Happy New Year all! To celebrate the end of a decade, we have these wonderful snapshots, which you shall receive about one a day! It's all the moments you might have wanted to see but couldn't be fit into the stories. Visits to Addison, friends meeting family, babys' firsts, and their meeting with Michael, it's all here! The timing is approximate, we planned this out after writing Heart Trouble, so we fit things in as best we could.
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Visiting Addison (April 2011)
"So, what time is Addison expecting us?" Arizona poses her question while fixing a snack. The pair is packed and ready to leave the following morning whenever they wake up.
"I told her we'd call before taking off, but I figure we take off around noon-ish, we'd land around three. The rental car is supposed to be waiting on the tarmac for us, so barring traffic, we'll get there around dinner time."
"Awesome. What did you tell Derek when you asked for time off?" Taking her sandwich, she joins Callie on the sofa, offering half of it to the brunette while they snuggle in for a movie.
"The truth – I told him we were going down to explore our options for kids and get started on whatever hormones and such that we'd need to."
"And you told him-,"
"I told him not to tell anyone, even Meredith; that we wanted to make the announcement when the procedure actually takes and we pass the danger zone. Now, shush, the movie is starting."
Curling into the younger woman's side, Arizona groans internally when the opening music for the latest thrasher movie filters through the speakers. While she hates the movies her girlfriend picks, she secretly loves them as well, because her moments of burrowing into the brunette's side in fear often turn into heavy make-out sessions, interrupted often by Christina Yang coming home early or drunk.
Arizona stands back a ways to allow the two friends to embrace when they arrive at Addison's place. The women hadn't even gotten the opportunity to knock when the door was flung open and the neonatal surgeon threw her arms around the ortho surgeon. Finally, the two women break apart and Callie turns to Arizona.
"You remember Arizona."
"I do," Addison pulls the smaller woman into a warm embrace, releasing her significantly earlier than she did Callie. "So, come on in, I just ask that you be quiet… I'm babysitting today and baby is sleeping."
The two women grab their bags from the car and follow Addison into her house. At her direction, they leave the bags at the bottom of the stairs before getting a quick tour of the first floor. Accepting a glass of tea, the women make their way to the back porch, Addison grabbing the baby monitor on the way.
"Who are you baby-sitting for, Pete?" Callie is aware of the break-up that Pete and Addison had, yet she also knows that the two stayed friends, and Addison is always willing to take care of young Lucas if Pete or Violet have to work late or need some alone time.
"No, Maya. She and Dink have got finals next week, so everyone at the practice is taking Olivia for one afternoon until afterwards so that they can study."
"God, I cannot believe that Maya kept the baby. How's she doing by the way? Is her back doing better?"
"Yeah, she's getting there. She still needs some physical therapy and her legs still get a little weak at the end of the day. But all things considered…" Addison trails off.
"She's lucky to have the use of her legs at all." Callie finishes, having reviewed the file last spring. When Addison had heard about her cartilage research, she'd sent the file – with Maya and Naomi's permission – to get a trusted ortho opinion and to get Callie onboard in case repair surgery was needed. So far Maya seemed to be doing well on her own.
The trio falls silent for a moment before Arizona takes Callie's hand. The two hold a silent conversation, which Addison is quick to notice and she remains silent, waiting for the couple to bring up whatever they were discussing between themselves. She doesn't have to wait long.
"Alright, Addison, you know I love you, so coming to see you is no hardship, but we actually need to talk to you about something – something that is the main reason why we came down here this week." Arizona lets Callie take the lead on the conversation, knowing the friendship and past between the women on this particular topic.
"Okay, what's up?" Addison sits up straight, the tone to Callie's voice making her worry slightly.
"We need your medical opinion on something."
"Is everything alright? Are one of you sick?" Before Addison can begin to worry too much, Callie breaks in with a reassuring smile.
"Oh, no, we're fine! Nothing is wrong with either of us." Addison visibly relaxes, taking a deep breath.
"Geez, Torres, don't scare me like that." Callie is quick to apologize, and the two women share a quick smile before Addison falls serious once again. "So what can I do for you then?"
"Arizona and I want to start a family." Addison's eyes go wide, but before she can comment, or squeal in surprised happiness, Callie holds up a hand, halting any comment from the redhead. "The plan is for me to carry Arizona's child-,"
"And vice versa?" Arizona is the one to stop Addison's train of thought this time.
"I'm not totally certain on carrying a child. What little thought I gave to motherhood, I'd always considered adoption, so for the moment, we're just going to make plans for Calliope to have my child."
"Alright then. I'm fairly certain that I have an opening tomorrow right after lunch, but if you bring something in, I might be persuaded to work through lunch, just for you. We've got to perform a quick physical and take some blood to test your hormone levels; if all that checks out, I'll get you in with Naomi the next day to get you started on the fertility drugs. Good?"
"Good." The younger women respond simultaneously, which causes the older surgeon to chuckle happily, getting to her feet and circling the table to give her best friend a giddy hug.
"I'm so happy for you!"
"Thank you." Addison moves onto Arizona, bending down to hug the woman, holding onto her nearly as long as she did Callie. Further conversation is halted at the sound of cries coming from the monitor and Addison excuses herself to tend to the baby.
"Well, that went better than I thought it would." Callie comments once the door is shut behind Addison.
"You thought that she would have a problem with this?"
"No, I thought I'd lose hearing in one or both ears at her exclamation of joy."
