"JUST LEAVE ME ALONE, OKAY?!" Sofia slammed her bedroom door in the shocked faces of Callie and Arizona. Leaning in to Arizona, Callie whispered softly. "I guess she doesn't want pancakes for breakfast!" Arizona stifled a giggle and the pair made their way back down the stairs.
Arizona had just woken up to see what all the commotion was about and was dressed in her robe. Stairs were no longer a struggle as she had warmed to her prosthetic leg, which moved in sync with her other as she trotted down the staircase, hand in hand with Callie. By the time they reached the bottom, the laughter had ceased and Arizona took a more serious tone. "So what was all that with Sofia? Is she okay? Do you think she'd tell me if som-" "Arizona.." Callie placed a calming hand on her wife's arm. Arizona had worried about Sofia since she was prematurely born. "She's upset 'cause she found a zit and she has photos at school today. I asked if she wanted pancakes and she went on and on about this pimple so I explained that she didn't look any less beautiful with a tiny blemish. She flipped out, its normal." Arizona sighed and her shoulders dropped from their previously tense state. Callie's voice always had a way of soothing her. Moving her hand from Arizona's forearm, Calliope pulled her closer, running her warm, tanned hand up a tense back, feeling it relax as she breathed Arizona's peachy scent.
Lost in their embrace, the women snapped back into reality at a loud rumble of feet running down the stairs and a shrill "EWWWWW!" from behind them. "Will you guys cut it out, you're so smushy!" Rolling her eyes at Sofia, Callie pinched her cheek lightly. "One day you'll meet someone and fall head over heels in love with them. Then you'll be smushy!" The happy look soon faded from her daughter's face and her forehead crumpled as she broke into tears. "No, i'll never meet someone, i'm too ugly for everyone. Nobody will ever lo-" "Don't. You. Dare." Arizona punctuated her words clearly and placed firm hands on Sofia's shoulders. Her daughter looked up with sad eyes and accepted the hug she was offered, sniffing into her Momma's shoulder. She felt like a small child with a grazed knee. Looking up she met the sympathetic eyes of Callie. "Pancakes sound great, Mami."
The girls slumbered into the kitchen and Sofia perched on the edge of a stool at the breakfast bar, wiping drips from her chin and covering the edge of her sweater in salty tears.
Meeting Arizona outside the hospital that evening, Callie explained apologetically for having to stay later than she had expected. She reassured her wife that she would only be "a couple of hours" before giving her a few tender kisses on her cheek and lips. Arizona sighed and wandered over to her car, digging in the bottom of her purse for her keys. Fumbling past a lipstick, and empty packet of gum and a pocket mirror, she scooped up her keys, just as she felt her phone vibrate. Arizona rolled her eyes, it was probably Callie, reminding her to plate up some dinner so she could eat later. Reading the message in her head, the blonde tucked a straying curl behind her ear and frowned at the screen.
"COME HOME NOW. EMERGENCY!"
Looking at the bottom of the message, Arizona realised it was Sofia and rammed her phone back into her bag and threw her keys about in her palm, desperately trying to find the one for her car. Jamming the key in the lock, she didn't take long to set off on her 10 minute trip back home.
The second she stepped in the front door, Arizona was already yelling for Sofia, convinced she was hurt or in trouble somehow. She poked her head round the kitchen door. As she realised there was no sign of Sofia she swung back round, ready to check the other rooms. Just as she made her way to the lounge she heard a frightened voice call from upstairs. "Momma? I'm in the bathrooom..." Arizona sprinted up the stairs, her prosthetic slipping slightly as she ran. She gripped the curved plastic and reached the bathroom door. "Baby girl? Are you okay?" Trying the handle she came to the realisation it was locked. "Sweetie I can't help if you don't let me in.. Please?" She heard a sniff from inside and a pair of feet shuffling, but the door remained closed. Pressing her ear to the door, Arizona tried to reason with her daughter. "Okay, Sof. How about you tell me whats wrong and then we can decide if I can come in?" No answer. "Sof?" Arizona frowned, trying desperately to figure out what could possibly be wrong with her daughter. "Mom, I think.. I think I've.."
A loud gulp comes from the 14 year old. Arizona strains to hear her voice, her whole body now pressed against the door. She feels sick with worry and her heart is in her throat. Sofia braces herself with a deep breath. The silence is increasing the panic and tension in the pit of Arizona's stomach. "I think I've started my period."
Arizona's whole body relaxed in an instant and she blew a gust of hair through her lips, pushing her cheeks outwards. The panic from her middle drops and she felt a wave of relief take over her body. Her fists unclenched and she stepped back from the door. "Momma?" Sofia is silent, waiting for some sort of advice to pour from her mother's lips. She always has a speech prepared in these kind of situations, and Sofia considered it lucky that it was Arizona, and not Callie standing outside the door. She assumed that Callie would make some sort of joke, or tease her and make her feel even more awkward.
"Baby.." Arizona's voice was soothing and gentle as she reassured her daughter that she'd be okay. After a half hour's worth of calming and a lot of toilet tissue, the teenager emerged from the bathroom, all red-faced and blubbery. She told Arizona how she had cramps and asked to have a mug of warm milk and a blanket. Her Momma agreed, not being quite the disciplinary that Callie was. The pair curled up on the sofa, a blanket draped over the two of them, as the settled in front of the TV.
By the time Callie got home they had fallen asleep. Sofia had an arm dangling over the side of the couch, a mug dangling from two of her fingers. Beneath it was a tiny puddle of milk. Her head was thrown back over her shoulder and her mouth was open enough for her deep breaths to become snores every so often. Closing the door gently, Callie tiptoed to the back of the sofa, leaning over to see her wife. Arizona was stretched across the remaining couch space, her right foot placed on the arm, her prosthetic leant next to it. As Callie leant over, she caused Arizona to stir, kicking the prosthetic to the floor with a loud clang as it bounced off the table. The two woke up with a jump, turning their attention immediately to Callie, who had clasped her hand over her mouth at the noise. She shrugged apologetically and after exchanging glances with Arizona, she turned to her daughter and pointed to the door. "Bed. Now." In no mood to argue back, Sofia groaned and pushed Arizona from her leg, moping up the stairs and straight into bed.
Callie was quick to replace Arizona's pillow and slipeds her leg under her wife's neck, pushing her hair out of her face with a gentle touch. Arizona shuffled closer to Callie and let out a hum contently. Her eyes remained closed as she mumbled to Calliope. "Sofia's okay. She just got her period, that's why she's-" She yawns and rubs her eyes. "..grouchy." She finished her sentence and started to sit up. Callie raised her eyebrows. "I told you. You don't need to worry about our girl." With a dimpled smile, Arizona laced her fingers with Callie's and inched her face closer. "I love you." She nuzzled her face into the crook of Callie's neck and exhaled. "I know." Callie replies, closing her eyes as a silent smile spreads across her face.