishes he could "go to sleep and wake up" with their son more often, but he is there for every single important event and always sees him at least once (but usually several times) an afternoon when he is in hospital daycare.
Their current system works perfectly for Zeq. And, as she likes to point out, Zeq is a very grumpy morning person and not overly fond of bedtime, so Mark really gets the best deal, except for "Boys' Weekend" twice a month.
Some days Callie doesn't want to know what goes on during "Boys' Weekend", even if it often results in hilarious and adorable pictures, such as the one taken a few weeks ago when she walked in on Mark and Zeq cooking Sunday morning breakfast in just their boxers with matching bedhead.
Zeq often needs to be what Arizona calls "detoxed" after weekends with Daddy, when both the rules and the schedule that govern the boy's life are relaxed. It's a pain to have to deal with a little extra "But Daddy lets me," and a little more whining about strict bedtimes sometimes, but Callie thinks even Arizona would admit that whatever goes on at "Boys' Weekend" is good for Zeq.
Arizona and Mark still have their occasional blow-ups, of course, and Callie finds herself taking Arizona's side most of the time, much to Mark's annoyance. It's not just because Arizona is her partner, and more recently, her wife. No one can ever doubt how much Mark loves, adores, would do anything for Ezequiel, but Arizona is just naturally better at the whole parenting thing. Previous ambivalence to the vocation aside, a solid upbringing and a career in pediatrics has given Arizona enough examples of all kinds of parenting to know which ones work and what kind of mother she wants to be for her EZ. And at the end of the day, she just has better instincts.
Their most recent argument highlighted this difference. They've stuck strictly to their "no fighting in front of EZ" rule, so it took place in the attendings lounge, to the varied amusement and annoyance of the doctors coming and going.
"He wants to take our five-year-old to Vegas!" Arizona exclaims, begging for a little support from Callie.
"Mark, what the heck are you going to do with Zeq in Vegas?" Callie rolls her eyes, watching them duke it out from the comfort of the leather couch.
"Have fun. Bond. It's not my fault Robbins is such a square."
"Oh, what-"
Callie cuts off whatever amusing but ultimately unhelpful thing Arizona is about to spew at Mark and says, more calmly:
"You're not taking our kindergartner to Las Vegas, Mark. Use your head; take him to Disneyland."
"You two just got back from Disney World with him. Disneyland's like JV after that. Daddy's gotta go big."
"Strip clubs and gambling? That's your idea of going big?" Arizona scoffs.
"This just seems like a better idea for, like, a twenty-first birthday trip," Callie says.
Mark and Arizona also have their rare moments of complete agreement against Callie, which annoys her to no end. Just last week they had united against Callie on an issue. Of course, they had just agreed on the principle of the thing, not the reasoning.
"He needs it cut, Callie; I don't want him to have girl hair."
Arizona gives him one of her patented incredulous stares before shaking her head.
"Well, I don't know what the hell that," she gestures to Mark's general area with disdain, "was supposed to be mean, but I would really like to see his beautiful eyes."
"But his hair is so pretty," Callie complains.
"Yeah, see. Pretty. That's bad for a boy."
Arizona rolls her eyes. "Stop talking before I change my vote."
Yes, although she and Arizona could have easily raised Ezequiel on their own, she is ultimately thankful to have Mark as such an important part of Zeq's life. Just like EZ wouldn't be the same kid without his beloved momma in his life, he'd be totally different without his daddy.
So she doesn't regret the three co-parent system, especially with how well it's come together, except in moments like this.
"Why the sad face, mi amor?"
"Charlie said I can't have three real parents," he pouts.
Callie has to take a seat.
"He said one of you has to be my stepmommy, which means fake." He sniffles at the last word, and her heart breaks. "Are you fake, Mami? Or is Momma?"
She pretends she isn't a little offended that he looks especially horrified at the idea of his momma not being his momma.
"Charlie's wrong. We are all your parents."
"For real?"
"For real."
"But then why did Charlie say that? He said his big sister said that you can only have a mommy and a daddy make a baby."
"Dios mio, let's not talk about babymaking in kindergarten," she says under her breath, before returning her attention to him.
"Most people only have two parents, and maybe some stepparents, but you have three whole real parents," Arizona speaks up from the doorway, and Callie meets her sad eyes thankfully. Arizona comes in and squats in front of her EZ, taking his shoulders. "And do you know what that makes you? Better than normal. It makes you very lucky and very special."
"Why does Uncle Derek say I look like Daddy sometimes? And Momma, you say I look like Mami. Why don't I look like you, Momma?"
Arizona lets out a sound, half-laugh, half-sigh, and dropping her hands and turning to Callie, murmurs: "I know I'm usually opposed to it, but am I allowed to play the 'when you're older' card right now?"
Callie nods reassuringly, then leans forward from her perch on the coffee table, touching Zeq's chest.
"You don't look like Momma on the outside, but you're the spitting image of her in here."
"Callie..."
"I'm spitting?" Zeq asks, earning a snort from his momma and his mami.
"No, m'ijo. It just means you look just like her on the inside.
"I wanna look like you on the outside, too, Momma. I like your eyes. They're pretty."
Arizona launches forward and gathers him into a bear hug as they tangle together on the couch.
"But I don't want you to change at all, because you're the sweetest, most handsome little boy in the whole wide world. And you have your Mami's eyes, and I think I love them the best."
"I have Mami's eyes?" Zeq asks as he wriggles free, just to crawl right back into her lap when she sits up.
"You do."
"What do I have of Daddy's?"
"The Sloan nose," Callie supplies.
"Ohh, yeah. Daddy says that a lot. And I have Momma's insides? Like the stuff on the x-ray Aunt Lexie showed me?"
His moms look at each other and sigh a little, sharing a half smile.
"Sure," Callie allows. "You have Momma's insides. Like on an x-ray."
"Cool. Can I go play with my trucks now?"
"Yes, you may," Arizona allows, releasing him as he scampers to the corner where his toys are kept.
Callie gets up off the coffee table and sits beside Arizona.
"He's going to be so confused when they get to family traits," Callie teases.
"I'm waiting for the little art project from science that lists that he as Mami's eyes, Abuelito's chin, Daddy's eyes, and Momma's insides."
Callie grins and leans over to kiss her.
"He does have your insides," she murmurs against her wife's lips as she pulls away.
"Really? I wonder how that happened. We'll have to compare x-rays. How does one spleen resemble another?"
"Arizona," Callie reproaches. "Not like that. He's like you, in every way, without even trying. You are a real parent; you know that, right?"
Arizona bites her lip and nods. "Most days."
"Well, I know it every second of every day, and Zeq knows it instinctively, and Mark knows it because it makes him super jealous. So, family votes are tallied; you're stuck with us."
"Darn it. I was just about to make a break for Mexico."
"Is that the new hotspot destination for saving the world?"
"Don't be mean," Arizona pouts.
"I'm sorry. It's been five years; we have to joke about it so we won't cry."
"Calliope..."
"Momma, where's the truck Daddy got me?" Zeq interrupts, dragging one of his Tonka's over with a loud racket.
"Where did you put it, EZ?"
Zeq ponders (one of his many faces that looks just like Arizona's) and then shrugs.
"Is it in the garage?"
"No, I didn't wanna get it dirty yet."
"Is it in your room?"
"Maybe!"
"Go check, and then come right back down. What do you say to going out for dinner?"
"Yeah! Can I bring a truck?"
"If it fits in your pocket, then by all means."
Zeq laughs. "I don't think Daddy's new truck is gonna fit in my pocket," he says, his tone revealing the silliness of the very idea.
"No, probably not. You're probably going to have to pick another one, so hurry, hurry. I'm starving."
"I'm starving, too! Mami, Momma is starving, and I'm starving. Are you starving?"
"Yes!" Callie answers for him dramatically, adoring the giggle that bubbles out of him. "So go! Hurry!"
"Yes, ma'am!" he eeps as he double times up the stairs, holding onto the railing so he won't be scolded.
"Where are we going for dinner?" Callie asks. "Do I need to be fancy?"
"No, I was thinking Manco's. No one will notice another bouncy child."
"Good call," Callie grins, kissing her again. "I love you."
"Love you, too."
Callie stands to go freshen up a little before dinner and runs her bare toe smack into the Tonka truck.
"Oh my god, I hate these trucks!" she yells in frustration.
"Mami, we say 'gosh'; and we don't hate; it's not nice," her little Arizona-parrot declares as he hurries back down the stairs.
Callie rounds on Arizona. "See? You. You, you, you. Screw biology. I produced a mini-you." Then she turns back to Zeq. "I'm sorry, Zeq. I'll try better."
"I know. Sorry I left my truck in the way."
Arizona laughs, and Callie melts, scooping him up, as Arizona gets up to move the cursed Tonka truck back to its safe little corner.
"It's okay. Just try to keep it out of the way of Mami's feet, okay? Was your truck from Daddy there?"
"Yes, but I left it upstairs. It didn't fit in my pocket! It wouldn't even fit in Daddy's pocket."
"Oh, it's very big."
"Yes. So I got another truck. And Green Car. That's okay, right? I can bring two? I have two pockets."
"Green Car is allowed to go anywhere," Callie reassures him.
"It's my favorite."
"I know."
"Momma got it for me when I was a baby."
"Funny enough, I was there," Callie teases, earning a chuckle from her wife.
"Mami, of course you were," their little chatterbox sighs.
Callie laughs and asks the growing boy in her arms: "Want a piggyback?"
"Yeah!"
"Yes, what?" Arizona corrects gently, gathering their purses.
"Yes, ma'am," Zeq sighs.
There's some awkward wrangling as he scrambles around to Callie's back. Once settled, though, EZ restarts the ramble.
"Aunt Lexie and I are going to the zoo Saturday."
"Oh, yeah?" Callie prods dutifully.
"Yeah! But not Daddy."
Arizona laughs, holding the garage door open for them. "Why not?"
"'Cause he didn't eat all his peas."
"What?" Callie asks for clarification.
"At dinner, Daddy said we were going to the zoo, but only boys who ate all of their peas could go. So Aunt Lexie said: 'Eat all yours peas or we'll go without you.' And he didn't."
"Poor Daddy," Arizona snickers.
They get to the car, and Callie gently dumps their five-year-old into the backseat. He giggles and scrambles to get into his booster seat.
"But I ate all my peas. And Aunt Lexie ate all her peas. And she's not a boy; she's a girl," he finishes, as if he's unsure if that means that the peas rule applied to her.
"Well, I bet you will have lots of fun, m'ijo. And next time Daddy will eat his peas."
"He will! We're gonna see..."
He starts to list all the animals, and Arizona groans from the driver's seat.
"EZ-baby?"
"Yes, my Momma?"
"How about we play the quiet game?"
"I don't like the quiet game."
Callie laughs. "We hadn't noticed."
el fin