Chapter One.

Arizona flinched at the feeling of a slender arm draping across her waist. She probably shouldn't have flinched, considering this was pretty much what happened every morning she had a day off from the hospital. It had become routine now, going to Joe's with April whenever Jackson had Harriet, or even dragging Webber or Alex out on the nights April couldn't. But still, it didn't make the feeling of a stranger in her bed the next morning any more comforting.

Not that she ever regretted the sex. She loved sex. That wasn't the problem.

It was the fact that sleepovers usually meant expectations and attachment, and both of those were things Arizona hadn't signed up for when she'd bought the busty twenty-something brunette a drink at the bar last night.

Her concerns evaporated as she felt the warm breath of… um, Rachel? Sara? Well, her name wasn't really important. But she shuddered at the feeling of her breath against her neck.

She pressed her ass back against the hips of the woman behind her and turned her head so her face was pressing into the pillow. She tended not to really look at the women she had sex with.

No, that wasn't true. She loved looking at women whilst she fucked them.

In fact, she wasn't impartial to forcing them to look at her whilst she made them come. Only allowing them the release they were begging for if they managed to keep their eyes from rolling to the back of their head for a satisfactory amount of time first.

But when it came to Arizona being touched, she preferred to avoid the gaze of watching eyes and focus on nothing but the bouncing breasts of the other woman, or close her eyes if there was material preventing their view. Or, like now, simply face the other way.

She gripped at the pillow below her head as the woman began to run her tongue against the crook of her neck, whilst simultaneously tracing circles against her bare thigh. She could feel the hard peaks of two perky breasts pressing against her back, and she let out a muffled whimper at the thought of them in her mouth like they had been for most of last night.

Those breasts had been exactly what had caught her attention from across the bar. Arizona had a thing for a big bust. And dark eyes. Come to think of it, over the last year she hadn't really picked up anyone who differed from that description.

Fuck it. She flipped herself over and on top of the younger woman, successfully pinning her beneath her by the firm but gentle clutch of her hand around her neck. A balance she'd perfected over the years.

She wasted no time in thrusting a finger inside the already soaking wet entrance, her lips spreading into a smirk at the gravelly squeal that escaped from the brunette, muffled by the grip she still had around her neck. She slid her fingers out teasingly, but before the other woman even had a chance to complain, she'd thrust back inside; this time with two fingers curling roughly against the spot she knew would send her over the edge.

This wouldn't take long. The guttural moan that echoed round the room confirmed it.

And as bad as it sounds, she was glad of it. She had time for one, maybe two quick rounds. But today was a really busy day. Sofia was coming home until Easter and Arizona still had a few things to sort out to make sure everything was perfect for her little girl. And of course, there was nothing she loved more than having Sofia here with her no matter what day of the year it was. But, that also meant no random hook ups. So, unless Sofia was invited to Zola's house for a sleepover, that meant no sex for twelve weeks.

Twelve whole weeks.

The thought made her thrust harder and deeper inside of whatever her name was beneath her.

"Look at me whilst you come," Arizona rasped as she clenched harder around the delicate neck in her grip, grinning as she felt her walls begin to tighten and shudder against her fingers.

She sighed contently as she massaged the shampoo through her hair, her fingers scratching against her scalp and soothing the headache she'd had for the last hour. Her hangover had well and truly kicked in at some point amongst her incessant tidying of the house. Not that it wasn't clean already. But she wanted everything to be absolutely perfect for her daughter, seeing as she hadn't even been able to spend Christmas with her.

It had been her idea for Sofia to spend Christmas in New York. She knew it was the right thing to do, seeing as she had her last year. But it hadn't made it any easier sending her off at the airport and knowing she wouldn't see her for almost three weeks. That was the longest time she'd ever been without seeing her daughter. Luckily she'd been able to speak to her daily, through calls and FaceTime. But nothing could compare to one of Sofia's sleepy morning hugs, or twisting her daughters' long dark hair in her fingers whilst she read her a bedtime story.

It had also been her first Christmas without Sofia for eight years and it had literally felt like a part of her was missing. She'd still spoken to her over FaceTime on Christmas morning whilst she opened the presents she'd gotten her. But Christmas time without your child there with you was something Arizona was happy she didn't have to go through again for another twenty-three months.

It hadn't helped the unavoidable loneliness she'd been feeling, waking up alone on Christmas morning, when she'd seen a momentary glimpse of Callie and Penny cuddled up on the couch in their matching pyjamas. Ugh. She almost gagged at the recollection.

Sofia had been showing her the grotto Callie had transformed her apartment into and before Arizona could tell her daughter to keep the camera on her, she'd flipped the screen and Arizona had nearly dropped her phone.

She was happy for Callie. Of course she was happy for her. And she was so happy that Callie was such a good Mom. That had been something Arizona had always loved about Callie.

But- well- the but didn't matter because everything had worked out. Sofia was happy. Callie was happy. Arizona was happy. Everyone was happy.

The buzz of her phone against the bathroom tiles snapped Arizona from the daydream she'd been having for what must have been a while. She always took her phone into the bath with her these days; she had done since her daughter moved across the country anyway, and on the days she was heading home to Seattle she would always ring her before her flight.

"Good afternoon, little miss!" Arizona chirped as she lent over the edge of the tub to press her phone onto speaker.

"Um, Arizona? Hi."

Her breath caught slightly in her chest at the sound of her ex wife's voice sounding through the bathroom. It was rare that she and Callie spoke via anything other than text message, and that was only to arrange travel arrangements for Sofia. In fact the last time they'd spoken on the phone had been when they'd argued about where Sofia would be for the May holidays.

That had been eight months ago.

God she'd almost forgotten how sultry Callie's voice was. Ok maybe she hadn't forgotten as such, but she'd tried to block it out. Although she couldn't help but notice that something about her sounded off right now. She sounded quiet and… nervous almost.

"Callie." That was all she could muster, and it came out quieter than she'd hoped. She rolled her eyes in annoyance at her response.

"Hey…" Arizona knew there had to be something wrong as the other woman took a shaky breath before she continued, "Listen, there's been a slight change of plan."

Water splashed over the side of the bath as Arizona jolted up as fast as was possible considering her position in the bathtub. It probably wasn't a wise idea to run the water so full either.

If Callie was seriously going to try and keep Sofia for longer than they'd arranged, again, then Arizona was going to hit the roof.

She had been nothing but accommodating to this move since Callie has sprung it on her eighteen months ago. Heck, she'd even bought her and Sofia plane tickets to go out there, when she technically didn't have to let Sofia visit New York at all. She wanted Sofia to see Callie as much as was really possible considering the circumstances. But, Penny. Arizona grimaced at the thought of the red head tucking her daughter into bed at night. That woman already got more time with Sofia than Arizona was particularly comfortable with.

She'd grown to accept Callie's relationship with the red head. She hadn't really had a choice considering it was forced down her throat at the hospital. She'd actually gone so far as to say she liked her when she'd first met her at Meredith's dinner party. And she had. She was tolerable. She cared for Callie and Callie cared for her. And that was great. But then they'd gotten serious and suddenly she wasn't just Callie's new fling, but she was Arizona's replacement.

Then not to mention the fact that Penny was responsible for her ex wife moving across the country and consequently meaning sharing their daughter was made twice as hard.

And there was just something off about the whole thing.

She could remember back when her and Callie had first started dating. Their chemistry had been – well, there was no word to describe it other than electric. If the two of them had wanted to hide their relationship, which they hadn't, they wouldn't have been able to anyway. You could literally see their chemistry from a mile away.

And for all of the fucks ups they'd made over the years – all the fuck ups Arizona had made - no one could ever deny the electricity that had ran between them, pretty much until the very end.

But then there was Callie and Penny. And Arizona couldn't see that spark. They just didn't seem compatible. Penny was plain and dull and Arizona just didn't get it. But she made Callie happy and that was what mattered.

She just knew that Penny couldn't make Callie scream like she could.

Did.

Used to.

She knew Penny didn't make Callie's walls tighten around her fingers in the back of a taxi because they couldn't physically wait until they got home. She knew Callie didn't have to cancel on Sofia's swimming lessons for three weeks in a row because of the bites and bruises that coated her thighs and shoulders and the top of her breasts and kept reappearing week after week.

She just knew they didn't have that chemistry. Not like they had had.

She took a deep breath and exhaled quickly, bracing herself for the argument that was evidently about to come. Sometimes the passion that circulated between the two of them was very much a bad thing, "Change of plan how, Callie?"

"Penny and I broke up."

Arizona's eyes widened as Callie spluttered out her response shakily.

"I… Um, Callie. I'm sorry."

"Yeah." The blonde couldn't help the flutter in her chest at how sad the voice on the other end of the phone sounded. "Anyway, I just called to let you know I'll be flying back to Seattle with Sofia, so I'll drop her by your place to save you coming to the airport to pick her up. I can't really talk much more anyway because our cab is due any minute and I'm still packing up the last of our things. I'll pass you over to Sof and I'll, um, I'll see you tonight around nine, yeah?"

"Yeah, see you then."

She ran her tongue over her teeth one last time as she took a final check in the mirror. Her black shirt was just tight enough that it clung to her breasts, but loose enough that this looked like an unintentional decision. Like something she'd just thrown on and not changed out of and back into three times.

Her skinny black jeans and black flats added to the casual look that she was going for, but weren't quite the sweats and fluffy bed socks she would have opted for if this had been anyone else dropping Sofia.

Her hair was that perfect balance between tousled and softly curled. Her makeup was subtle enough that it almost looked as though she had none on, except for the pale peach lip-gloss that she knew Callie loved.

Loved. That's right. Past tense. Because her and Callie were in the past. Way, way in the past. And God knows what had happened between her and Penny to make her come back. Was she even coming back? Or was this just some time apart. People break up and get back together all the time.

Arizona sucked in a breath and exhaled slowly when she heard a knock at the door.

This really wasn't such a big deal, was it?

Except it kind of was.

This was Callie. The drop dead gorgeous ortho surgeon who had come into Arizona's life and completely changed the way she'd seen the world.

At one point, she'd thought this was the woman she would be spending her life with. And she'd thought that for a long time.

Try seven years.

And now, she hadn't seen her in eighteen months.

Callie had a whole new life in New York. One that Arizona knew nothing about. For all she knew she could be a completely different person now.

Yes, Sofia would tell her that her Mama was happy and the stories she would tell sounded like the same Callie that Arizona knew. But how much could an eight year old really know. And Arizona liked to think she knew Callie better than anyone. Penny included.

She almost laughed out loud at how ridiculous she was being as she walked down the stairs to answer her front door. Why was she over thinking things so much? This was no different to any other time Sofia was coming home to stay.

Except, it was.

Callie would be here in Seattle, too.

Would she expect to see Sofia? Where was she even staying? Did anyone else know about her and Penny breaking up?

Arizona braced herself for a small moment before her fingers wrapped around the handle of the door. This was no big deal. It was only Cal-

Fuck.

She swallowed as she locked eyes with those dark brown orbs staring intently back at her. Her heart was pounding in her chest and her mouth had gone completely dry. Those eyes were exactly how they'd been when she'd looked into them last. Sad, but still glistening with an emotion she couldn't quite place.

She managed to tear her eyes away from them. Instead she raked them down the silhouette of the woman in front of her.

Her hair was swept back into a messy ponytail, with pieces framing her features softly. Her makeup was soft too. Her skin and lips bare, her eyes only subtly darkened. And then in complete contrast to the softness that Arizona had momentarily appreciated- Callie's breasts were contained in a tight, tight, red blouse. Her arms enclosed in a black leather jacket. And those thighs. Arizona could see tanned skin through the rips of Callie's black jeans.

So. Many. Rips.

"Mommy!"

She cleared her throat as she snapped out of her gaze. Her daughter flung her arms around her waist and Arizona grinned as the smaller version of those dark eyes looked up at her excitedly. She knelt down to wrap the little girl in a hug.

"Sof, I have missed you so much baby." She released her daughter from her hug and instead held her forearms gently in each of her hands. "I want to hear all about your time with Moma. But, for tonight we need to get you ready for bed." Arizona couldn't help but giggle as Sofia gave an adorable little pout. She really had missed her little girl so much these past weeks. She stroked her dimpled chin with the palm of her thumb, "You, little miss, are back to school tomorrow."

"You know how it is, Sof. You can't grow up to be a doctor like your Mommies' if you don't go to school." Sofia turned to face the other woman as she spoke. "Isn't that right, Mommy?" Arizona chanced a glance up at Callie as she spoke, her breath catching in her throat as their eyes latched onto one another again.

"It sure is." She couldn't help the breath that escaped her lips as the two of them held eye contact for too long.

It just felt so natural. This. The three of them together.

"Why don't you give Mama a kiss goodbye and then run upstairs to your bedroom and wait for me to come up, okay?"

She tore her eyes away quickly and focused back on their daughter, who was now saying her goodbyes to the other woman.

Both of them watched contently as Sofia scurried up the stairs with her little backpack weighing her down just slightly.

"So, it's um, it's good to see you." Callie broke the silence first - her teeth tugging at her bottom lip and her fingers fiddling nervously with the handle of Sofia's suitcase.

Arizona's mind was turning as she tried to remind herself of what people did in these situations. She'd never really known anyone to be in this situation before.

Her and Callie had always been unique. They'd never really done anything how it was supposed to be done.

"It's good to see you too, Callie." She watched as some of the nerves seemed to disappear from Callie's dark orbs. She felt as though her own disappeared as well at the sight of that all familiar smile that broke out across Callie's full lips.

"Did you want to…" She hesitated. Her nerves were back as she gestured behind her, half heartedly inviting the dark haired woman inside.

Callie looked almost surprised at the invite and Arizona inwardly cursed at herself.

"I just meant… well, if you wanted to talk or anything."

Of course she didn't want to talk. This was her ex wife. And she had literally just come out of a serious relationship and hopped on a plane to Seattle because her head was probably a sea of emotions. Arizona was probably one of the last people Callie wanted to see.

"Um, I have so much to sort out. I really need to get going."

"Right, yeah, of course." Arizona tried to ease her features into something that would resemble a look of understanding, but really her head was just swimming at the fact that Callie Torres was stood on her porch, "I- thank you for dropping Sofia."

"Really, it was my pleasure…"

Arizona smiled sheepishly, trying to ignore the flutter that had appeared just above her groin at the sound of that husky voice saying the word pleasure. It didn't help that she could see the exact spot, just above Callie's collarbone, that she knew she could trace her tongue across even just lightly and it really would be her pleasure.

"…But, like I said, I really need to get going."

Right. Ex-wife. Break up. Not appropriate.

"If you're staying in Seattle for a while, then just text me if you want to see her." It was a statement, but she said it more like a question.

It wasn't really any of her business what Callie was doing. But then technically it was, right? They had a child together and this would affect Sofia.

But more than that, Arizona just wanted to know. Were Callie and Penny really just over? Was Callie really back in Seattle?

This was too much to think about with the remnants of her hangover still hammering against her temple.

"Thanks, Arizona. I'll um, see you around."

Arizona exhaled a massive breath she didn't even realise she'd been holding as she closed her door shut and slumped her back against it.

So Callie hadn't read the questioning tone in her voice. Or she'd chosen to ignore it. But then she'd kind of confirmed it with her response, hadn't she?

And what did she mean by see you around.

Was she just being polite?

Of course she was.

And if she really was sticking around then it was inevitable they would be seeing each other again, because of the little human they'd brought into the world.

Arizona snapped out of her bubble as she noticed Sofia stood tapping her foot impatiently at the top of the stairs. She chuckled at how sassy she could be at times for an eight year old.

"Right, little miss. Story time."