AN: I know I promised NOT to write any more Grey's fanfiction. But this is a special request, and it's Pride Month. So whatever.

The title of this story is "We are her parents (/mothers)", in Kiswahili. Decided to be playful with language. English isn't my first one, after all.

This is intended to be part of my "Heartache on Screen" series of thingies. Follow it on youtube: playlist?list=PLOeXHFRBa4c1vo0WMJvhpQUTrIUd_0LHT

Music: "Nobody Knows You When You're Down And Out" by Bessie Smith.


Arizona picked up the phone as soon as she and her daughter reached home. Or, more accurately, as soon as Sofia was asleep.

"I won't let the court decide the rest of our lives," she stated when the party at the other end of the line had picked up.

"Then why did you sue for custody?" Callie growled.

She had progressed past the grieving part of her reaction to the day's events and was now in the anger phase. Arizona could have waited until morning to make the call. But she was angry too.

"Because I saw what the judge saw," the blonde replied, "you were being irrational. And you were thinking with your vagina."

"You've had no problem with that part of me in the past. Why're you throwing a legislative tantrum when my mouth doesn't end up between your legs?"

"Callie, I-"

"YOU STARTED THIS, ARIZONA!" The orthopedic surgeon shouted.

Something broke in the background. Maggie had been so surprised by the sudden outburst that she dropped the glass she was barely holding. And the jug she was using to pour lemonade into said glass.

"NO!" The Pediatric surgeon shouted back. "YOU started this, Callie. YOU broke up with ME because I didn't want a child. And then YOU took me BACK when you got pregnant. I didn't choose to be Sofia's mother. I wasn't there when she was conceived. But I'm her mother. You're her mother. We're HER mothers. And if we could live together after the car crash, after the plane crash, after Mark died, after my amputation, after the bankruptcy, after we bought a FRIKKING HOSPITAL...then we can at least figure out your visitation rights. Your REAL visitation rights, not what the court mandated. Because you and I know two nights a week and every other holiday won't be enough."

Callie swallowed.

"You...want me to..."

"Talk. I want you to talk. I want you to tell me how we're going to raise our daughter together when we hate each other so much. Because this has to start now. I'm not going to sleep without knowing where we both stand on this."

"But the court order..."

"I'm Sofia's legal parent now, yes," Arizona stated, "and when we got married, the state didn't recognize our wedding. Let's not pretend we're going to fully respect those guidelines. Being realistic is the only way we're going to do this."

"But you sued me," Callie gasped, "YOU sued ME. You took my daughter away from ME."

"You're quitting your job to go across the country with your girlfriend," Arizona snorted, "and you STILL don't understand how irrational that is."

"Stop rubbing it in my face," the Latina growled.

"Por que, Calliope?"

The dark-haired surgeon fiddled with the necklace. She had put it on that morning: 'why' had been a mystery. Perhaps it brought her comfort.

Penny walked into the room and Callie's grip tightened on the chain.

"I want every other day of the week," the taller woman stated.

"That means you'll have her for most of every other week," Arizona stated, "I'm not having that."

"Every other second day, then. And Sundays."

"Why Sundays?"

"Because she and I are going to establish a relationship with God. And you don't go to church."

"Oh, cos forcing me to stay in bed until noon was your way of worshiping at the end of every week, huh?"

"First off: you weren't exactly complaining. Secondly: Sunday is the FIRST day of the week. You'd think an over-achieving type-A would know that little factoid."

"Those are too many days," Arizona added once more.

"What do you want from me?"

"Wednesdays, Thursdays, every odd Friday and every Sunday."

"Give me weekends."

"I have plans for her on weekends."

"What plans?"

"Sofia's going to learn to ride horses."

"No she's not. She's going for swimming lessons. With me. Every Saturday. And then she's going to church on Sundays. With me."

"Giving you two days every week is just...wrong."

"So what? I only get her on Sundays now, like some kinda-"

"I meant ONLY giving you two days every week is just...wrong."

"Oh. But you won't let me have three?"

"We have fifty-two weeks every year. A few of those will have Christmas, Easter, Halloween, 4th of July weekends, Labor Days and whatever-else-it-is that people do. And I want Memorial Days as well."

"You want to give me more than just weekends, but you want the important ones, is that what you're saying?"

"I'm saying," Arizona sighed, "that we shouldn't assume all of those holidays will be spent with just ONE of us."

"Oh," Callie realized, "you want to be there with us? Supervised visits?"

"Not supervised visits, Callie," Arizona sighed, "we know our daughter. She's not going to do Christmas without us. Both."

"How do you know?"

"Because I asked the court to let us both have Christmas. And 4th of July weekends."

"You...wait, what?"

"After you left the room, I detained the judge for a few minutes."

"You went behind my back to adjust the terms of your victory?"

"You left and were not obligated to be present."

"Are you obligated to tell me what else you and that judge hashed out in my absence?"

"Only if you ask."

"I'm asking."

"You get to pick Sofia up from school every other day of the week. Even if you're not taking her home with you. And Penny can be near her. I don't resent her for being pulled into this."

Meredith walked into the room and carefully placed an opened bottle of wine, next to a closed bottle of tequila, on the table before Callie.

"So I get to pick my daughter up from school and drive her to your house. Like a chauffer."

"Only for as long as I'm living in Seattle, yes."

"Wait: WHAT?!"

Doctor Torres had shot up from her seated position and screamed.

"If the situation at Grey-Sloan Memorial becomes untenable, I'm moving to LA. Addison's been keeping a job offering open for me for years."

"ARIZONA!"

"I said IF it becomes untenable. They were our friends, Callie. You made them pick sides. And most of them picked yours. Meredith Grey. OUR Meredith. Testified on your behalf."

"Cos she's MY friend."

"She's also a board member. And my friend too. At least I thought she was."

"You go to work in the place where you were almost shot. Where you almost died. Where your leg was amputated. Where our daughter was born prematurely after surviving a car crash that your fiance almost died in. And you're just now starting to think Grey-Sloan is a nasty place to work?"

"Touche."

There was silence. And then there was a sarcastic remark from the black-haired one.

"Would you give me Fridays if I screwed Karev?"

"What?!"

"Or if I DIDN'T screw Karev," Callie added, "again."

Penny walked out of the room. Maggie watched her go. Meredith covered Zola's ears. And Amelia collapsed into a corner: shaking in fits of inappropriate laughter.

"How about we call Lauren up and make it an unforgettable threesome," Callie further suggested, "I'll even bring a bobby-pin so we can accessorize our scrub-tops."

"Callie, I-"

"Or maybe I should take you up on the offer and bring a bone saw with me," Callie was screaming while somehow keeping her volume low, "you can take my leg. Take both my legs. Take one of my arms – your choice – take them. Take them all. Just please...please give me my daughter back."

Arizona let her cry. What Callie didn't notice through the sobbing was the sound that her ex-wife was making on her end of the line. All the other adults in their rooms did.

De Luca slunk off when he realized the one-sided drama was getting too intense to watch. Meredith, Amelia and Maggie looked at Callie's phone, where they could hear Arizona's unmistakable sniffing.

And then the Ortho Rock Star abruptly snapped out of it and downed half the bottle of wine.

"Will you give me Fridays if I screw you?"

"Just...stop."

"If I slept with you every morning – even when you're on your period and gross as hell – if I did that, would you let me take my daughter home at the end of the day?"

"We're not doing this, Callie."

"I'm offering myself. I'm...I'm..." The taller woman walked into the bathroom and shut the door behind her.

And then she took her top and bra off and snapped a quick selfie.

"Callie...what are you-"

"Look at the photo I just sent you."

There was a pause. And then an "oh Calliope..."

"Penny doesn't know how to touch them. Not like you do. I'm offering myself to you. You get to touch them. Lick them. You get to rip them off and mount them on your bedroom wall as trophies, just please...please..."

"We can't talk on the phone," Arizona stated, "you need to sober up. And we need to do this in the morning, or in daylight hours, in a neutral place."

"You called me and now you wanna hang up because I'm talking."

"That's not it," the blonde sounded serious, and then sighed once more.

"Then why're you-"

"Hey honey," the blonde suddenly cooed, "come say goodnight to Mommy."

And Callie's heart lit up. She slipped her top back on, knowing her lack of a bra wouldn't be noticed.

Arizona switched to FaceTime and there she was. Sofia, the sleepy child in her favorite pajamas. Sitting on her one-legged legal guardian's lap and waving at the camera.

"Goodnight Mommy," the girl smiled.

Callie smiled back. And then she kissed the screen. Sofia did the same thing.

"Mommy," the child asked before the call was disconnected, "will you and Mama do the special hug again? Cos...cos you're always happy after the special hug."

"The...what?" Callie asked in confusion.

"Sometimes you and Mama shut the door and you make strange noises," the child explained, "I know I'm not allowed in the room when you do that. But this one time I saw. And I left."

"You...what?" Both women gasped in horror.

"You weren't wearing any clothes and you were hugging. Only Mommy was...lower. Like on your tummy, Mama. And she was...I think she was biting you. But you didn't seem to be in pain so-"

"Sofia!"

"I know I'm gonna be in trouble," the child went on, "but you and Mama are always happy after your special hugging."

"Oh Dios Mio," Callie groaned, and her ex-wife decided she'd be better off handling the situation as soon as she could.

"Sofia, honey, go to bed. I'll come read you a story and Mommy will help me, okay?"

"Will Mommy come here and do that?"

"Mommy's a bit too far away right now," Arizona stated, while factoring in Callie's questionable sobriety, "but she'll be with you soon, okay?"

"I'll go to bed now."

They paused while the little girl walked off. And then made their "what the frick just happened" faces.

"Who's going to teach her about 'special hugs' when the time comes?" The Peds surgeon finally broke the silence by wondering.

"I think we should make sure she stays a child a little while longer," Callie stated, "I'm not ready to go there yet. Not when we have so much to figure out."

"She's bound to know you and Penny are...giving each other special hugs."

"I know. It's just...god, Arizona. Let's just...talk about this as you said. In broad daylight, neutral territory, when we're both sober."

"Agreed."


Thanks for reading.