AU :)
Disclaimer: We don't own anything except for the characters not mentioned in the show and the plot line.
"Zoaaaaaaa?"
The small, but frustrated voice caused Arizona to chuckle. Immediately throwing a hand over her mouth, she giggled quietly through her fingertips. She was currently scrunched into as small of a ball as a thirty-year-old could be, hiding in the guest bathroom's hamper.
"Zoa!"
Smiling to herself, Arizona shook with silent laughs. Minutes ago she had heard the current seeker, two-year-old Bryce, find his big sister in one of her usual hiding spots. Surprisingly, Bryce hadn't given up on finding her yet.
"Dis new fwoster mumma is reaaaaal goods at hidins!"
Not being able to hold in her laughter anymore, Arizona busted out in giggles, trying to quiet herself as much as she could so her super awesome hiding space wouldn't be leaked.
"Keni! I heards her!"
Little feet pounded down the hallway and into the bathroom, and Arizona sucked in a breath. She was definitely about to be spotted seeing as the hamper didn't totally close with her inside.
"Brycers, look," she heard Kendall whisper before the lid to the hamper shot open and two pairs of little hands grabbed at Arizona's blonde hair and shoulders.
Laughing, Arizona pulled herself out of the hamper and chased after the two blonde children who were currently flying down the hall. Before they hit the stairs, Arizona halted. "Walk!" she instructed, sharing a look with both children and smiling at them when they waited for her to reach the landing as well. "Hands?" Two tiny hands shot out and connected with her own and she quickly sucked down emotions that were erupting within her. She had already fallen in love with these children, but she promised herself she couldn't get too attached, no matter how adorable they turned out to be.
"Hi!" Arizona greeted, swinging the door open and giving the two children and the man standing on her doorstep one of her trademark super magic smiles. "You must be Mr. Sloan."
"Hey," he greeted back, giving her a wink and turning to the two children standing halfway behind him and peeking out. "Call me Mark. And these little cuties are Kendall and Bryce. Kids, you remember Ms. Robbins, your new foster mom."
"Hi, munchkins. It's so nice to finally have you guys here!" Arizona gushed, bending down to their level and holding out a hand, eying up Bryce first, who Mark had previously warned was easier to warm-up to strangers. "I have your rooms all ready, but I wasn't sure what kind of stuff you would want in them. Maybe we can go shopping later for you two to pick out some stuff for your beds and some toys and clothes?"
Bryce's face lit up and she even saw Kendall's eyebrows raise a little. "I pick toys for me dat I wants?"
Nodding, Arizona smiled softly at him. "Toys just for you. Well, maybe you can share with your big sister sometimes?"
Bryce shrugged. "Maybes. If she is nice to me dat day."
Snorting, Arizona stood back up and motioned for the trio to come in. So far, so good.
"Zoa, can we have a snack?" Kendall asked when they reached the kitchen downstairs, bringing Arizona out of her trance.
"Hm? Oh. Of course, Kangaroo. What do you want?"
"Gummies?" she asked excitedly, jumping up and down a few times, still clutching Arizona's hand in her own.
"Of course you can have gummies. We'll have lunch as soon as Ms. Callie gets here, okay?" Receiving two nods in acknowledgement, she shooed the two over to the table and went to the cabinet to get zoo animal shaped fruit snacks.
"Hi, come in! It's so nice to finally meet you face-to-face instead of just chatting over the phone or through email. Please, call me Arizona!"
Callie stood shock still, staring at the blonde that just opened the door. This was not the Arizona Robbins she was expecting, nor was she prepared for the gorgeous dimples, bright blue eyes, rocking body, or silky blonde hair.
"Uh, hi. It's very nice to meet you as well, Arizona. Calliope Torres, but please, call me Callie."
"Of course. Please come in, Callie. We were just about to make fruit smoothies for after lunch!"
Callie followed Arizona through the house and noticed how nice, simple, and clean it was even though it still managed to be loaded with personality. She smiled at the pictures that she assumed the children had colored, noticing one which she guessed had been drawn by Kendall. The drawing was a picture of three stick figures: a tall blonde and two small blonde children. She could only assume this was a picture of Arizona and the two children she was fostering. She loved when her job was easy and she was hoping her gut was right when she placed the kids with Arizona. "I like your wall decor."
Arizona followed Callie down the hall after she finished putting away her jacket. "The kids love to color. One day I let them pick what we would do and they chose to stay inside and watch movies and color all day. I keep all of them but they pick their favorites to hang up."
"They seem to have really found a place here."
"I like to think so. Let's go meet them in the kitchen. They will want to get back to making their smoothies."
Callie smiled and followed Arizona to the kitchen. The children sprang up and bounced over to Arizona. "Zoa! Can I have peaches."
"Of course you can Brycers. What about you, Kangaroo?"
"I just want strawberries and kiwi."
Staying out of the way, Callie observed the family that had formed over the past two weeks. The children clearly adored Arizona and Callie couldn't blame them. She was amazing with them and it was apparent she was just as wild about them as they were about her. "What kind do you think Ms. Callie will want?"
Remembering there was someone else in the room with them, the kids turned toward Callie. "What kinds do you want, lady?" questioned Bryce, causing Callie to laugh.
"How about you surprise me?"
"Callie!" Kendall shrieked, remembering her social worker, unlike her brother, and flying over to her for a hug. "You kept your promise!"
Arizona glanced over and smiled before continuing to help Bryce add fruit to his concoction.
"Of course I did, Kendall! I promised I'd come check up on you guys. Looks like you love Arizona though, huh?"
Smiling brightly, Kendall nodded vigorously. "I was even mean to her at first but she loves me still!"
Callie looked sharply back up at Arizona and caught the shrug the other woman threw her.
"No."
"Kendall, sweetheart, you need to eat something."
"Go. Away."
"How about some macaroni?"
"I hate macaroni and I hate you!"
"We had a few mishaps when little miss first got here, but we talked and are best friends now, huh, Kangaroo?"
Giving Arizona a shy smile, she made her way over to her foster mom and hugged her legs, reaching up to snag a berry from the table. "Best best friends. Forever."
"Wanna watch da movies wif us, Ms. Callie?" Bryce asked, blue eyes shining up at the Latina.
Running a quick hand over his curls, she shook her head no. "Sorry, baby. I need to talk to your Zoa. We'll come in in a little bit, okay? Go snuggle with your big sister."
Both adults watched Bryce run off. "No taking the cap off your sippy so you don't spill," Arizona reminded, calling after him and earning herself a cute smile in return from the little boy as he turned around and showed her his capped sippy cup.
Callie and Arizona made themselves comfortable in the living room on Arizona's extremely comfy couches. "So how is it on your end?"
"Awesome. They are always making me laugh. I didn't think I would be able to do this again after Dani. We were really close."
"And she was your last foster child," guessed Callie.
"Yes. For four years. We were so close and when she left, she took a part of me. That's why I waited a couple years to do this again."
"How do you like having younger kids?"
"Oh they are just as awesome. It's just different. They have so much energy and they give me a little bit of it."
Callie smiled at this comment. She couldn't see this woman not having energy. Everything about her seemed perky. "I am very happy that you are having such a good experience and it's obvious the children are well cared for and loved. That's why I hate having to ask this question. Have there been any mishaps over the last two weeks?"
"Other than Kendall rejecting the whole situation at first, we have been perfect."
"That's awesome. My job is so much harder when thing aren't perfect. But since things seem to be going great for now, I don't have much more to do here. I should get out of your hair."
Arizona wasn't sure why but she didn't want the brunette to leave just yet. She assumed it was from the minimal adult contact she had experienced over the past couple of weeks. "You're welcome to stay a little bit longer if you want."
"I would love to but I'm afraid I have to go. Policy, you know?"
Nodding, Arizona smiled and began to get up from the couch. "Well it was lovely having you. Let me go get the kids so they can say goodbye."
"Oh if you don't mind, I could just come up with you and say goodbye to them. I don't want to ruin their evening."
"That sounds perfect. They get grumpy when their movie is interrupted," replied Arizona, leading Callie up to her bedroom.
Kendall saw the two women come into the room. "Come watch!"
"I'll watch with you, but Ms. Callie needs to leave and came to say goodbye to you."
"Oh," sighed Kendall, clearly upset that her social worker was leaving.
"No leaves," whined Bryce.
Callie couldn't help but smile at the adorable children. "Come here and give me a hug!"
Kendall and Bryce shot out of the bed and ran over to Callie with a chorus of "Bye, Ms. Callie."
After another hug and a few more words of goodbye, Arizona walked Callie to the door. "Well…I hope you enjoyed your lunch and smoothie."
"It was all delicious, Arizona. And, hey, listen if you ever need anything here is my card. I can be reached 24/7."
Smiling, Arizona extended her hand for the card. "Thank you so much. I will definitely keep this handy. Have a great night, Calliope."
Callie returned the sentiment and walked out of the door. She noticed that Arizona called her Calliope, which she usually hated, however, she didn't hate it all coming from the gorgeous and adorable blonde.