Title: The Joys of Parenthood
Rating: T
Disclaimer: Let's just assume that I don't own anything since my name is not Shonda Rimes and I am not at all affiliated with ABC studios.
Author's Note: I got this idea in my head today and I couldn't get it out until I started writing. The second chapter is almost done and should be up soon. Basically all you need to know is that is is an AU, Arizona is not a surgeon and that everything up to the point where George and Callie got married in Vegas happened as it did in the show. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I do writing it.
Chapter 1:
"Parker Sophia, get your cute little butt downstairs!" Callie Torres yelled from the bottom of the staircase.
She smiled as she watched her 5 year old run down the stairs giggling. As her daughter passed her, making sure to jump off the final stair, she playfully spanked her butt. "There's my favorite child."
"I'm your only kid, mom."
Callie laughed and followed her daughter to the kitchen. She watched as her daughter sat in the chair with the bowl of lucky charms in front of it. Every week the young girl had a new 'favorite breakfast' and this week was a hell of a lot easier to make than last week's spaghetti and meatballs. Despite the fact that Callie had to wake up an hour earlier than usual to make her daughter what she wanted, she was more than happy to oblige. Some people were worth the effort, and her daughter was worth the world.
The next thing she saw was something that Parker did everyday without fail. Parker picked up the newspaper that her mom had placed next to her bowl, pulled out the section with the comics and started laughing. Callie smiled, knowing that her daughter couldn't read. It was something that she had seen her Uncle Mark do on countless occasions and Parker loved being like him.
Mark washer savior, without him she wouldn't have been able to raise such a great daughter. It was just before Parker's first birthday that George died. A shooter had come into the hospital where they both were surgeons and he had taken a bullet aimed at his best friend Izzie Stevens. Now, four years later, all of their past marital problems seemed so trivial. She had been jealous of George's close friendship with Izzie and he had been distant, but they had stayed together for their daughter. The minute she discovered she was pregnant they had done what was obvious, convinced themselves they were happy and played the part of a happy little family. Although Callie still wished everyday that George were there to see their daughter grow, she knew that with help from all her friends at the hospital, Parker would be raised with all the love she needed.
"Mom, we're gonna be late!" Callie looked down to see her daughter staring at her with her hands on her hips.
Laughing, Callie kneels in front of her daughter. "Don't worry, we still have time. Uncle Mark will be here soon to take us. Is he ever late?"
The little girl shook her head and walked back to the chair where she she had been sitting, before crossing her arms and laying her head on the table. Callie sat in the chair next to her and began rubbing her back. "Are you nervous? It is your first day of big girl school."
Parker jerked her head up, halting her mother's movements. "Why would I be nervous? I'm awesome."
"You, my daughter, have been spending too much time with Aunt Lexie." Callie laughed.
"Yo Torres, why aren't you and my favorite niece ready for the big day?" Mark stated, walking right from the front door into the dining room.
Before Callie could respond, Parker ran up to him and jumped in his arms. "I am ready, Uncle Mark!"
"You are? Do you have that backpack that I bought you ready? Because in Kindergarden you are going to need it." Mark asked in a childlike voice to the girl in his arms.
"Parker, why don't you take Uncle Mark up to your room and get it?" Callie began cleaning up the mess in the kitchen while she watched her daughter lead Mark out of the kitchen. She could hear them running up the stairs and Parker telling a story about how she was going to like Kindergarden a lot more than preschool.
After she had put the bowl in the sink, Callie sat and took the moment of free time to finish reflecting on the past few years. After George had died, Callie didn't have the time to be a surgeon at a major hospital so she had put in her resignation and began to live strictly off of her trust fund while she decided what to do. About three months later her parents decided to move from Miami to Seattle to help her. It only took a week for her to convince the chief to give her job back and with help from her parents, Mark and Lexie, she had been able to make it as the youngest head of Ortho that Seattle Grace had ever seen.
Callie loved her life, but she knew that something was missing. She had the perfect job doing something she loved and a great family. Despite all that, she was lonely. It had been three years since she had even been on a date and the last one was nothing short of a disaster.
"You ready?" Mark asked, breaking Callie of her thoughts. She turned and nodded as she saw her daughter standing in the doorway holding Mark's hand.
The three of them drove to the school listening to Parker go on about how she was going to teach the other kids how awesome she was so that they wouldn't forget. However, as they pulled into the school Parker suddenly got quiet and just stared out the window.
As the car pulled to a stop, the two adults got out of the car. Callie went to get her daughter out of the carseat in the backseat, but stopped when she noticed how quiet the young girl had become. Taking a seat next to her daughter she grabbed her hand. "It's kind of scary, huh?"
The child nodded causing her brunette curls to bounce. "What if these kids don't like me or the teacher is mean?"
Callie decided to whisper in the same form that her daughter had just used. "They'll love you just like I do. You are one of a kind and they'll see it. But me and your Uncle Mark will walk you in and I'll see if we can stay a little while until you are ready, okay?"
Parker looked up at her mom and smiled. Callie got out of the car, getting Parker and her Hello Kitty backpack out as well and the three of them headed to the entrance of the school. Already having memorized the room number her daughter was assigned to, Callie led them to the back of the school where the Kindergarden classrooms were located.
Once they reached the classroom Mark stopped and turned towards Parker who was being held by Callie. "Well, little Torres, I'm going to say goodbye here, but stay away from all the little boys, they have cooties." He rubbed her head, being careful not to mess up her hair in fear of being yelled at and smiled as he walked away to leave the two girls alone.
"Are you ready?" Callie asked her daughter. Once her Parker nodded, the two walked into the large classroom, which was already filled with children running around and parents trying to deal with leaving their babies alone for the day. As soon as Parker noticed all the other kids having fun she began wiggling out of her mom's arms so that she could get down.
"Woah, easy tiger." Callie told the child, holding her moving body so that she had to listen to her. "Your grandparents will be here at noon to pick you up. I expect you to be ready for bed when I get home, entiendes?"
The child nodded, leaned into kiss her mom's cheek and before Callie could say goodbye she was in the playhouse with some of the other kids. Knowing that she wasn't ready to leave her daughter, Callie walked up to the desk where she saw a couple of other moms talking to whom she guessed was the teacher,though she couldn't actually see the woman.
As she approached the desk, the other parents turned and walked past her to find their kids. Realizing she had stopped to watch them walk away, she turned back to the desk to talk to her daughter's teacher. Seeing that the woman now had her back to her, Callie tapped the blonde woman on her shoulder, "Hello."
The woman turned around and smiled, showing of what Callie could only describe as the most beautiful dimples she had ever seen. Feeling her breath catch in her throat, Callie became momentarily stunned at the other woman's beauty. Looking her over from top to bottom, Callie took note of the way that the navy blouse she was wearing hung over her body tight enough to show the little curves of her breasts.
"Hello?" The blonde asked, trying to keep her composure as she noticed the woman looking her over. "I'm Arizona Robbins... and you are?"
"Callie... I mean, Dr. Torres, but you can call me Callie. I'm Parker's mom." She turned slightly to point to where her daughter was climbing on the roof of the playhouse, looking as though she was about to jump off. "Her last name isn't..."
Before she could finish her sentence, she saw Arizona run from behind the desk and over to the playhouse. She was once again stunned as she watched Arizona catch her daughter right as she leapt off the plastic house. Still shocked by what had just happened while she was busy rambling about her life to the beautiful blonde, Callie barely noticed when Arizona walked up to her holding Parker.
"So I think I better make sure I have your number on hand, I can already tell that this little one is going to be the one I have to keep my eye on the most."