Title: The Christmas Album 1/?
Author: GreysAddictJ
Pairing: Callie/Arizona
Rating: PG-13
Summary: A sequel to the 12 Days of Christmas. Callie and Arizona reminisce about the events after that awesome Christmas, including wedding planning and the actual Big Day.
A/N: I've had several requests for a sequel to my 12 Days story, so here it is. While you could probably read this as a stand-alone for the most part, there are a few references to the first story that might confuse a new reader. A special shout-out goes out to dl2803, who gave me the initial idea for this story. Also, for readers of "The Dig," fear not – I'll be continuing to update that as well. I'm on vacation for the next week, so should have plenty of time to write.
The house with the red front door was covered with a layer of pristine white snow. Inside, the rooms were decked to the hilt with every imaginable vestige of Christmas cheer. Green, red, gold and silver were evident from every nook and cranny. Clearly, the holiday was taken very seriously by the happy little home's occupants.
A beautiful tall tree held a prominent place in the living room, filling the house with a crisp, pine-y scent that was distinctly Christmas. Unique and quirky ornaments were hung with care from its limbs. Amongst them were 4 ornaments shaped like birds as well as several very cute, but absurd-looking handmade ones – clearly the work of tiny hands.
A cozy fire smoldered in the living room fireplace. From the hearth hung five beautiful handmade stockings, each stitched with care and with the individual owner in mind. On the couch in front of the fire, Arizona Robbins-Torres sat in her absolute favorite place in the world – in her wife's arms. No matter how many years had passed, this didn't change – it was a constant. Leaning back deeper into Calliope's embrace, taking in the scent that was uniquely Callie, Arizona sighed and closed her eyes, savoring the quiet moment alone with her love.
Callie smiled as she gazed at the tree, reflecting on Christmases past – the best ones spent with the beautiful blonde in her arms. This was perfect, she mused. A cozy fire, a quiet night, and the love of her life snuggled up against her. They didn't speak – they didn't need to. Their comfortable, loving silence was a conversation in itself.
Their comfortable little reverie was suddenly invaded by the sound of thundering little feet. Callie chuckled and placed a gentle kiss on her wife's temple as their three children came barreling into the room.
"Mamá! Mommy!" 9 year old Holly shouted as she came running into the room, launching herself at the couch.
"Ooof!" Arizona grunted as her child landed flush atop her.
"I thought you guys were watching The Little Mermaid upstairs." Arizona asked as her other two children, Nick and Noelle vaulted onto the couch after their sister.
"We were, Mommy." Noelle replied, flashing a set of adorable dimples that matched both her mommy's as well as her twin sister Holly's. Callie loved that their two girls were adorable mini versions of her equally adorable wife – all dimples and blonde hair and blue eyes. She also had a special place in her heart for their son, who had his mamá's dark eyes and hair.
"Is the movie over?" Callie asked, thinking that her quiet time with Arizona had passed way too quickly.
Holly nodded. "It's done. And when Ariel married Prince Eric, it made us wonder. . ."
"What about?" Callie replied.
"What was your and Mommy's wedding like?" Noelle asked.
"We've shown you pictures before, remember?" Arizona replied. "Do you want to see them again?"
"Yeah, but we want to know everything. Can you tell us the whole story? We want to know about how you picked the flowers and colors and food and stuff." Noelle added.
Arizona grinned. The girls had been on a "wedding planner" kick lately, planning the weddings of their various dolls and stuffed animals. Even the family dog, Rudy (short for Rudolph) hadn't escaped, having been wed to one of Holly's Barbie dolls last week.
"Sure, baby." Arizona replied. "Go and grab the Christmas photo album – it's on the coffee table in the other room."
Noelle ran out of the room and returned moments later with the photo album that Arizona had given to Callie many Christmases ago.
They gathered their kids into their arms, even 6 year old Nick, who would never admit out loud that he wanted to hear all this "girly" stuff just as much as his sisters. Arizona gazed over at her wife, flashing her dimpled grin, nearly melting Callie right then and there.
"Where should we start, Mamá?" Arizona asked Callie.
"I guess at the beginning – with the proposal." Callie replied, shooting a mega-watt smile at her wife.
Arizona nodded and began to tell the story of that super magic Christmas 12 years before, when they'd competed to give each other the most memorable Christmas ever. Both women told the story, interjecting things here and there, leaving out certain details like the French maid costume that weren't appropriate for young ears. They stole glances occasionally, enjoying the reminiscing as much as their kids.
"So that's why your Mamá and I love Christmas so much." Arizona concluded. "We always loved Christmas, but the fact that we had a super awesome Christmas that year made it even more special for us."
"And that's why we named you kids what we did." Callie added. "Holly, Nick, and Noelle are all names that have a Christmas meaning." The kids nodded, having been told before about the reason behind their names.
"One promise?" Nick asked.
"Sure, sweetie. What?" Arizona replied.
"If we ever have a little brother, please don't name him Santa?"
Both women chuckled at their son's concern.
"Of course not." Callie replied. "However, I make no promises about Frosty or Donder or Blitzen."
"Mamá!" Nick protested, knowing she was teasing.
"What came next?" Holly asked, eager for the story to continue.
"Well . . ." Callie began. "I think the next part of the story takes place the week after Christmas and New Year's Eve. Don't you think, Mommy?" Looking over at her wife for confirmation, Callie smiled as she gazed into Arizona's piercing blue eyes. Arizona nodded and they both grinned at each other, mentally picturing the memories surrounding that week.
Callie began to tell the story . . .
* * FLASHBACK * *
The day after Christmas, Callie lay in bed, her brand new fiancée in her arms. She sighed with happiness as Arizona stirred slightly in her sleep, snuggling deeper into Callie's embrace. Callie smiled, enjoying the quiet closeness. These lazy mornings with her soon-to-be wife were something she was sure she'd never tire of. Slowly stretching out her left arm, Callie paused to admire the beautiful ring that Arizona had picked out for her . . . stunning silver with a gorgeous diamond in the center, bordered on either side by brilliant blue sapphires. Arizona said they represented her eyes, which Callie was constantly telling her looked like the blue gems. She needed to return the favor and soon, she thought. Time to go ring shopping for her beautiful fiancée, as soon as she could get away.
"Are you checking out your awesome ring again?" Arizona chuckled sleepily, bringing Callie out of her musings.
"Yeah. So what? I'm not allowed to admire the gorgeous ring my equally gorgeous fiancée gave me?" Callie replied, smiled as she placed a gentle kiss on the top of Arizona's head.
Arizona turned in Callie's arms so that she was facing her. "Mmmmm . . ." She said between kisses. "Fiancée . . . I love the sound of that."
"It's almost as awesome as wife." Callie grinned before pulling Arizona in for a tender kiss, which quickly became heated. Their legs intertwined, the two began rocking against each other as Callie's hand snaked its way under Arizona's pajama top, tongues dueling for control in a dance all their own.
The prospect of an enjoyable morning in bed was quickly shattered by a knock at the door. Callie groaned in frustration.
"Maybe if we ignore it, whoever is being rude enough to interrupt our sexy time will go away." Arizona said as she pulled Callie back in for another embrace.
Callie nodded. "It's probably just Mark looking for some breakfast. He can find it elsewhere . . . I'm having breakfast in bed." She grinned as she recaptured Arizona's soft lips, tangling a hand through her disheveled blonde locks.
The knocking sounded again, more persistent this time. Callie cursed under her breath as she rolled off of Arizona and out of bed.
"Clearly whoever it is won't give up until I go out there and kick their ass." Callie said as she straightened her pajamas and made sure she was semi-decent. She headed to the door, Arizona not far behind her as the knocking continued.
"Coming! Coming!" Callie shouted as she got to the door. "Geez, Mark, do you know what time it is . . ." Her words cut off as the door swung open to reveal not Mark, but rather, both her mother as well as Arizona's.
"Callie, darling. Is that any way to greet your mother and your future mother-in-law?"
"Mamá . . ." Callie began as the two women brushed past her into the apartment. "What are you doing here? I thought you were coming to visit later this afternoon?"
"Hello, Arizona, dear." Maria Torres said, ignoring Callie's question.
"Hello, Mrs. Torres . . . Mom." Arizona said as she greeted the two women.
"I've told you before, dear. Call me Mamá. You're family now."
Arizona nodded. "Right. Sorry, Mamá." She turned towards her own mother, hoping for an explanation from her since Mamá Torres had ignored Callie's question. "Not that we're not excited to have you here, but what's up Mom? We weren't expecting you for hours . . . we're not even dressed."
Jane Robbins gave her daughter a knowing smile. "I hope we didn't interrupt anything, sweetie. It's just that Maria and I are so excited about your upcoming wedding and we couldn't wait any longer to share some of our ideas with you." She smiled as they began pulling out armloads of bridal magazines, fabric swatches and other planning materials.
Callie and Arizona's eyes met in horror. Needing a moment to formulate a strategy, Callie addressed their mothers. "Sounds great. If you'll just give us a minute, we'll go get dressed." She grabbed Arizona's hand and led her to the bedroom.
"We need a plan and fast!" Arizona whispered once they were in the confines of their bedroom.
"Agreed." Callie responded. "Otherwise, I'm going to be walking down the aisle in a giant poufy gown that makes me look like a giant snowball as 'Here Comes The Bride' blares on some overwrought church organ, in front of 1000 of my father's closest friends."
Arizona giggled. "We definitely don't want that. While I think that you're sexy in anything, the idea of you in 500 pounds of tulle and lace isn't exactly what I had in mind. So how do we stop them without hurting their feelings? Clearly this train has already left the station."
"They're only in town for a few more days." Callie began. "If we can fend them off until then, they won't be around for most of the actual planning."
'What if we go with a few things we know we want and somehow make them think it was their idea in the first place?" Arizona suggested.
Callie beamed and pulled her fiancée into her arms as she gave her a quick kiss. "I knew I kept you around for a reason. So we go with the general theme we talked about last night? Just make them think it was their idea?"
Arizona nodded in agreement. "Yep. Go with a Christmas theme, since it played such a big part in our engagement. Location here in Seattle – which will also keep our mothers off our backs, since they both live out of state. They'll go for the theme, if we hint enough, one of them will suggest it."
Callie smiled and pulled her in for one more brief, but passionate kiss. "Now come on we need to get dressed before they come looking for us."
They spent the next few hours humoring their mothers, letting them show them countless magazines, pictures, flowers and other wedding paraphernalia. By the end of the planning session, with some careful steering, their mothers had decided that the only way to go was with a Christmas-themed wedding for the following December.
After a few more days spent with their families, the two women went back to work. One slow afternoon, Callie finally managed to sneak out to visit a local jeweler. After browsing through what seemed like dozens of rings, Callie was beginning to worry that she'd never find the right one. Just when she was about to give up, the jeweler brought out one more ring from the back. As soon as Callie saw it, she knew it was perfect. After paying for her purchase, Callie practically walked on air back to the hospital. She knew the perfect time to give Arizona the ring, so long as she could hold in her excitement for a day or two more.
The two women had managed to get enough furniture and necessities in their new house to host a New Year's Eve party. Various friends and co-workers were in attendance, eager to see the new home and to wish the newly engaged couple well.
As midnight approached, Callie's excitement grew. She didn't feel the usual anxiety that one with a ring box in their pocket would feel – she knew what Arizona's response would be. She wasn't nervous – in fact, she couldn't wait.
Soon enough, the countdown to the New Year began. Pulling Arizona into her arms, their eyes met in a love-filled gaze of mutual happiness. As the clock struck midnight, the two shared a passionate and loving kiss.
Pulling back, Arizona smiled and placed a gentle hand on Callie's cheek. "Happy New Year, Calliope."
Callie grinned. This was it. "Happy New Year, babe. What's your New Year's resolution?"
Arizona shook her head. "I have no resolution this year. I'm engaged to the most amazing, gorgeous, talented, awesome woman. My life is perfect."
Callie raised an eyebrow and smirked. "Really? How awesome can this woman really be? I don't see a ring on your finger. That's not very nice of her." She teased Arizona before pulling out a gorgeous gold ring, containing a diamond surrounded by little rubies. Arizona gasped as Callie continued. "I have a resolution . . . It's to continue showing you how grateful I am to have you in my life and to show you every day how much I love you. Marry me, Arizona Robbins?"
"Of course!" Arizona said, hugging Callie tightly.
As Callie slid the ring onto her fiancée's finger, she explained its meaning. "You always say that you love it when I wear red. Plus, I'd like to think these red stones represent my spicy Latin heritage."
Arizona gave Callie her best dimpled grin. "Well, you are red hot, sweetie." She pulled Callie in for a deep, heated kiss.
* * END OF FLASHBACK * *
"So here are the pictures in the album of our rings." Callie pointed to the pictures as they finished the first part of the story.
"What comes next, Mamá?" Noelle asked. "What did you plan next? The flowers? The cake? The dresses?"
Arizona's blue eyes met Callie's chocolate ones as they remembered the next step in their planning . . .