Title: Surprise

Author: A. Windsor

Pairing/Characters: Callie/Arizona

Rating: PG-13

Disclaimer: All television shows, movies, books, and other copyrighted material referred to in this work, and the characters, settings, and events thereof, are the properties of their respective owners. My one semester of law school could allow me to legalese this a little more, but it also tells me it's pretty useless. So please don't sue; it's not mine, I'm just playing!

Summary: VDay is all about surprises.

Author's Note: Part of my AU!verse. Early, but not technically a prequel, I guess. ;) VDay 2013, because I always have to chime in with a late holiday fic in this 'verse. Just a tiny little thing while I work on some bigger stuff. Beta'd by the wonderful roughian .


This is huge.

Nerve-wracking, heart-stopping, everything she ever wanted, huge. And to find out on today of all days? It's perfect timing.

Callie ducks out of work early to prepare, leaving only a text to alert Arizona to the change in plans. She gets a confused Um, why? in response.

VDay is all about surprises, she texts back, feeling the giddiness rising up in her chest as she runs through a list of everything she needs to get done. First stop, grocery store.


Arizona's shift ends around seven, so Callie tries her best to have dinner ready at 7:30, allowing time for Arizona to get caught up talking to her tiny humans. She has both presents ready, the general Valentine's Day present and the one she's been saving for just this occasion.

Arizona walks in the door at 7:35 already apologizing for being a little late and is greeted by the table already set with her favorite pasta dish and a glass of white wine. Since their original plans were to go straight to the restaurant, she's all dolled up, and Callie grins appreciatively as she stands to greet her at the door.

"Hey you."

Arizona smiles softly, tiredly, and sets her bag down by the door.

"Wow, you look, wow. I love Valentine's Day."

Callie spins a little for her, not the tiniest bit self-conscious in her curve-hugging black dress. It's one of Arizona's favorites, and she wants to enjoy it while she can.

"This looks great," Arizona says, moving in for a kiss with a gesture towards dinner. "But why the big change in plans?"

Callie grabs her hips and pulls her closer, deepening the kiss hello.

"Mm. I really like Valentine's Day," Arizona notes, pulling away. She narrows her eyes as she studies her practically bouncing girlfriend. "Seriously, what happened to our reservations?"

"Just a little spontaneity. Sit. Eat."

"Yes, dear," Arizona grins, dropping one more chaste kiss to her lips before sitting down.

They make small talk about their days, but Callie is clearly distracted, and Arizona can tell. It's their fourth Valentine's together, and while Arizona is quite happy to spend whatever time, in whatever place with Callie, she's thoroughly confused as to this very strange turn of events.

As soon as they're through with dinner, Callie hops up and retrieves two presents from the kitchen counter.

"You got me two things?" Arizona asks. "I feel very spoiled."

"You should be spoiled."

"Which should I open first?"

The plan had been for her to open the smaller one first, and ooh and ahh over the pretty earrings, but Callie's just too damn impatient, so she immediately presents the gift bag, belly full of butterflies. She knows Arizona is giving her a weird look, but she offers no explanation, except:

"Open it."

"Okay, okay," Arizona smiles, laughing at her enthusiasm. "It's not another watch, is it?"

"Nope."

Arizona rifles around in the tissue paper, brow wrinkling adorably when her hand hits a small piece of fabric. She pulls it out, and the confusion gives way to shock.

It's a tiny, tiny onesie in a gender-neutral, badass black, with words scrawled across the front:

I heart my moms.

They've been trying since October, knowing that Arizona would be done with her frequent trips to Malawi within the year and thinking this was as good a time as any. Callie's really gotten to know the "turkey baster" just a little too well, and they've had many little disappointments peeing on a stick. When it had finally been positive this morning, after Arizona had been paged in early, she hadn't wanted to get anyone's hopes up. When a quick blood test early this afternoon had confirmed it, however, she'd wanted to make this special.

Arizona looks up, her blue eyes wide with surprise and something else. Fear?

"Are you...?"

"I'm pregnant."

"Oh god."

"Ariz-"

Arizona is up and out of her chair before Callie can finish, barely making it into the second bedroom's bathroom.

Callie hears her knees hit the tile, hard. The sound of retching breaks Callie from her own shock as she stands to follow. Fighting down the panic this reaction causes, Callie sits on the edge of the tub and gently collects Arizona's soft curls, keeping them out of the way with one hand as she rubs her back soothingly.

"You do know I'm supposed to be the one puking, right?" Callie tries to joke. It sounds hollow, though, because this could be a very, very big problem.

Arizona's too busy emptying her stomach to respond. Callie continues to attempt to soothe her, but as time goes by, starts to feel the tears welling in her eyes. What, exactly, does this mean?

After Arizona seems to have stopped for a few minutes, forehead resting on her crossed arms, Callie speaks up.

"Arizona, baby, I'm gonna need you to say something."

No response.

"I thought you wanted this, too," Callie says softly, unable to keep the tears from falling, wiping angrily at them. "We've been trying for months. It's not like this could happen accidentally for us. There are usually no accidental gaybies."

The quip gets Arizona's attention, and she looks up with the ghost of a smile in place. She notices Callie's tears, and she immediately sits all the way up, falling back so that she's cross-legged on the floor.

"I..."

"I thought we were ready. You said..."

Arizona finally finds her voice.

"I suck."

"I'm gonna need more than that. You need to tell me how you're feeling."

Arizona takes in a deep breath and takes Callie's hand, looking up at her earnestly as the other hand rests warmly on her knee.

"Honestly?"

"Of course," Callie says, bracing herself.

"Overwhelmed. Scared. Really scared."

Callie drops her gaze, but Arizona reaches to tilt it back up, and her eyes are wide and open.

"Amazed, Calliope. In awe. We actually," she pauses and moves her hand from Callie's chin to her still-flat abdomen with a dimpled smile that receives a relieved, adoring Calliope smile in return. "Created a life. Through the miracle of science and an anonymous donor, yes, but still. We're going to be parents." She looks a little green as that realization passes over her again. "We're having a baby."

"You're not gonna be sick again, are you?"

Arizona pinches her thigh with an adorably disgruntled look.

"No."

"And you're really okay? Are you, happy, about it?"

"Yes. Yes. I'm so sorry." She scrambles to her feet, pulling Callie to hers as well. "I just, wasn't expecting it, you know?"

"Hence the surprise."

"Right. So embarrassing. I can't believe... I'm so sorry," she repeats. "I – No, I just. It all hit me, as soon as you said 'pregnant', every single thing that could go wrong, and all the stuff, and the crying, and the college tuition, and- "

"Arizona. Brush your teeth so I can kiss you."

"Really? Because after that, I was kinda assuming I would be sleeping in the guest room."

"On Valentine's Day?"

"I puked when you told me you were pregnant with our child. Wow. She's gonna think her momma is terrible when we tell her this."

"Her, huh?"

"Or him," Arizona corrects, pausing. "Yeah. A boy would be okay, too. I think it's a girl, though. A pretty little thing that will look just like you and..."

The adorable ramble is back in full force, and it is a thousand times better than the shocked, terrifying silence.

"Arizona, please. Go brush your teeth."

Arizona reluctantly pulls away, fingers trailing against Callie's hips. Callie closes her eyes at the jolt of lust that follows in their wake. When she opens them again, Arizona is gone, on her mission for non-puke breath.

Callie joins her in their bathroom, wrapping her up from behind while she diligently puts her electric toothbrush to good use. She presses a few light kisses at the back of her neck, leading up to her ear, which she briefly nips at. Arizona's eyes widen in the mirror, and she uses her free hand to bat her away playfully. She leans over to spit, which only makes Callie's grin more mischievous, hands drifting with possessive familiarity to the tops of her thighs and pulling her tighter against her.

"Woman, are you trying to make a mess?" Arizona laughs after she rinses. She twists so she's facing her, finding herself pinned between the bathroom counter and her insistent girlfriend. Are those pregnancy hormones kicking in already? The thought of their impending parenthood makes her freeze with a momentary flash of renewed panic as Callie kisses her.

Sensing it, Callie pulls back a little, meeting her eyes with warmth. She picks one hand up off of the counter and grabs Arizona's with it, bringing it to her stomach and holding it there.

"You're going to be an amazing momma, Arizona. I heard you when you said you were scared, I did. I'm scared, too, of the million little things that could go wrong. But we're in this together, every step of the way. We can do this. We kinda have to. And I'm really excited to meet our baby."

Arizona's thumb caresses her belly through the tight fabric of her dress, and she smiles broadly as Callie's breath catches at the contact.

"I'm excited, too, because you are going to be a great mom, and I trust you to not let me screw this up too badly."

"We'll figure it out," Callie promises as she leans in and finally kisses her like she's been wanting to, tasting the familiar mint of their toothpaste as her tongue snakes out for more.

They step out of their heels and somehow make their way back to the bedroom while fumbling with zippers, giggling occasionally at the awkwardness that arises from trying to accomplish all of those tasks without breaking their increasingly fervent kisses.

Callie finds herself pressed against their soft mattress, her dress discarded somewhere along the way. She grins appreciatively as Arizona starts to kiss her way southward, but pouts, confused and a little frustrated, when the blonde goes straight to her belly, slowing to press gentle, reverent kisses to the soft skin that will soon stretch to accommodate their growing child.

"Hi," Arizona murmurs, barely audible even in the silence of their bedroom.

Callie feels her eyes welling with tears for the second time that night, this time with awe.

"Sorry about earlier," Arizona continues, lips brushing her stomach with every word. "Sometimes your momma panics in the face of life changing events. How are you doing in there? Nice and comfy? Get settled in there and dream your fetus dreams, because I'm about to make love to your mom. We'll talk again later."

Callie threads her fingers through those now messy blonde curls, palm pressed warmly to Arizona's flushed cheek, and tugs her upward.

"I'm so in love with you," Callie whispers against her lips. "I still don't know how we got so lucky."

"We've got the rest of our lives to figure it out."

Callie beams at the idea.

"Maybe the baby knows," Arizona adds, adorably.

"You can ask him later."

"Him, huh?"

"You can wish for a girl, but I'm holding out hope for a boy."

"We'll just have to wait and see who's right," Arizona chuckles a little and kisses her again. She yelps in surprise as Callie flips her onto her back.

"Happy Valentine's Day."

"This time next year we'll have a screaming infant," Arizona notes.

"Better take advantage of our time now then, hmm?"


el fin