Hello again all! This story is a little different than others that I have seen on here. It is not about our girls meeting and falling in love. It is a little further down the road from there. It doesn't exactly pick up where Healing Hands left off but it is a second part to it. So expect Sophia, Sarah, and Sam to play a big part in our girls' lives. This story might not be everyone's cup of tea. But it is something that I have wanted to write for a while. And I think that it has the potential to be meaningful to some. It may not contain a ton of sexy time and fluff; maybe I can write one of those after this one is done. But for those of you who will take the time to read a few chapters, I hope that you like the story. And if not, feel free to give me some pointers for the next story. Looking forward to going on another journey with you!
Callie's POV
I love work. I do. Breaking bones and cutting people open. Love it. But my awesome, badass job takes me away from my awesome, badass little family. Therefore, breaking bones can suck it. It is seven o'clock in the morning. I hear Sophia rummaging around downstairs, probably packing the last of her homework which was strewn across the kitchen table last night. Sarah is nuzzled into Arizona's neck with two strong arms wrapped around her back. One of them is snoring, I can't tell which. And six month old Sam is still sound asleep in his room. The baby monitor hasn't even picked up one whimper or babble since eleven last night. He sleeps through the night and has been for the past month. Talk about a relief. He is a good baby. I wouldn't expect anything less from a baby born to Arizona. She has had him on a schedule since we brought him home from the hospital, just like she did with Sarah. And the kids thrive on it. You would think that the cop in her would make for a disciplinarian or someone who gives tough love. That couldn't be farther from the truth. Each time that one of the children misbehaves, it calls for a conversation and a reasonable time out. I am pretty sure that Sam started sleeping through the night to get away from the "talks". But to be honest, I cannot remember the last time that Sophia was punished and Sarah is the sweetest little girl that I have ever met. She is caring and compassionate. She is stubborn like her mothers, but sweet. And Sam is a normal little boy. He is starting to crawl and babble. He has dark blonde hair and bright blue eyes. The longer we let his hair get, the curlier it looks. And Arizona. Well she is perfect. She is a devoted wife and mother. She does… everything. From the house to the kids… she takes care of it all. And she is still able to work me into the mix most of the time. I couldn't have asked for a better partner to share my life with. And honestly, I am honored to share our life with her. She hasn't lost all of the baby weight which I know bothers her. But it slightly levels the playing field with our bodies so I love it. And she could gain a hundred more pounds and she would still be the most beautiful woman that I have ever seen. She has been a little run down lately from all the extra work. She falls asleep quicker and eats less. I think she is probably coming down with a virus which will not be great for the kids. But it will give me an excuse to take a few days off and nurse… well… doctor her back to health. She still works from home and only has meeting with clients two days out of the week. She works it around my work schedule so that one of us is always home with Sam. Sophia is in seventh grade and is, as always, Arizona's little girl. They tag team the house work and baby duties. Arizona has never pushed this responsibility on her; Sophia just does it because she wants to. And she loves her little brother. She is an amazing sister to the other two. Sarah has just started kindergarten and has had her moments with lack of attention. Luckily, Sophia so readily takes Sam that Arizona and Sarah can spend a lot of one on one time together. And I have my special time with her when I get home from work, also. This new change is hard on a five year old so we have had to make a few adjustments to the schedule so that she has no doubt how much we love and want her. The girls are at school throughout the week and I usually have to pick up one day on the weekend to work but Sundays are our days as a family. But today is not Sunday, sadly. And I have to leave my little family and go to work. I give Arizona a kiss on the cheek and she stirs a little, pulling Sarah in a little tighter. I smile and give her another kiss on the corner of her mouth and she turns toward me, slowly opening her eyes. Her sleepy blue eyes blink a few times before locking onto mine and she breaks out into her award winning smile.
"Morning beautiful," I whisper to her. She smiles brighter. "I gotta go, ok? Sam is still out, Im going to put some coffee on and some biscuits for you and Sarah. They will be ready after your alarm goes off. Call me later. I love you." She mouths "I love you" back to me and I give her and Sarah another kiss before I am out of the door. Sophia already has her breakfast fixed. A granola bar, a bowl of grits, and an orange juice. I would happily make her breakfast but she has become so independent in her nearly teenage years that I don't have a chance to do it before she does.
"Morning Mija"
"Morning."
"How did you sleep?"
"Alright I guess. Sam woke up around two and needed a diaper. I couldn't go back to sleep after so I read a few of his books while he went back to sleep."
"Soph. Baby you aren't supposed to get up with him. That is why we have a baby monitor so that Mom and I can hear him if he cries."
"I know. But Mom has been all tired lately and when I heard him I was up so… I just did it. I was back asleep before three. Not a big deal." Told you she was a help.
"Alright. Well thank you, Mija, that is very sweet. But you are his sister… you don't have to take care of him. Finish your breakfast, we gotta get going." I put on a pot of coffee and a pan of biscuits in the oven. Arizona's alarm will sound in twenty minutes and she will have to get Sarah and Sam up and ready for their day. Sophia and I head out, locking the door behind us. The ride to her school is as usual, we laugh at the morning DJs on the radio and talk about upcoming assignments for school. She asks which of us will be picking her up and I tell her that I will. After an "I love you" and a few "Have a good day's" she is out of the car and I am on my way to work. This has become our morning routine. As boring as it sounds, it is our life. And we couldn't be happier.
Walking into work is bittersweet. I wish I were back home cuddled with my wife and planning which park we will bring the kids to. But as soon as I see my first case I am back into work mode. An early morning surgery puts me back in the bone breaking mood. Midway through repairing a meniscus tear my intern lets me know that I got a message from Arizona. She knows the protocol when I am in surgery so I feel comfortable having my coworker check it.
He reads the message and looks to me. "Arizona asked if she can come by and have you check her out." The wording elicits a few obnoxious cat calls from some of the guys in the room. Even behind a scrub mask my face silences them.
"She is sick, assholes." I look to the intern. "Tell her to come by around 1." He nods and I raise an eyebrow at the rest of my coworkers, daring them to make another sound. After a few seconds of silence pass I am back to work. Damn men.
Four Hours Later
There's my girl. And my boy. I just scrubbed out of a second surgery to realize that I was late for my meeting with my wife. She is now chatting with some nurses who are fawning over my baby.
"Hey sweetheart… you still feelin' crappy?" She smiles when she sees me and Sam reaches for me with tiny hands. I take him from his mother's arms and she lets her arm fall to her side, seemingly spent from the twenty minutes of holding him.
"Yea. Just run down. I don't know what it is." I place the back of my palm to her forehead. I don't feel a fever so I lean in and place my cheek to hers. Still nothing. I place a kiss to her temple and take her hand in mine, leading her to an open room nearby.
"Baby there isn't much that we can do for a virus. We gotta let it run its course."
"I know. I just wish it would hurry up and get here. I don't feel sick though. Just bad. Tired, weak, no energy. I would be fine puking for two days and getting over it." I begin wondering if the physical symptoms she is feeling are related to some type or postpartum depression. All of the symptoms fit.
"Babe do you think it is hormonal or something? You stopped breastfeeding last month, maybe it's just a belated bout of the baby blues." She seemed to consider the notion once entering the room.
"But I'm not depressed Calliope. I am happy. Like really happy. All the time. I think it is just some sort of bug."
"Well I will take some blood and bring home some Pedialyte, dehydration can sometimes cause these types of problems so it will replace whatever it is that you might be lacking. I'll start you on a Z-pack and maybe knock whatever it is out before it gets worse. When did you first start noticing it?"
She thinks for a minute. "Well we have three children, I think I have been tired for 11 years. But it seems to have gotten worse about six weeks ago. I've gotten more listless."
"Alright. Well we will get you fixed up." I give her my best smile and give her a quick peck on the cheek before handing Sam back over to her and wrap a tourniquet around her left arm to draw blood. "I promise."
After a few tubes of blood are drawn and sent up, I send my wife home to rest. Sam is left with me since I only have an hour and a half left of work. He will happily be passed between doting nurses and interns while I finish my rounds. A long nap will do her good. It isn't long before her labs come back and show slightly elevated white blood cells. Must be some kind of infection. I will get her in again and see if we narrow it down and start her on some antibiotics. A few more rounds and my baby and I can head out and pick up my girls from school. It may make for a long night for me, especially having to do it all again tomorrow, but I promised my girl that I would take care of everything until she feels better. And I intend to keep that promise. After all that the woman has done for me, saving my life, making me a wife, raising three beautiful children who have her laugh and her uncanny ability to brighten me day… well it is the least that I can do.