Author: lilyme
Summary: The earth was so big that Santa could not possibly visit every child himself. Even if he really, really wanted to. And so he had his helpers. And an extra special helper would come visit two no less special girls this Christmas.
Pairing: Callie/Arizona
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters in this story, nor do I own any rights to the television show "Grey's Anatomy". They were created by Shonda Rhimes and belong to her and the ABC network. No copyright infringement intended! All mistakes are mine.
Santa's Helper
"Are you excited yet?" Arizona, still dressed in her pajamas – for this time of year one with snowflakes on them – asked her seven year-old, as they walked down the hall of their house together.
"Yes," Sofia, in her turn wearing her favorite reindeer pajama, answered a little reluctantly, and her mother's ears easily picked up on it.
She could understand it.
It was Christmas, the most festive time of year, and the time to be happy and celebrate with your loved ones.
Yet... somehow this holiday did not feel whole this year.
While the little girl really loved spending Christmas with Arizona and all her Seattle friends - baking cookies, decorating the house, buying presents and even enjoying a snowball fight in the little snow that had already fallen - there were moments when she became sad. Because one person she really wanted to be with right now wasn't here today. Her Mama Callie.
Yes, the little girl was sadly used to not having both her parents together for the holidays. Had celebrated separately with each for years. And had managed to enjoy every Christmas, regardless of missing one half of her family.
But this year... it felt wrong. Because it really didn't have to be this way.
"I know it's not how you imagined it, sweetie," Mami Arizona empathized with her, rubbing the little brunette's shoulder affectionately, as they descended the stairs. "But just wait and see what Santa will bring this year. I bet it's just what you wanted," she nodded encouragingly.
At the mention of Santa, Sofia's face took on a less sad look, "The real one from North Pole?" she smiled conspiratorially. Because she knew something about Santa. Had figured it out years ago, but only last year had dared to let her mother in on this secret.
Santa … was actually several people it seemed. And not only that. They all were people she knew.
When she was five, she had spotted Uncle Alex' watch on Santa's wrist. For the second year in a row. And last year a slightly askew beard had given away the jolly man as Andrew.
Approaching her mother to talk about her suspicions, Arizona had confirmed a with wistful smile that it wasn't the real Santa that had come to visit her in the last years. Which considering how many people were on this earth was actually impossible, the blonde had explained. The mysterious man would have to be every at once.
And she had then let Sofia in on the secret on why all the Santas that had visited her so far did indeed look so familiar.
Because Santa was a very busy man and the earth was so big, he could not possibly visit every child personally. Even if he really, really wanted to.
So, every year he went on the lookout for people to help him around the holidays. Help distribute the gifts and send his love to the kids.
They were his helpers. He had a whole army of them. The traditional Santa suit was not a must, however. A Santa hat, reindeer antlers or simply a festive outfit were okay as well.
But not any person could be his helper.
It had to be someone special. Someone he trusted very much and knew had a good heart and who genuinely cared about the person who would receive presents from them. A sibling, a friend, a parent...
Being chosen as a helper was an honor, really. And Sofia hoped that when she grew up, she would be chosen as a helper too.
"Well, no," Arizona grinned along as she crouched down to be on eye-level with Sofia, happy to see her daughter more upbeat again. Eventually Sofia would figure out the entire truth, but this was still better than outright telling her that Santa did not exist. It was better because it put a smile on her face. And Arizona hoped that wouldn't change for the remainder of the holidays. She was actually positive it wouldn't. "I bet he's sorry he couldn't make it. But I'm sure he sent you his extra special helper this year," she gleamed.
"Extra special?" Sofia's eyes grew wide with excitement.
"Really extra special!" the blonde agreed and kissed her cheek, before getting up again. "Do we wanna let them in?" she wondered, as they turned towards the front door of the house. "Santa's helper must be getting cold outside. And they're probably dying to give you all your presents".
When nothing stirred outside, she raised her voice and repeated, "I said, they must be dying to give you your presents!"
And moments later, the door opened to let in a figure in Santa gear - from the fuzzy hat to the red suit to the heavy black boots, with a jute sack hoisted on the back, which surely held several the eagerly awaited goods.
The only thing missing... was the white beard.
And so it was not just the "Ho, ho, ho!" in an all to familiar voice that gave the true identity of this year's helper away easily.
"Mama!?" Sofia shouted incredulously and ran towards the laughing woman, who had barely enough time to put the rather heavy bag of gifts to the ground before the little brunette engulfed her in a tight hug. Unbelievably tight for such a tiny person. "You're here! And you're one of Santa's helpers!" she whispered in awe.
"Hi, sweetie," the brunette nodded with a grin at the girl's remark. She knew all about the tale Arizona had cooked up and loved every bit of it. "Of course I am here!" she added and leaned down to kiss her daughter. Do you really think I'd miss the chance to spend Christmas with my girl?"
She almost would have missed it with work tying her down in New York. Which was the reason why they had decided that Sofia should stay in Seattle for Christmas this year, even though she had been scheduled to be in The Big Apple for this holiday – as was the case for school years she spent in Seattle and vice versa.
They had figured what good would it be for the girl to hardly see her mother while this one was stuck at the hospital most of the time. And so they had changed their plans.
Which had had Sofia understandably distressed and Callie glad for some recent developments in their lives. Because this would be the last Christmas spent thousands of miles apart.
Or it would have been, if it hadn't been for her boss at New York City Hospital. He had surprisingly told her three days ago that there were capacities to give her the time between Christmas and New Year off after all.
She had been over the moon, and had even handled the hectic search for a last minute plane ticket to Seattle in stride. The joy outweighing the stress of this venture by far. And the overnight flight on Christmas Eve had given her enough time to rest and plan her surprise visit with Arizona happily digging up the Santa suit she still had from Alex' and Andrew's stints.
It was way too big on Callie, but she did not care one bit. What was more important for her was being with Sofia for the holidays and spending much missed time with her.
And aside from spending time with her mine me, there was also another really special girl whom she longed to see right now. One she had deep down missed all the time they had been apart. And now was so happy to call hers again.
The girl in question walked up to them and joined in on the embrace. "Hey, you," she chuckled and kissed Callie on the unobstructed lips. "What happened to your beard?" she wondered in amusement, since when she had helped the brunette dress after her early morning arrival mere hours ago this one had still been part of the outfit.
Putting the costume on itself had been rather difficult. With several weeks of not having seen her in person, she had hardly managed to keep her hands on their actual task. Cuddling and kissing Callie, caressing and teasing her oh-so-soft skin... it had all been so irresistible.
But eventually they had managed to get Callie ready for the event.
"Too itchy," this one confessed. "Plus, Sofia would have figured me out anyway," she grinned. "And don't pretend that you don't like me better without it".
"Agreed," Arizona laughed and nuzzled her nose against Callie's smooth cheek.
"Can we open the presents now?" Sofia asked after giving their parents a considerate amount of time to themselves. Sneakily she had extricated herself from the group hug and was on her way to drag the bag into the living room.
Truth be told, whatever gifts were hidden in the sack for her, they were almost unimportant. Well, really almost.
For her what counted was having both her mothers for Christmas.
And looking forward to all of them restarting their new, old family life in Seattle come next year.