To the birthday girl…Jessica Brooke Capshaw Gavigan…Thirty seven years ago you were born and…thirty seven years later you are bringing joy and happiness to the world each and every day and each and every week as you portray our favorite character Dr. Arizona Robbins. Here's hoping you have a great and wonderful birthday today and many more.
This is a little story rolling around in my head this week in honor of your birthday yesterday. I do not own any rights to the characters I write about in my stories as they belong to the wonderful and talented Shonda Rhimes and ABC Television that brings all of us Grey's Anatomy.
Title: The Birthday Girl...Chapter 1
Characters: Dr. Arizona Robbins, Dr. Calliope Torres and their daughter Sofia Robbins Sloan Torres along with some other members of the Grey+Sloan Memorial Hospital staff.
Rating: M…For the mature reader in all of us
Ownership: Once again Shonda Rhimes and ABC Television
August 9, 2026
I, Dr. Arizona Robbins walk through my Pediatric ward of the hospital as I check on everyone of my patients before I head home for the day. I know what today is as every doctor and nurse along with my parents call me today to remind me of what today is as they all wish me a very happy birthday. But I, Dr. Arizona do not celebrate my birthday in the traditional way that everyone else celebrates their birthdays each year. I feel like it just another day in my life so I do not celebrate this day but my family is another story.
Across town in the good doctor's home that she shares with her wife of fifteen years and her daughter who just happens to be fifteen years old too, another year has come as her daughter is asking her mami a question about today. Sofia says to her mami "I just do not understand why mama does not want to celebrate this birthday this year. It is a milestone and she looks so good for a woman that is turning fifty years old today. Why can't we surprise her with a party, mami"? Dr. Calliope Torres knows the answer to that question all too well as she remembers for a moment the one and only time she threw her wife a surprise birthday party.
It was the same day that Wallace Anderson was supposed to celebrate his eleventh birthday. You see, he and Arizona shared the same birthday but on his eleventh birthday when he and Arizona were supposed to be sharing a piece of cake together in his room after his surgery…he died on her operating room table. But even before that day, that tragic day, Arizona always had a thing about not celebrating her birthday. Then when Wallace died, celebrating that day just became harder to do so every year since they have been together Calliope always just made Arizona's favorite dinner as they share a bottle of wine and eat some birthday cake that Calliope bakes as this is the birthday tradition now.
Sofia walks into the kitchen as she watches her mami getting ready to place the chocolate cake in the oven for dessert tonight as she says "Mami, did you not hear me" as Calliope smiles and says "Yes baby girl I heard you and I was just remembering why your mama does not like birthday celebrations. Because you know as well as I do the answer to your question because I know turning fifty is a big deal. If you recall the big birthday bash last year we had when I turned fifty". Then Sofia makes another plea for her case as she says "Exactly…You, we had a great time at your birthday party last year. So why can't we do the same for mama. She was the ring leader behind your birthday bash last year as she is always the one who gives me a great birthday party every year. I just don't understand why we cannot do the same for her. She is a great mama and I just want to make her happy".
I walk over to our now disappointed daughter as I wrap her up in my arms kissing the top of her head and say "Making your mama happy is our number one priority…everyday including today. We do that by doing what she wants and not what we want. Even though she is a type A person, this is how she wants to celebrate her birthday each year with just you and me and my famous chicken piccatta with a salad and your infamous Italian bread rolls with olive oil and topped with parmesan cheese as we end the evening with a dessert of chocolate cake with chocolate icing. How does that sound baby girl"? Our daughter takes her head out of my chest as she looks at me with still those sad gorgeous brown eyes and says "Alright then…but I am putting the number "50" on top of the cake in cream cheese frosting as we are going to celebrate this milestone in one way or another…deal mami" as I smile at my baby girl and say with pride "Deal mija".