Sofia curled up under her blankets as the sounds of her parents shouting, though muffled by the door, still rang out clearly.
"Just shut up, Sloan!" Arizona was at her breaking point.
Callie had been away at her a conference for nearly a week, and wasn't due back for as long. She's been trying, honestly trying, to co-parent with Mark peacefully, but it seemed like the man just had no respect for her outside of the OR.
"No! I'm her father! I'M her father! You're a nobody! You think you know what's best, but you don't! You don't! You're not her mother!"
Then there was silence. Peeking her head out from under her blanket, Sofia watched as shadows moved along the crack of her door. She could hear them whispering now but had no idea what they were saying. Her mind was spinning, though. Her Momma wasn't…her Momma? Tears filled her eyes and she started crying, first softly, but then began wailing loudly.
The door swung open and Arizona came over, picking her up. Sofia thrashed and fought until she was handed off to Mark. Her daddy would keep her safe. She continued to sob, trying to understand what had happened and why her Momma wasn't her Momma.
Finally, she fell asleep, her mind clouded by hurt, confusion and betrayal.
"Mami!" Sofia shouted as soon and her mother walked through the door.
Callie bent down to pick up her daughter and looked up, smiling at Arizona, so glad to finally be home.
"Hi baby! Were you good for your momma and daddy?" she asked.
Sofia just tucked her head into her mother's neck and didn't respond. Looking up, Callie noticed how exhausted her wife look. Setting her little girl down, she walked over and pulled Arizona into her arms.
"She's been out of control. She just won't listen to me. I had to call Mark over because it was so bad," She murmured into Callie's ear. Callie could feel how tense her wife was and wondered what had happened while she was gone.
Just then, Sofia started to cry; tugging on her Mami's pant leg insistently. Arizona sighed, and waved off her wife's confused look, moving over to the stove where dinner was cooking.
"What's going on, Mija?" Callie asked the toddler in her arms. She was so confused. But Sofia on clung tighter and buried her face further into her mother's neck.
Arizona had grabbed her jacket and bag, frustrated by the scene in front of her. Sofia had been a nightmare for the last week. She was disobedient and argumentative, with an attitude to match even the most disgruntled teenager. The only one she seemed to listen to was Mark, which meant that he had been around more than normal, much to her chagrin. She had initially thought it was because she was having some sort of anti-woman fit, but it seemed like she had no problem cuddling up to Callie.
"I have to run some errands," She grunted out, trying not to take her agitation out on her wife.
Before Callie could say anything, the door slammed and she was left with a clingy toddler and without her wife.
Shaking her head, she turned to her daughter. She hadn't missed the look of hurt and sadness that Arizona shot Sofia before she left and knew that, to get to the bottom of this problem, she would have to get the truth out of her little girl.
Sitting down, she spoke, "Alright, Mija, what happened?"
It was then that she realized Sofia was crying, "Why did you leave me here with her?"
"What?"
Sofia's sobs continued loudly, "Why did you leave me with her, Mami, why did you leave me?"
She rubbed her daughters back soothingly, trying to figure out what she was talking about. "With who? What do you mean?"
"The lady with the yellow hair! Why did you leave me with her?"
Now Callie was really confused, "Why did I leave you with Momma?"
"No! She's not my Momma!" The little girl started Callie when she pulled away. "She's not!"
"Sofia Robbin Sloan Torres!"
"She's not! She's not my Momma!" The little girl was sobbing again.
Callie looked her daughter in her eyes, "What are you talking about!"
"Daddy said she's not my Momma!" Sofia yelled, anxiety rolling off her in waves. The stress of being around a woman she thought was her momma only to be told she wasn't had caused a lot of stress in the little girl.
Callie's gaze turned deadly. "Sofia. Sofia, look at me," She waited until the girl calmed herself. "I am your Mami, and she is your Momma, understand. You must have misheard your Daddy,"
Sofia shook her head earnestly, "He yelled really loudly,"
Callie took a deep, calming breath, "He was wrong. She is your Momma. Now, you hurt your Momma's feelings, so when she gets home you will apologize,"
The little girl began crying again, "Mami, I was a bad girl! I thought she wasn't my Momma and I didn't listen to her and-"
"Shhhhh. Its okay," Sofia started sobbing uncontrollably so Callie tried again, "Sofia, Baby, I know you were just confused, but your Momma was really sad, so we'll apologize and explain, okay?"
Sofia nodded into her mothers shoulder and just held on.
When the door opened, revealing a grocery-laden Arizona, Sofia shot off her Mami's lap and latched herself onto her Momma's leg, crying once again, "I'm so sorry!" She exclaimed through hiccups.
Setting the groceries down, she bent to pick up her daughter, who was clinging to her desperately. "It's okay, Honey, talk to me,"
When Sofia finally calmed down enough for her to be coherent, she explained how she had heard them yelling and how she thought that she wasn't her Momma.
Arizona blanched. She remembered that argument and knew they had been too loud, but Mark had been bugging her all day and she'd lost it. She knew he didn't mean it; after all, they were more or less in the same boat. They had decided not to tell Callie since they had resolved the issue on their own.
"I'm sorry, Momma. I love you,"
"It okay, baby," She said softly, avoiding eye contact with her wife. It was already 8:30 and time to put Sofia down for bed.
Fifteen minutes later Sofia was all tucked into bed. After a week of fighting with her Momma, she was exhausted, falling asleep before her head hit the pillow. Callie on the other hand, was far from tired.
"What on earth happened?" She exclaimed in the privacy of their bedroom, on the other side of the apartment.
Arizona sighed. She didn't really want to talk about this now. "It's nothing, Callie, don't worry about it,"
"Oh I'm worried alright! I come home to find my daughter emotionally distraught because she doesn't think you're her mother anymore?!" Callie was almost yelling at this point.
"Its complicated and confusing and just too much right now," Arizona mumbled, walking off into the bathroom.
Callie gave a frustrated sigh. After being away for two weeks, all she wanted to do was spend time with her two favorite girls. Instead she found herself in the middle of a huge misunderstanding that had been blown far out of proportion.
"Arizona!"
Walking back out, she started to get ready for bed, "Fine! We weren't going to tell you, but it seems unavoidable at this point!" Arizona just wanted to crawl back into her happy pink bubble, but Callie wasn't backing down. "Mark and I had an argument, and it got a little out of hand. He said it, and apologized and it seems Sofia got caught in the middle, okay!"
The blonde was at the end of her rope. She was exhausted, both physically and emotionally, and just didn't want to deal with this drama. Throwing her street clothes in the hamper, she pulled on a pair of shorts, before rummaging around for a tank top.
"Zona? Please talk to me," Callie pleaded, wrapping her arms around her wife.
Finally, Arizona broke down. All the feelings she'd repressed and the anxiety of the two weeks without her wife crashed down on her.
"I know-I know he didn't mean it," She started, tears falling quickly, "But then suddenly Sofia doesn't want to be near me and you were away and-" she paused to swipe at the tears, "She was just so much, always screaming or crying. I just didn't know what to do. It was my worst nightmare come to life. I'm not cut out to be a mother!" By now She was openly sobbing.
Callie's heart broke. She knew her wife trying so, so hard for her, for Sofia. She had always been insecure about being a good mother, and her tiffs with Mark certainly weren't helping. But lately they'd seemed to be getting along. They were in this together, after all.
"Youre a great mother, Arizona, and I'm sorry I wasn't here to help you," she whispered into Arizona's hair, leading her over to the bed. Pulling off her clothes, she lay next to her wife, the skin on skin contact soothing her.
"I just-I love you so much, Calliope, and I love Sofia so much. I love you both so much that it hurts sometimes. I know Mark is her father, and he knows I'm her mother, but sometimes it's just so hard! We've been trying so hard, for you and Sofia and the one time we're finally on the same page, the shit hits the fan and our little girl is emotionally scarred!"
"I know, Arizona, I know. I love you too and I'm glad you and Mark are finally getting over your dislike for each other. It means the world to me," Callie paused for a moment, before continuing on, "I'm so happy you two have been getting along better around me, but I don't want you to pretend like you guys never fight. You're trying, and that's all I want, okay?"
Arizona nodded into her neck, exhaustion finally enveloping her. Like her daughter, she was asleep before her head hit the pillow. Callie pulled her wife closer, kissed her forehead, vowing to put Mark in his place later, before drifting off to sleep.