One shot based on the Callie/Arizona upcoming court case. Hope you enjoy it!
Arizona's point of view
Deciding to go for physical custody was never an option I'd hoped to take when Callie and I divorced. Never in a million years did I think I'd be sat outside a courtroom waiting to fight for my child because her mother was so blinded by her love for her new girlfriend that she couldn't see the damage it would cause in my own relationship with Sofia. Physical custody. If I win it means Sofia will live with me permanently, even once Callie returns from New York. Callie will be able to visit Sofia when she wants and Sofia can spend her holidays with her mom. It all sounded so scary at first, knowing that this could affect my relationship with Callie as Sofia's co-parent forever, but now I think it's the right idea. Callie was never going to back down trying to take Sofia out of the country. All of those conversations we had, it wasn't Callie listening to my point of view, it was Callie trying to make me see that having Sofia six hours away from me was a good thing.
I cast my mind back to a couple of weeks ago. I'd handed Callie the card with my lawyer's name on it. She seemed surprised but not as angry as what I expected her to be.
"You got a lawyer" she exhaled. "You got a lawyer"
"You started this" I respond, unable to look her in the eye.
"Alright" she exhales again, abruptly turning around. The tears are stinging my eyes but I won't cry. Not while she's here. She doesn't leave, she turns around and faces me again.
"You got a lawyer" she repeats herself again, sounding a lot angrier as though she had time to process what I just gave to her.
"I got a lawyer" I confirm. She's shaking her head, her nostrils are flared and her lips are pursed. I turn back to look at the babies because I can't even look her in the eye right now.
"How could you do this, Arizona?" she questions me.
"I had no choice" I bit my lip. "You were so eager to move Sofia away"
"Why didn't you talk to me?"
"You applied for schools Callie. You APPLIED. Nothing I could have said would have changed your mind" I raise my voice. "Now like I said I am done talking to you about it" I glare at her, making eye contact again. She's still shaking her head but at least she finally backs down. I don't break down until I see she's left the room fully.
"Hey" my voice is barely a whisper when I approach Karev the next day after telling Callie I hired a lawyer. I spent the whole night crying, feeling even worse because it wasn't even my night with Sofia. I had no reason to put on a brave face, no reason to smile. I spent the whole night awake, grateful for when the alarm clock went off so I could go to work and take my mind of things. Except I couldn't, not really anyway. I needed people to back me up and I was in an awkward situation. Most of my friends were her friends too and asking them to pick sides was so awkward. Karev glances back at me as he examines one of the babies.
"Dude, what's up?" he asks. "You've been crying" he states the obvious because my eyes are still watery and red. He finishes examining the baby so he can focus on me properly.
"You know Penny is moving to New York" I tell him because I know he's heard. He was in the meeting when her name was suggested after all. Alex nods in reply.
"It will be a great opportunity for her" he responds and it hits me that he's oblivious and surely presumes that Callie won't drop everything just to be with her. "You're crying because Callie's girlfriend is leaving?" he raises his eyebrows.
"Callie…um she wants to go to New York. With Penny. And my daughter" I tell him, trying not to cry again because every time I think of that awful fact my heart breaks a little bit more.
"Dude" Alex responds in a sympathetic tone and suddenly his arms are wrapped around me and he's squeezing me so tight that I begin to cry again, harder this time because it's always worse when someone is being especially nice to you. "I'm so sorry" he tells me, still not letting me out of the hug. "Can she even do that?" he asks as we break off. I dry my eyes and shake my head.
"I don't know" I tell him. "I hired a lawyer" I bite my lip.
"Oh" Karev replies. "What's the advice?"
"Physical custody" I respond. "If I win, Sofia lives with me and Callie gets to see her in the holidays"
"And if she wins…" Karev trails off. "Then it's the other way round" he finishes the sentence for me and I nod.
"I know you're close to Callie" I begin. "And I don't want to put anyone in an uncomfortable situation but I can't lose Sofia, Alex" I glance at him.
"What do you need?" he asks me in that typical big brother way. He reminds me a lot of my own brother, always willing to give you whatever you need, no questions asked. But this is a big ask and part of me wouldn't blame him if he said he didn't want to pick sides. I take a deep breath and prepare to ask him the all-important question.
"I need you to take the stand in court" I blurt out, studying his face for any sort of reaction at all. There's a silence for a couple of moments and if I know Karev he's weighing up the pros and cons in his mind about whether or not he should go through with it. Just when I'm certain he's about to say no he opens his mouth and surprises me with…
"Consider it done" he tells me, before turning away to examine the next baby.
"Thank you" I whisper, leaving the room because I have a consult, April's consult which I'm about to be late for.
"Torres is mad" Richard grabs me by the arm as we meet in the hallway and pulls me into one of the storage cupboards. "I heard her with Blake and she is not happy"
"Well she shouldn't try to take my daughter away from me then, should she" I reply,
"She's mad because she asked Bailey for a reference for her new job and it doesn't seem to be so good" Richard narrows his eyes.
"She's applying for jobs, huh" I raise my eyebrows trying not to let my anger rise. "Karev agreed to take the stand for me"
"That's a huge deal" he tells me. "Karev has always been such a great friend to you and Dr Torres"
"Maybe he doesn't agree with her leaving and trying to take my child either" I respond. "I have to win this case, Richard"
"Just stay positive. You have me and Karev taking the stand"
"You'll do it?" I ask, my eyes widening with hope because the last I spoke to Richard, he didn't seem too keen on picking a side either.
"Who knows if you win, maybe it will encourage Dr Torres to stay around too. Catherine is having no hope finding a new head of ortho"
"Who knows, maybe Callie's love for Penny runs so deep that she'd be okay with only seeing Sofia in the holidays" I laugh. "Thank you"
"Don't thank me yet, the battle is still yet to come" Richard warns me. "It will get messy and a lot of truths will come out in court, truths you probably don't want to come out. It's best to be prepared"
"I will be" I nod. "So, so ready" I reply adamantly, walking out of the room because now I'm super late for my consult with April.
"Jackson" I respond with surprise because I was in the lawyer's office when April filed a restraining order against him, so the last thing I expected was to come into a room and be greeted by the two of them, sitting in silence and not screaming at one another.
"April asked me to be here" he smiles over at April and I'm happy that they have seemingly sorted out their own issues.
"So how is everything with the baby? Any more movement?"
"So much" April grins enthusiastically. "Once I got used to it, I never wanted it to stop" she smiles as I rub the gel onto her stomach and begin to perform the ultrasound.
"It was an amazing feeling" Jackson replies. "I'm sure you felt it with Sofia, yourself" he smiles at his seemingly innocent compliment.
"I did" I reply, my mind casting back to happier times before my daughter was born and I agreed to co-parent a child with Callie and Mark. We were all so great back then, eager to be involved in Sofia's life. I wonder if Mark was alive would he encourage Callie to go if it meant losing his own daughter. Mark always wanted to make sure she was happy, but there was no way on earth Mark would give up seeing Sofia regularly just so Callie could be happy. I'm so lost in my own thoughts that I'm barely glancing at the monitor to check if the baby is okay. I force myself out of the past and into the present.
"Hey, are you okay?" April questions me. I glance down at her, noticing she's wearing a concerned look on her face.
"Callie wants to go to New York to be with Penny"
"Oh" April replies, the same way Karev did. But April knows that it wasn't long ago when I was hung up over Callie, that it wasn't long ago where I figured we could have another shot at being together. I can see by the look on her face that April thinks I'm cut up about Callie leaving for good.
"She wants to take Sofia" I finish off. "Your baby looks fine, there's a strong fetal heartbeat…" I continue.
"Back up there" Jackson tells me. "Callie wants to move to New York?"
"With Sofia" I finish it for him and he glances over at April and I can sense the pair of them sharing secret looks with one another.
"Woah" Jackson exhales.
"What are you going to do?" April tells me as I hand her some paper towels to dry the gel of her stomach.
"I'm going to court" I reveal in a light-hearted tone as if I'm telling someone that I'm going on a date. I don't think I have it in me to cry any more. "I'm fighting for her".
"Oh" April replies again and I know this is a tough thing to talk about with anyone, let alone with my friends who are also her friends. She smiles sympathetically to me and I can't help thinking how the roles have reversed since a couple of weeks ago. A couple of weeks ago she was looking at a custody battle with Jackson and I was the one smiling sympathetically at her in that lawyer's office whilst she figured out what to do. Now it's my turn to be involved in a custody battle whilst April and Jackson seem to be getting on better than ever.
"What do you need?" April asks. Jackson remains silent and I can see him trying to catch April's attention as though to tell her not to get involved.
"I need Callie to not be stupid" I reply bitterly. "And I need people to take the stand for me, which is awful, I am more than aware of how awful that is…" I trail off.
"Sofia is your baby too Arizona" April tells me.
"I can't Arizona" Jackson apologises to me. "I can't pick between the two of you in something that's going to be so big and so messy" he trails off.
"I understand" I tell him. I don't want to lose any friends in this process.
"But what she is doing is wrong" Jackson responds. "Despite anything my mother said, I would never have done anything like that" he glances over at April and I'm shocked when he reaches for her hand. "Have you talked to Callie?"
"She seems so certain" I shake my head. "There's no use now, she applied for schools, applied for an apartment, a new job"
"Actually I heard Bailey complaining about how someone was agreeing to take a worse job to be with their girlfriend" Jackson shakes his head. "I didn't catch who she was talking about but I didn't think it would be Callie" he mutters. "I'll come to court but I can't take the stand for either of you" he glances at me.
"It's okay" I reply because I can't expect everyone to be on my side.
"I can" April responds. "You would have done the same for me, right?" she narrows her eyebrows at me. I clear my throat before I respond.
"Course" I respond.
"Then I'll do the same for you"
Callie's point of view.
I asked Bailey for a reference, a good one to blow this hospital away. The position isn't great, it's less hours but I'll be able to spend more time with Sofia as well as Penny when she isn't working. And it's New York. It's a place full of crazy opportunities and who knows what opportunities could come my way and Sofia's too. I actually felt excited by the move, right up until it became absolutely clear that Arizona was going to fight for Sofia right until the end. A million emotions rushed through my head yesterday when she presented me with the card with the information about her lawyer. I hired one myself too if that is the game she wants to play then that is the game she has got.
Bailey's reference was poor and I think it's because she didn't sound so thrilled that I was going to leave in the first place and even less thrilled when I proposed taking Sofia away. I mean, New York's a six-hour flight away and Arizona would be able to see her whenever she wanted. I'm sure Bailey would have no problem giving her a couple of more vacation days while we lived in New York for a year and even if she did, Arizona owned part of the hospital anyway so she could make her own decisions, especially if she wanted to see Sofia. I don't understand her issue, she told me to be happy and watching Penny leave, the same way I watched Arizona leave years ago, that isn't going to make me happy.
"I can give up the Preminger Grant" Penny tells me because she can see just how wound up I am over the fact Arizona hired a lawyer and Bailey and her poor reference.
"No" I respond firmly. "It's an amazing opportunity" I tell her. "We found a great place, a great school"
"Sofia is in a great school here, with both her mom's around" Penny tells me. "I could give the grant up to Edward's, she probably deserves it more"
"There's a reason you won that grant" I argue back, not wishing to hold Penny back from this opportunity because the parallels with Arizona's Africa situation are too real. Arizona blamed me for it years later, she wasn't happy so she came back. For me. And look how that ended up for us. I can't do this to Penny, but I'm not sure if I could do long-distance either. Long distance relationships suck and they fizzle out because that bond you have when you're together a lot soon fades away. But if Sofia came with us, the bond between her and Arizona could never fizzle out. After all,they are mother and daughter.
"This is too messy" she responds, looking exasperated. "Callie just think about it I can stay here and finish my residency"
"Arizona wanted a battle. She got one" I respond bitterly. "I have to go and ask all our friends to take the stand for me now. Today's the day I lose all my friends" I add angrily, walking out the door and slamming it shut.
I bump into Meredith first and I pull her into one of the on-call rooms. She looks confused but allows herself to be pulled.
"Have you heard?" I ask.
"I have heard some rumours" she responds. "Please tell me they are not true Callie"
"They are" I tell her. "Arizona wants to fight for custody, physical custody so she can keep Sofia in Seattle and I…I need people to take the stand for me"
Meredith laughs hard for a good five minutes.
"I can't do that" she tells me. "You're my friend, but she's my friend too" she adds. "Why can't you and Blake make it long distance for a year? That way you get to keep your job here. I know Bailey isn't too happy about you leaving"
"Yeah I felt that myself" I respond bitterly, remembering my encounter with Bailey. "Long distance doesn't work"
"But you want Sofia to have a long distance relationship with her mother?" Meredith raises her eyebrows. "Do you care about Arizona at all?"
"What?" I ask, angry that Meredith even asked that question. "Of course, I care I've involved her in every decision I've made so far. How could you say that?"
"So Arizona's supposed to take a plane every time she wants to see her daughter?" Meredith raises her eyebrows. "I didn't think even you could be that clueless Callie"
"What? She's fine on planes" I respond.
"Maybe on the outside, we all pretend to be just fine on the outside" Meredith exhales. "But on the inside, it's a different story, a story that you could never understand" she shakes her head. "You're asking Arizona to confront her worst nightmare on a regular basis if she wants to maintain a relationship with Sofia" she adds. "I'm sorry, but I can't go up there on the stand for either of you" she walks out of the room.
"Well that went well" I mutter to myself. I wonder if Arizona managed to get anyone on her side yet and knowing how close she is with Richard and April I presume that even if she hasn't asked them yet they will agree to take the stand for her. Hopefully, the judge will see that I am being reasonable here, I'm not trying to cut Arizona out of Sofia's life I'm just trying to make a better life for me and my kid even if it is only just for a year. I walk out of the hallway and I bump into Arizona, the last person who I want to see right now. My fists clench and she's wearing the same annoyed expression she wore last night before she handed me that card. We stare at one another for a couple of moments, the looks we are sharing are conveying so many thoughts we're having about the other without putting them into words. Arizona and I, often joked we could read each other's minds, even when we were mad at each other I knew exactly what she was thinking. Any friendship we had now is gone and it breaks my heart to know things had to end this way.
"It's my night with Sofia" she tells me. I nod.
"Tell me one good reason why I shouldn't stop that now" I reply bitterly, noticing the hurt on her face as the words leave my lips. "I'm sorry" I immediately apologise. "I just can't believe it…"
"Callie I had to" she tells me. "One day you will see that I made this decision because I had to, not because I wanted to" she shakes her head at me before she walks away. "I'll just pick her up from school tonight, have you told her anything?" she questions.
"No" I respond because Penny was over last night and Sofia had an early night. "Are you going to?" I ask because the truth is Sofia knows nothing about New York right now, let alone that Arizona wouldn't be joining us. Sofia likes Penny, she likes having another person around the house sometimes but I'm not sure if she likes her enough to want to move to New York to be with Penny. And nothing would scare me more than if the judge ever asked for Sofia's opinion if she was old enough to give one and she had to choose between her parents. I know it would not only break my heart but Arizona's too.
"She deserves to know Callie" Arizona sighs. "She has friends here, she's doing well in dance, she has a great school"
"I know all that, Arizona" I reply. "She can have the exact same things in New York"
"She can't have me in New York" Arizona exhales, walking away leaving me alone with my own thoughts.
Arizona's point of view
"Hey Arizona" Bailey calls out from the hospital hallway once she catches a glimpse of me. I'm just about to leave the hospital, feeling a lot more certain about the court case because I have some great people on my side, a lot more than what I expected considering they were all friends of Callie's too. A lot of people didn't want to get involved, which was perfectly understandable but I have Alex, Richard, April and Amelia agreeing to take the stand, agreeing to make the judge see that I am a great mother and Sofia can remain in Seattle with me. I turn around to face Bailey.
"I just wanted to say that I heard…and I'm sorry" she tells me. I smile, things haven't been so sweet between Bailey and me, not since I told Jackson how April was pregnant.
"I heard you gave Callie a bad reference"
"It wasn't bad, it just wasn't great" she smiled. "I tried to talk to her yesterday when she gave her notice"
"She gave her notice?" I widen my eyes. "It's just a year why didn't she ask for a leave?"
"Beats me" Bailey responded shaking her head. "I couldn't believe that she wanted to take Sofia there too, for Blake. I mean she's a good person and all but you're her mother, not Blake"
"You should try telling Callie that too" I laugh. "You know I'm going to court don't you?"
"Yes I do" Bailey responded. "It's going to be tough, I went to court when my ex-husband tried to claim custody of Tuck so they could move out of the state. It was tough, I hope you realise just how tough it's going to be, Arizona"
"I would literally do anything to keep my daughter here Bailey" I whisper. "Even if that means having to take Callie through court"
"Sofia is lucky to have you" Bailey responds.
"Have you heard if Callie has got anyone to take the stand for her yet?" I ask, nervously because I'm scared that a lot of our friends may just have lied so they could side with Callie.
"I heard Owen and Maggie have agreed to take the stand" Bailey informs me. "Do you have people too? You need people, people are important, they tell the judge what type of person you are"
"I have people" I reveal, a little happier that I seem to have more people fighting my case than Callie's. "Alex, Richard, April and Amelia" I add.
"You're forgetting one person" Bailey responds. "I know as the chief I shouldn't get involved but being on your side and you win means Callie may not go. And she's the best" Bailey tells me. "You have me too" she adds.
"Thank you" I mouth gratefully before stepping into the elevator so I can go spend the night with my daughter.
The date of the court case rolls around and all of our friends are sitting there trying to support us in the best way they can. It's awkward, they seem awkward, the ones who didn't pick sides and I can tell Callie just isn't happy about me having more people to take the stand than she does. She can barely bring herself to look at me. Sofia is vaguely aware by now that mommy wants to move to New York and mama will be staying here but that's about it. She doesn't even realise how much this would change her life because Callie refuses to tell our daughter the whole story and I can't bring myself to tell her myself. We share custody until the court date comes, but we have barely spoken to one another. Callie doesn't even bother to come to the front door anymore when she drops Sofia off. Instead, she just watches Sofia walk up to the door before I let her in. Penny glances over at me and tries to smile. Even embroiled in a bitter custody case, she's still doing her best to be perfect Penny. I ignore her, if it wasn't for her then I wouldn't be sat here making a case as to why my daughter should remain in Seattle. The judge calls Alex Karev up to the stand.
"Arizona is an amazing person. She's an amazing paediatric surgeon who has such a good bond with children, especially her own daughter. Arizona has been there for Sofia ever since Callie got pregnant and was willing to adopt the baby once she was born" Alex breaks off. "Both of these women are my friends and this is one of the worst situations to be in right now but Sofia belongs in Seattle. She has an entire village of people to take care of her" he finishes and the judge invites Owen up to the stand.
"I've known Callie quite a long time and we're really good friends. All she wants is a chance for her and Sofia to experience some amazing opportunities for the year while she is in New York. She cares a lot for people, even her ex-wife and I know she wouldn't try and stop Arizona from seeing Sofia ever. Callie always puts other people before herself, some people might say that's a fault but I see it as an act of true generosity. She is a kind-hearted person and one of the greatest people I have the pleasure of knowing" Owen breaks off finishing his statement before the judge invites Richard up to the stand. Callie looks at me and I can see how upset she is, how close she is to crying but she stays strong, strong enough to listen to what Richard has to say.
"I've known Arizona a long time, but our friendship has only developed quite recently. Professionally, Arizona is the best in her field, she cares a lot about her patients and she always strives to achieve the best. Personally, she is the closest friend I have had in a long time and our close friendship may have just begun but I have the pleasure of telling you that she is the warmest, kindest person who has nothing but love for Callie and her daughter" he breaks off and Callie looks at me again. "These two, they always figured things out so beautifully before and it is hurtful to see that they are fighting over a beautiful child who deserves both of her parents around to love her, not a parent that is six hours away" Richard finishes and I can hear Callie sniffling in the corner. Richard steps down from the trial and the judge calls for a break. I pace out of the room and into the bathroom because it's all getting too much for me. Somehow Callie has beaten me there and I'm greeted with the sights of her dabbing her eyes with a tissue. She glances at me.
"Hey" I mutter.
"Seems like you have quite the army behind you" she sobs.
"Most of those people don't want to lose you either" I tell her.
"Penny and I have been fighting" she admits. "The whole court case and now Sofia blames her for this move"
"It is her fault" I respond bitterly. "I never wanted to tear you away from Penny all I wanted was my daughter. You can have your perfect Penny for all I care"
"I know that" Callie gulps. "This whole situation just reminds me of when you went to Africa and you left me standing in that airport"
"We didn't have a child back then" I tell her. "And you didn't want to go, I couldn't do that to you"
"I wanted to follow Penny because I was too damn scared of losing her"
"Losing Penny or losing love?" I question because Callie often gets her feelings mixed up and she is so obsessed with the idea of being in love that she tends to rush into things which end up in her getting her heart broken. Like marrying George, like dating Erica.
"I thought we'd get back together" she tells me. "Even after the divorce when we got a little close when you were upset over Nicole"
"I wanted to" I admit to her. "For longer than you probably because I never wanted this. Not the divorce, not fighting to keep my daughter in Seattle" I break off. "You met Penny and I was happy for you, super happy because she seems great for you. But I still loved you" I tell her. "We should get back" I gulp.
We make our way back to the courtroom and the judge listens to the remaining statements our friends have to give. We make our own arguments for each wanting Sofia with us but Callie just seems to have given up all hope. She cries on the stand and it makes me feel super uncomfortable and then it's almost like she's aware just how ridiculous her moving to New York sounds. She fixates on me as she gives her statement, full of things I've heard before such as "great opportunity" "only a year". The judge interrupts her.
"Surely if the position of your girlfriend was only one year it would be better to sort out a long distance relationship either with your girlfriend or allow Miss Robbins custody of the child in Seattle, seeing as your daughter is so settled in here" the judge questions. Callie normally has a response for everything, but even now she seems defeated. Even though I have heard her answer that question because I have asked her a similar question, she just seems so empty, like she doesn't have any fight left in her anymore.
The results are announced after another short break and I won. I got custody of Sofia. I'm thrilled, but deep down I'm reminded of the words my lawyer said to me when I first went to her.
"Even if you win, you'll still feel as though you lost" the words echo over and over again in my mind and I glance over at Callie and she is beyond devastated. Words can't describe just how upset she looks and it pains me that it reached a verdict, that she only realised what she was doing before it's too late. I'm crowded by people congratulating me for my win. Except I don't feel like I've won at all. I don't know how to feel right now.
Callie's point of view
I spent the whole afternoon crying, too upset to even let Penny near me. We return home and seeing Sofia's toys strewn around the living room only makes me cry harder. I saw the look on Arizona's face when she won, it was a look of disbelief and she even glanced over at me to see how I was feeling.
"You're not coming to New York are you?" Penny asks me.
"I realised that I couldn't before the judge even delivered the verdict" I tell her. It's too late now anyway regardless of my decision Arizona still has physical custody meaning I will see my child less than what I would have done before. "She's my kid"
"I saw the way you kept looking at Arizona" Penny continues. "There's still something there"
"Not in her eyes. Not anymore" I tell her. "And there wasn't in my eyes for a while I promise"
"But now?"
"It doesn't matter. None of this matters. Arizona got custody and would probably never want to talk to me again and you, you're leaving"
"I can stay" she offers but I realise I don't want her to stay.
"You should go" I tell her. "I really need to focus the time I have with Sofia on her" I trail off sadly, realising that my life is going to change dramatically. "Erm, I'll need to take some things over to Arizona's" I tell her hoping she gets the hint and leaves.
"What about us?" she asks.
"You go to New York and I'll stay here. I put Sofia second to you when I thought about New York and now I want to focus on making her first" I mumble. Penny nods.
"I'm so sorry Callie" she tells me, wrapping her arms around me for one last goodbye hug. I don't reciprocate it as my entire body feels numb because I'm the parent who gets alternate weekends with their kid. She breaks off and leaves me alone, leaving me to pack up my daughter's things so I can take them to Arizona's where she'll use them more.
I take a cab over because I'm too upset to drive and the last thing I need is to be blinded by my own tears when I'm attempting to drive. I'm greeted by the sight of Arizona and Sofia in the front garden playing on Sofia's swing. They don't notice the cab pull up and I ask the driver if I can just watch for a second before I get out. Sofia squeals at Arizona to push her higher and Arizona giggles, none the less obeying our daughter's orders. A little smile comes across my face, I wanted my family life to be exactly like this, except with Arizona and I taking turns pushing Sofia on the swing, perhaps with another couple of kids. I messed everything up the moment I asked for a divorce and I messed everything up since. I step out of the cab and Arizona walks down, so we can talk without Sofia hearing anything.
"Hey" she greets me.
"Hey" I respond, trying not to let my voice crack. My eyes continue to watch our girl playing on her swing. She waves at me.
"I brought you some of her things since…you know" I break off at the end and my voice cracks. Arizona places the box on the floor.
"I never wanted any of this Callie" she tells me. "I am so sorry that it got to this"
"I messed everything up with this whole situation. I only realised when it was too late that taking Sofia to New York was a bad idea" I shake my head. "I'm not going to New York" I tell her. "I can't leave her"
"That makes me happy to hear, I don't want our girl having a long-distance relationship with one of her mom's" Arizona reveals, displaying the attitude that I should have had all along. "I just couldn't let you take her away Callie, I lost too much. Losing Sofia and you would have been the final straw"
"I was too blinded by trying to do the right thing in my relationship" I bow my head. "I should go" I break off. "I really can't be here right now"
I walk down the driveway to get back into the cab, watching my ex-wife place the boxes with Sofia's stuff inside. She's beautiful, she fought so hard for our daughter because she loved her endlessly and I threatened to tear that relationship away. I watch the pair of them interact, there's so many cuddles and kisses and I realise that I have missed out on watching Arizona's relationship with our daughter grow. It's then I realise that I'd always have feelings for Arizona, I loved her once so strongly and we'll always have Sofia who forces us to have a relationship with one another. But I ruined it, I realised too late that I couldn't go ahead with the move or split my daughter and her mom up.
"Drive" I tell the taxi driver and he begins the cab. I continue watching the scene and Arizona stares and looks at me. There's no hate in her eyes, she smiles at me and it's not in a malicious way.
Maybe something could happen again.
Not for a long time yet.
But who knows?