Title: Coming Home

Author: A. Windsor

Pairing/Characters: Callie/Arizona

Rating: PGish.

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 and a half years 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!

Series: Thing!verse

Summary: Asa makes a surprise visit home. [May 2037]

Author's Note: This fic is written off of cacheese's prompt, for her birthday. Which was in January. Total friend fail, I know. Beta'd by the lovely roughian.

Asa has been flying most of his life, and this is still the only airport that makes him anxious or nervous. His mother's flight phobia never rubbed off on him, but maybe his madre's uneasiness about Sea-Tac did. After all, he's been told a million times that he almost didn't exist because of events that transpired in this airport a lifetime ago, and the little kid inside of him still is wary of the place.

It's an odd feeling, since he's coming home, but he's learned to live with it. Just like he's learned to travel light, not live anywhere long, and have all of his major life decisions made by a power greater than himself: the United States Marine Corps. Admittedly, the last part is not that unlike living with two strong willed mothers for his first eighteen years.

Anyway, as a twenty-three-year-old Marine, he should probably get over that irrational fear that his mothers would have stayed broken up and never had him.

He grabs his duffel off the baggage carousel and throws it over his shoulder, getting a few appraising looks when people notice that it's official military issue. He nods to a few older gentleman, most likely veterans, and heads out the door. He'd flown under the radar by dressing in civilian clothes, but it's hard for a Marine to pack in anything but his duffel. He grabs his phone from his pocket to start trying to contact his siblings, but he immediately hears a cry of:

"Asa!"

He looks up and can't help but grin. Caroline, in the driver's seat of her shiny black car, honks and waves, while Teo hops out of the passenger seat and rushes to greet him.

"Jeez, Teo, you've grown a foot," Asa oofs as Teo embraces him warmly.

"Just a few inches," Teo shrugs, reaching for his brother's bag and wrestling it onto his back.

Asa grins, still in awe of how much his fifteen-year-old little brother has grown since he saw him at Christmas.

"We're headed to the hospital first," Caroline informs him as Teo tosses his duffle in the front seat and Asa leans across the center console to hug his sister.

"You think they still don't know?"

"They know something is up. They just don't know what."

Asa grins. "Alright. Well, try not to kill us on the way there, huh? I've met hum-vee drivers less erratic than you."

"They're hiding something. They've been sneaking around for days," Arizona huffs, checking her watch and tapping her foot. Callie grins at her adorable wife, just as annoyed to be out of the loop and out of control as the fact that their two younger kids have been scheming all week.

"I'm sure it's nothing serious," Callie assures her, glad for a break in the rain that allows them to wait in the parking lot where they've been summoned and not huddled under the awning, hiding from the pelting rain they've had for the past few days.

"You don't know that. I don't like secrets," Arizona pouts as over her shoulder Callie sees Caroline pull into the parking lot. She doesn't alert Arizona to that, though, because Caroline's driving makes her mother a little nervous. Callie's not worried; she taught Caroline herself.

"I think I know what they've been sneaking around about," Callie says, face shocked.

"Is it drugs? Y'know, I never thought we'd have to deal with that, but if it were any of them, I'd say Caroline. She's just always been better at hiding things from us and-."

"Arizona. It's not drugs," Callie beams before turning her wife around to see one handsome young Marine leaning against Caroline's car.

Before Arizona can squeal "Asa!", the young man is in his madre's arms.

There are hugs and a few happy tears all around, Teo and Caroline crowing about their victorious surprise.

"Oh thank god this was the surprise," Arizona breathes, arm around Teo's shoulders, still barely able to reach.

"What?" Teo laughs. "What else did you think we were hiding?"

"Your mother thought Caroline was on drugs."

"Momma!"

"Why didn't you tell us you were coming home?" Callie is fussing over Asa as they all sit down for dinner at their local Tex-Mex restaurant. "I would've had your favorite dinner ready!"

"Carlito's is good, Ma. Don't worry," Asa grins. "We wanted to surprise you. I know we were all disappointed I couldn't get leave for Thing Three's graduation, so I managed to get some off early."

"I still can't believe you thought I was doing drugs."

"She didn't really," Callie assures their daughter. Arizona nods reassuringly.

"But if you were, I'd kill you," Arizona chimes in, with a grin.

Caroline rolls her eyes.

"Thanks for the update."

"So, how's North Carolina?" Teo asks. "Any girls?"

Asa laughs a little at hearing his baby brother (fifteen, he has to remind himself) ask seriously about women.

"I don't kiss and tell, Mateíto. You sound like Lena, ¿sabes?"

"Oh, he talks a good game, but he's nowhere near as bad as our little Don Juan," Callie laughs.

Teo blushes and digs into his burrito. Asa winces for him. Being told you have less luck with the ladies than your older sister did at your age is not really what a kid wants to hear.

"That's a good thing," Arizona comments.

"And how are the Three Amigos?" Asa asks his brother about his best friends. "As inseparable as ever?"

Teo grimaces very briefly but then plasters on a smile.

"Luis and Nicky are good."

"Luis have a new boyfriend yet?"

"No," Teo grins more genuinely. "But he's done pining over Ryan."

"Oh good. Are you sure you don't want to be his boyfriend? I love LuLu so much," Callie grins.

"I'm sure," Teo laughs.

"I don't remember Asa ever getting as much crap for being straight as Teo and I get," Caroline grumbles good-naturedly.

"Hey, we don't give you crap," Arizona defends.

"You are very cute with Susie," Asa teases.

Caroline throws a chip at her big brother, who laughs deeply.

"Any boyfriends for you, Care Bear?"

"No. At that school?" Caroline scoffs.

"Too soft for our Caroline," Arizona laughs, affectionately brushing her daughter's silky hair behind her ear.

"It's not that," Caroline counters. "I've just known them forever. These are mostly the guys that I went to pre-K with."

"No new and exciting transfer students?" Asa grins.

"No," Caroline laughs. "No Mia-mia."

"Oh Mia mia," Teo sighs dramatically, earning a collective eye roll from the women in his life.

"Cari, if you're looking to branch out, why did you pick U of W? Washington's campus isn't even an hour away from here."

The tension snaps thick over the table, and Asa curses himself. There are definite down sides to living so very far away, chief among them not being up to date on the list of topics to avoid.

Caroline shoots him one of her patented glares, and his moms exchange one of their own meaningful looks.

"Right, sorry I asked," Asa retreats, as any rational Marine would in the situation.

"No, we can talk about this. Like people," Caroline says pointedly. "I did the whole college tour thing. I didn't like anywhere more than I liked U of W. In fact, I liked the people there most of all. And I have no idea what I want to study. So it's dumb to go far away and spend a ton of money just to make a point. So I'm going to U of W."

Callie and Arizona, who seem to have accepted if not embraced this decision, share another look, and then Callie takes another sip of her margarita.

"And we're super excited to be her place to do free laundry," Arizona smiles.

"I bet. Where's Susie going?"

"Harvard. Lena's already talking trash," Caroline grins as the tension dissipates, obviously proud of her best friend.

"And what about you, hermanito? What schools are you looking at?" Asa turns his attention back to his too-tall little brother. 5'8" and fifteen is just blowing his mind.

"Basta," Arizona orders, pouting. "We haven't even gotten Thing Three out of the nest."

"I plead the fifth," Teo murmurs into his burrito.

Callie laughs. "He's been talking like that since Lena came home for spring break."

"Pre-law is going to her head. She's taking the LSAT in June," Arizona chimes in.

"Well we saw that coming," Asa has to note.

"It's so good to have you home, m'ijo. Siempre traes un poquito de calma contigo." [You always bring a bit of calm with you.]

"Yeah, I noticed things are a little... tense, with Cari."

Callie sighs and shakes her head, plopping down on the couch beside him. Teo and Caroline already headed upstairs for the night. Arizona begged off just a few minutes ago with a warm goodnight kiss for her wife that made Asa roll his eyes even as he smiled. People never believed him when he said his moms were as gross and newlywed-y as ever.

"They're not... tense. She made her decision pretty early on in the process. Not as early as you, of course, but still. We're had a long time to adjust to the decision. And it's hers to make. I just don't think your mom and I are quite on board yet."

"Why are you so upset about her staying close? You cried like a baby when Leni and I went away."

"But you were going on to bigger and better things. Like you're supposed to."

"The University of Washington is a great school."

"In the same town she grew up in. I'm worried she's scared to move on. Or she's just proving a point, that she's different from you two. Or something. I just don't get it."

"Then ask her."

"Communication between Caroline and I is not our strong suit."

"So have Momma ask her."

"She has. She gives the same answer she gave at dinner."

"So maybe that is the answer," Asa offers. With Caroline, he has learned to take most of what she says at face value. "Maybe she liked Washington best. There's nothing wrong with that. And you'll see her way more often than you see us."

"She and Abuelo aren't speaking," Callie admits. "He thinks she's just being stubborn."

"She is being stubborn, but maybe that's because this is actually what she wants," Asa reasons. "And Abuelo will come around. They've just both got the Torres temper and the Torres need to be very right."

"It's not all his fault. She said some not nice things too."

"Let me guess, he pushed business schools?"

"And she told him he couldn't replace her with Lena just because su alma picked law school over an MBA," Callie laughs.

Asa grins. He can just imagine a Carlos/Caroline battle; he wouldn't laugh if he didn't know Abuelo Torres would be crying and cheering the loudest when Caroline walked across the graduation stage in June, waiting for his nieta with a big hug.

"That went well, I'm guessing."

"He told her that since she didn't have any direction in life anyway, so she might as well pick business."

"Ouch. She still has no inkling of a major?"

Callie shakes her head.

"That's normal, right?"

"Yeah," Asa reminds her. "Most people don't know. Most people aren't Lena, who took all of one summer to replace her dream of professional soccer with one of power lawyer."

"I just... want her to be happy."

"She sounds happy," Asa assures. "We're all gonna turn out alright, Mami. We had the best moms in the world."

"Hey, you got some weird, secret motive for wanting to stay in Seattle and be a Husky?"

"No," Caroline laughs, smile in wide and genuine. "I liked the school. It makes everyone's heads explode, 'cause they had a million different expectations, but so what?"

"Alright," Asa shrugs. "Wanna play Mario Kart?"

Asa picks Teo up from dance practice on Saturday, and they come home to an empty house. The moms are working, and Caroline has gone off with Susie to do whatever it is second semester seniors do these days. He's not quite sure what that is; unlike her older brother and sister, Cari doesn't spend every waking hour of her last month of school sucking face with a high school love soon to be over. Asa remembers little of the end of his senior year besides make outs with Katie. Thinking of Kate makes him remember that he has to run by the hospital and say hello to Meredith before he leaves, or Dr. Grey will never let him hear the end of it.

Teo's been extra quiet this whole trip, but definitely more so today.

Asa grabs a beer for himself and a soda for Teo before suggesting they head out to the back porch. There's been a late spring rain shower, of course, but the brothers are used to it, still on the dry stoop, bare feet in the puddles.

"What's up, hermanito?" Asa asks, nudging the fifteen-year-old's ribs.

Teo shakes his head, taking a drink of his soda. "I don't know. It's been bothering me, but I forgot until Luis brought it up at dance today. Nicky's just been weird recently."

"Weird?" Asa asks, sipping from his own beer.

"Yeah. He's always been really touchy when people assume I'm gay, but it's gotten worse He almost got in a fight the other day 'cause some guys were asking about me and Luis."

"Really?"

"Yeah! I mean, Nick loves hanging out with me and Lulu, even though all we talk about is dance, so you'd think he'd be used to it by now," Teo muses. "I mean, the guys weren't even that rude about it. They were just asking if Luis and I were dating."

"You said almost?"

"Caroline broke it up. Which I gotta say, still kinda embarrassing."

Asa laughs. "Hard having your big sister stick up for you?"

"Only when she's in the boys' locker room to do it."

"How did-? You know what. I don't wanna know."

Teo grins, but it fades.

"But yeah. Nicky's just... touchy."

"Touchy?"

"Yeah. He was really mean to Luis a couple weeks ago over the whole Ryan thing. Like he was mad at him for still liking that guy."

"And now?"

"I mean he apologized, but he always goes out of his way to explain that he and I are straight even though Luis is gay. To everybody. It's kinda awkward."

"Ah. Okay. Have you talked to him about it?"

"He clams up, says he has to go do weights for football or something. Stuff I wouldn't do with him."

Asa frowns thoughtfully.

"High school's weird for everybody. Make sure he knows you're here to talk to, and that's all you can do. Just be patient with him, okay?"

"Okay," Teo sighs. "So, do you like coming home to be our therapist for a few days and then shipping back to the Marines?"

Asa laughs and throws his arm around Teo's shoulders. He kisses the top of his little brother's head.

"Yeah. It's not bad. You're much better than my whiney ass privates."

"Hey bubba."

Asa finds his mother in the backyard feeding the chickens later that evening. He kisses her cheek sweetly before grabbing a handful of feed and helping her out.

"I think you need to talk to Nick," he says matter-of-factly.

Arizona pushes back the brim of the oversized hat she wears to block the spring misting rain from her face.

"Yeah? Why's that?"

Asa shakes his head.

"Just a hunch. Promise you'll try to talk to him?"

"Of course," Arizona smiles.

"Thanks. So, catch me up on all the chickie gossip."

"Well, Belle, there, she's our newest, and it seems like she's turning out to be as big a flirt as your sister..."

el fin