I Saw Mama Kissing Santa Claus

Chapter 2

December 22nd, 2017

After interviewing with the rest of the board and then Chief of Surgery Miranda Bailey (which Arizona had assured her would all be 'a no-brainer, a piece of cake') Teddy Altman returned to the Torres-Robbins home. A long afternoon of baking cookies was waiting for her. Teddy smiled as she entered the kitchen. She'd learned to roll with the chaotic schedules in their household. There were very few unplanned activities, though they did graciously allow her to sleep in as late as she wanted while she visited.

"How goes it in the bakery?" Teddy asked as she surveyed the racks of cookies on every available countertop.

"First few batches are cooling. You and Sofia can start decorating soon," Arizona replied.

"Callie?"

"Napping," the peds surgeon explained. "How'd the interview go?"

"Just like you said – a 'mere formality'."

"Great!" Arizona crossed the room to hug her friend. "When do you start?"

"Next month," Teddy replied, returning the hug.

"That is such awesome news. I can't wait to have you back with us."

"It's going to be weird being Cristina's boss, while she's my boss."

"Pffttt," Arizona said, waving a spatula. "You'll both be fine." She turned to Sofia who was kneeling on her chair at the breakfast bar, small bowls of every color icing in the rainbow in front of her. Small containers of sprinkles and other decorations were placed next to the bowls. "Isn't it great, Sofia? Aunt Teddy is moving back to Seattle. She won't just visit a few times a year anymore."

"Are you going to live with us?" Sofia asked innocently.

"Oh, no, I'll be getting my own place." Seeing the small frown on the young girl's face, she quickly added, "but you'll be able to stay with me sometimes. We'll have our own sleepovers."

"Really?"

"You bet."

"You can stay with us, Teddy, while you find a place. I know moving this time of year can be tough."

"Thank you. Hopefully I won't have too much trouble."

"We have a friend from church who's a realtor. Maybe she can help you find something."

"That'd be great, Arizona, thanks."

"Okay, first batch is ready to be decorated," Arizona said, placing a rack of now cooled cookies in front of Teddy and Sofia. "And no eating them. I've got the broken ones over here for snacking on later."

"Yes, ma'am," Teddy said snapping off a salute, causing Sofia to giggle.

While Teddy and Sofia decorated dozens of sugar cookies, Arizona moved on to baking other types of cookies. The blonde mother's favorites were peanut butter cookies with Hershey kisses on top. While the two decorators were busy, she turned her back on them and quickly ate two.

"Arizona, explain to me why your parents aren't here this Christmas."

"We decided that it would be best if they only made one trip, when the baby's born. My mom will help Callie out and my dad will be spending extra time with Sofia."

"I'm gonna get Grandpa all to myself," Sofia exclaimed excitedly. "He's even gonna play Barbies with me and Zola!"

Teddy laughed out loud. "Please tell me you're going to have photos of that."

"Oh, definitely, though he may want to give her a GI Joe that he can play with," Arizona said with a chuckle. "He even promised he'd help Sofia host a tea party for all her friends."

As Sofia carefully placed a red sprinkle on the nose of the reindeer sugar cookie, she looked up at her mother.

"Mama, how will Santa find us if it's cloudy or snowing? He uses the stars to find his way."

"Rudolph has that bright, shiny nose. I'm sure that'll be enough."

"That only works in fog," Sofia countered. "Everyone knows that."

Teddy disguised her laugh with a short cough.

"Well, Sofia, you know how the car has GPS?"

"The thing that tells us where to turn?"

"Yes. I'm sure Santa has one of those. He probably has more than one. There's just no way he will miss dropping your presents off."

"That's good," Sofia said, her relief evident. "I was worried."

"You only have to worry if you've been naughty or nice," Teddy chimed in. "You've been good this year, haven't you, Sofia?"

"I'm always good," she said quickly.

Teddy raised an eyebrow. "Always?"

"Most of the time," the young girl conceded. She looked up at her mother. "Right, Mama?"

"Right, Sofia." Arizona brought over another tray of cookies for decorating. "You two need to work faster. They're starting to pile up over here."

"Why are you making so many, Arizona?" Teddy asked as she picked up another cookie.

"Tomorrow we're delivering batches of them to our friends." Arizona suddenly grinned. "Ellen and her family are on our list of places to stop. She's the realtor. We can talk to her then about finding you a place to live." She gave Teddy a sly smile.

"What?" Teddy asked, knowing just by the smile on Arizona's face that her friend was up to no good.

"We're stopping at our friend Gary's house, too. Our divorced, single dad, friend, Gary."

"Oh, no, you're not playing matchmaker," Teddy warned her friend. "I don't need your help with that. I do just fine on my own."

"Oh, really? How's that worked out for you?" Arizona teased.

"Arizona…"

"Fine," Arizona said with a little huff. "You can at least meet him."

"Arizona!"

"Okay, okay. Message received."

"Good."

Sofia reached for another cookie to decorate, this time a Santa cutout. "Mama, will Santa be bringing the baby on Christmas?"

"No, honey. The baby won't be here until next month."

"I just thought he would," Sofia continued as she smeared a glob of red frosting on the cookie. "He did bring baby Jesus. I thought for sure he'd bring me my brother or sister."

Teddy snorted back her laugh when she saw the stunned look on Arizona's face.

"Um, Sofia, I don't think that's right," Arizona said carefully.

"Uh huh. Santa uses the star in the East to guide him. He brings presents to everyone to celebrate him bringing baby Jesus to Mary. He looks for the house where everyone is good. If you're the best mommy, he leaves a baby under the tree."

Teddy turned her head, her hand covering her mouth as she smothered her laughter.

"Sofia, I think you need to ask Mommy about this when she gets up," Arizona finally said after several moments of trying to come up with the best response to counter Sofia's explanation.

"Coward," Teddy coughed.

"Okay, Mama. But I'm pretty sure I'm right."

Arizona looked at the clock on the wall. "Oh, thank God," she mumbled to herself when she saw the time. "Sofia, it's time for Mommy to get up. Why don't you go wake her?"

"Okay," Sofia said happily, jumping down from her stool.

"But be nice about it," Arizona called out after her.

"That is one confused little girl," Teddy commented after Sofia had left the room.

"Yeah, well, it's probably my fault. She's had nothing but Santa Claus for years, and with just starting to go to church this past year, it's no wonder."

"I think I like her ideas better," Teddy laughed as she bit into a gingerbread man.

Arizona grinned as she took the last tray of cookies out of the oven.

"Arizona?"

"Yes?" Arizona turned at the serious tone of her friend's voice.

"Are you sure you're okay with me spending Christmas with you? Don't you want to spend it alone with your family?"

"Teddy, you're family," she said sincerely. "Besides, we expect you to spend all of the holidays with us from now on, especially this one. We didn't want you to miss your godchild's first Christmas."

"I thought Yang was Sofia's godmother?" a baffled Teddy asked.

"Not Sofia. The baby's Christmas. As godmother, you're expected to be here," Arizona said matter-of-factly.

"Godmother?" Teddy was still confused.

"Yes, Theodora," Arizona said with a smile. "We'd like you to be the baby's godmother."

"Really? You want me? I… I don't know what to say," Teddy said, tears welling up in her eyes.

"Oh, my, God, Teddy, don't cry," Arizona said, setting down her spatula as she rushed to her friend. "I'm sorry. I suppose we should've asked you first."

"I'm… I'm honored, Arizona."

Arizona wrapped her arms around Teddy and gave her a big hug. "You were our first choice, Teddy."

Teddy was their first choice. She and Callie had discussed the possibility of having April be the baby's godmother, but Callie was hesitant about that choice. April was more Arizona's friend than their friend. They both knew Teddy, had known her for years. Once they decided on Teddy, they did agree that April would be the "backup" godmother. Arizona had taken April aside shortly after Thanksgiving and explained that Teddy was going to be the godmother. April hadn't been hurt with the choice. She was surprisingly understanding about it.

"Hey, what's going on?" Callie asked as she came into the room, Sofia beside her.

"I was just telling Teddy that we wanted to take a chance on another cardio surgeon as godmother," Arizona explained.

Callie grinned as Teddy got up and gave the Latina a hug.

"Thank you, Callie."

"No need to thank us, Teddy. There wasn't any doubt who we'd pick for our next child."

"And isn't it great that she'll be back at the hospital with us?" Arizona stated, taking Callie's hand.

"Definitely," Callie agreed.

Arizona turned to her wife. "How was your nap?"

"Good," Callie replied, kissing Arizona once, then again. "I would've slept better if you'd been with me."

"Doubt it," Arizona whispered back. "Wouldn't have been much sleeping going on," she continued saucily.

"Probably right," Callie murmured against the blonde's lips before she kissed her again.

"Mommy, why do you always kiss Mama?" Sofia interrupted as she watched her parents.

"Because we love each other."

"You love me and you don't kiss me like that."

"It's a special love between grownups," Arizona tried to explain.

"Do you love Aunt Teddy?"

"Yes."

"Why don't you kiss her like that? She's a grownup."

Teddy smirked and folded her arms across her chest, waiting for an explanation.

"Because Mommy and I have… we love each other in our own very special way. We only kiss each other like this. It's why we got married."

"So you could kiss like that?"

"Among other things," Teddy muttered under her breath, causing Arizona to glare at her.

"Yes. We don't just love each other, we're each other's best friend and partner. We're your parents. Like Uncle Derek and Aunt Meredith and Uncle Alex and Aunt Jo, Aunt April and Uncle Jackson."

Sofia's face twisted in concentration as she tried to understand her parents. "Does that mean you only ever kiss Mama like that?" she asked, still trying to make sense of it.

"Absolutely," Arizona confirmed, her arm slipping around Callie's waist.

"Good. It would be weird if you kissed anyone else. I wouldn't like it."

"I agree, Sofia," her mama said.

"So, I see you've got a long way to go with the cookie decorating," Callie commented.

"Yes, my elves have been slacking off," Arizona teased.

"Maybe we need a cookie or two for encouragement," Teddy suggested. "What do you think, Sofia? Think your mama needs to give us some cookies?"

"Yes!"

"Okay, okay. You're right. It's time for a milk and cookies break."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

December 23rd, 2017

Arizona closed the hatch on the back of the SUV. Five large platters of cookies wrapped in festive green and red cellophane had been carefully placed in the cargo area.

"All set," Arizona said. "Thanks, Teddy."

"No problem. Glad I could help."

"All's that left is to load my girls," the shorter blonde said as they made their way back into the house.

"I can always wait here, you know," Teddy said. "I don't need to come with you."

"Nonsense. We want you to come with us, Teddy. You need to meet our friends from church. They're good people."

Even though her own church attendance was somewhat sporadic since they'd starting taking Sofia, Arizona had quickly bonded with some of the members of the church. She'd forgotten what it was like to have friends outside of their hospital family. It helped that the families they did form friendships with had small children. And it certainly helped that two of them lived close by; Ellen and her two children were just down the block, and Chuck and Kay with their three were less than a mile away.

"If you're sure…"

"We're sure." Arizona closed the door behind her and called out, "Callie! Sofia! Let's go! Time to deliver cookies."

Sofia rushed into the room, excited to see her friends. Callie slowly lumbered her way into the kitchen. Entering the last month of her pregnancy made her a little more cautious and deliberate in her movements.

Teddy saw the red and white hats in Callie's hand and was filled with dread. Her friends sometimes went overboard with the holidays and it looked like this year was no exception. Maybe she was going to have to rethink spending the holidays with the Robbins-Torres clan.

Callie handed each of them a Santa hat.

"Seriously?" she whined to Arizona.

"Put in on, Altman," Arizona ordered as she placed a hat on her own head.

"We're like Santa's helpers," Sofia said with a giggle as the too large hat slipped down over her eyes.

"You owe me one, Robbins," Teddy replied, reluctantly putting on a hat.

"That's the spirit, Teddy," Callie said. The Latina leaned over and whispered, "It's best not to fight her on it. There is no arguing with the holiday monster."

Teddy snickered behind her hand.

Minutes later the four of them were buckled in and on their way to their first stop.

"Will and Duncan have two adopted kids, Jason and Julie," Arizona explained as she drove. "I wanted to stop there first as they're leaving this afternoon for Portland. Will's younger sister and her family live there and they're all spending the holidays together."

"I didn't know that," Callie said from the backseat. "How do you keep up with all of that? You don't even go to church as much as Sofia and I do."

"Because I'm awesome," Arizona shot back with a grin. "I talk to all of them outside of church."

The first stop was a quick one. They delivered the cookies, introduced Teddy and exchanged holiday wishes.

"We won't stay long at our next stop, either," Arizona said as they pulled out Will and Duncan's driveway. "Sonja just got back from New York and Annie's seven months pregnant. She and Callie have been commiserating with each other over swollen feet."

"I don't know how Annie has kept it together," Callie said. "Sonja's been gone more than she's been home the past month."

"That's gotta be tough," Teddy said, trying to contribute to the conversation.

"Sonja's a lawyer and she's had a big case that's caused her to be in New York a lot. And, they've got two kids under the age of five, plus Annie is a pediatrician," Arizona added. "She's actually Sofia's pediatrician."

"She finally took a leave, starting last week," Callie said. "She's having a rougher time with her pregnancy than I am."

"And they already have two kids?"

"Uh huh," Arizona said, looking both ways at the stop sign before proceeding. "This is Annie's first. Sonja carried Jill and Bobby."

"Sounds like a real lesbian power couple to me," Teddy remarked. "Kind of like you two."

True to her word, Arizona kept the stop at Sonja and Annie's home brief. They would see the family again the next day at the Christmas Eve services at the church.

"Next up, Gary and his son Michael." Arizona shot Teddy a pointed look, which caused Teddy to glare back at her. "Gary's an engineer at Boeing," the peds surgeon added.

"It really sucks for him that he only gets Michael on Christmas eve," Callie said. "His ex-wife is a real –"

"Little ears, Calliope," Arizona warned as she glanced into the rearview mirror.

"Oh, right, sorry," Callie apologized, meeting her wife's eyes. "Anyway, Michael spends Christmas Day and the whole week after with his mother. Gary gets him back on New Year's."

"Shared custody?" Teddy asked.

"Kind of. They live near each other, in the same school district. Michael switches between his parents every three days."

"Sounds complicated."

"It works, for the most part."

As they made their way to the front door, Teddy couldn't help but be wary. She knew her friend had good intentions, but the last thing the cardio surgeon was looking for was romance. Right now her priority was finding a place to live and getting settled in back at Seattle Grace-Mercy West – no, Grey Sloan Memorial. That was going to take some getting used to, she thought.

The stop at Gary's house had lasted a little longer. Gary had seemed pleasant and he was somewhat easy on the eyes, Teddy had to admit. There just wasn't any kind of spark while they talked. His son, Michael, was a real cutie and seemed to have a crush on Sofia.

Not wanting to intrude on the father-son time, and knowing they would also see them Christmas Eve, they cut their visit short.

"So, what did you think?" Arizona asked Teddy as they buckled their seatbelts.

"Arizona…" Teddy complained.

"What?"

"I told you – no matchmaking."

Callie chuckled from the backseat. "Arizona's always trying to find someone for Gary."

"Why don't you fix him up with one of your other friends?"

"We only have one other single friend from church."

"Well, why not her?" Teddy suggested.

Arizona laughed. "Oh, no, that would never work. Ellen is a lesbian. She was widowed. How long ago was it, Callie?"

"I think she said three years ago. Her wife died of breast cancer," Callie told Teddy. "And yes, Arizona's been trying to play matchmaker for her as well."

"Well, it's been hard for Ellen," Arizona said, defending herself. "She's raising two kids by herself."

"And Ellen has resisted all of Arizona's efforts," Callie added. "I think it has more to do with who Arizona keeps trying to fix her up with."

"It is not!" Arizona protested.

"Please," Callie retorted, rolling her eyes. "She invited one of the scrub nurses the last time we had Ellen over for dinner. Kerry doesn't even like kids, Arizona!"

"I know, I know. That was a bad choice, I admit it."

"Maybe she's just not ready to date," Teddy commented. "It takes time, you know."

The mood in the car quickly became somber as the three women recalled Henry, and Teddy's struggles to get past his death. Arizona was glad their next stop would be Chuck and Kay's. With three kids, their home was always chaotic and lively.

Sure enough, their visit was just what they all needed to lift their moods. Teddy and Arizona both had glass of Chuck's bourbon laced eggnog while Sofia played with Charlie and Emma. Charlie was almost two years older than Sofia, and Emma was in Sofia's first grade class. Their youngest, Davey, was just up from his nap, and still a little sleepy. He seemed content just to cuddle on his mother's lap and occasionally sneaking a peek at the three guests.

Teddy liked the family immediately, and she enjoyed watching Callie and Arizona interact with them. Chuck worked for the Seattle Seahawks and Callie and he talked football almost the entire time they were there. The kids ran through the house, chasing and being chased by a large yellow lab. Despite the chaos, Teddy was charmed by it all.

After staying long enough for Teddy and Arizona to have one more glass of eggnog, they said their goodbyes with promises to see them the next night at church.

"Keys, Arizona," Callie said as they walked down the driveway to their car.

"What?"

"Give me the keys. I'm driving."

"No, you're not. I'm fine."

"Arizona, you had two glasses of eggnog, and we both know that Chuck was more than generous with the bourbon he poured into it."

With a mischievous smile, the blonde put the keys in the front pocket of her jeans. "You want 'em, you get 'em," she said playfully.

Hooking a finger in the belt loops of her wife's jeans, Callie tugged Arizona closer. The Latina gave her wife a quick peck on the lips as she fished the keys out of the blonde's pocket.

"Hard to tell who's the child and who's not sometimes, Arizona," Callie said with a smirk.

"Just having a little fun, Calliope," Arizona replied with her own smirk as she climbed into the back seat of the SUV beside Sofia. She turned to her daughter. "Ready for one last stop, kiddo?"

"You bet, Mama."

Hearing her daughter sound so much like Arizona made Callie laugh. She and Sofia might look alike, and they both shared a stubborn streak, but Sofia was clearly her mama's daughter. Sofia and Arizona were like two peas in pod.

It was a quick drive to their last stop for the day. As soon as the car was parked and shut off, Sofia shot out of the car and ran to the front door. One of her best friends and frequent playmate lived here. Josie was dark haired and small like Sofia, and sometimes they were mistaken for sisters, which delighted the two girls to no end.

"Callie, Arizona, come in, please," their friend Ellen said as she opened the front door.

Sofia and Josie, hands linked, quickly ran giggling up the stairs to Josie's room. Brady, Ellen's ten year old son, quietly lingered beside his mother. He was tall for his age, blonde and thin. He was the spitting image of his late mother. His sister was almost a clone of her mother, Ellen.

"Hiya, Brady," Arizona said, giving the shy boy a smile.

"Hi, Dr. Robbins, Dr. Torres."

"Ellen, Brady, this is our friend Teddy Altman. She's going to be working at the hospital again with us."

After introductions, Brady wandered off to see what his sister and Sofia were up to. They had a habit of getting into trouble, and as the big brother, it was his job to make sure they didn't.

"Thanks for the cookies," Ellen said, leading the three women into the kitchen. "Can I get you anything? Coffee? Water? Eggnog?"

"Oh, I think these two have had enough eggnog for the afternoon," Callie commented with a smile. "We just came from Chuck and Kay's."

"Say no more," Ellen laughed. "I've had enough of Chuck's eggnog to know just what you're talking about." She set the cookies on the kitchen table. "Maybe coffee would be better?"

"Sounds good," Arizona said as she and Teddy took a seat at the table.

"Something for you, Callie? I know you can't have coffee. How about a cup of decaf tea? I'd make you some decaf coffee, but I just made a pot of regular."

"Decaf tea is fine. Thanks."

"So, Ellen, Teddy could use your help," Arizona said, taking the mug of fresh coffee from Ellen. "She's moving back to Seattle and is looking for a place to live."

"Are you interested in renting or buying?" the short dark haired woman asked.

"Not sure yet. Probably rent, maybe a rent with option. I haven't given it a whole lot of thought yet."

Ellen took out her phone. "Why don't you give me your phone and email address and I can get started on a search? How long are you in town for?"

"Just a week."

"Hmm," Ellen said, her face twisted in thought. "With the holidays and all, it might be hard to show something this week. Tell you what. I'll look into a few things and if something becomes available to show, I'll call. In the meantime, give it some thought as to what you want and then let me know."

"Thanks," Teddy said. "I really appreciate it."

The four women chatted for in the kitchen for a half hour before Arizona noticed Callie was getting tired. It was getting close to the time she normally took a nap.

"Well, it's time we got going," Arizona said, getting up.

"Do you want to leave Sofia here for a little while longer?" Ellen offered. "I can bring her home later."

Hearing the laughter from the three children upstairs was all Arizona and Callie needed to agree. "Sure," Callie answered. "That'd be great. They sound like they're having a good time."

"And I'll pick her up," Arizona said. "Let's ask her if she wants to stay, first."

Arrangements made, Teddy, Callie and Arizona drove the remaining few blocks to their home. Callie immediately excused herself and padded off to the master bedroom. She was exhausted; the baby had been active for most of the afternoon and she'd been uncomfortable.

"Hey, Teddy, I'm going to go lay down with Callie, unless you need me for something."

"No, go ahead. I'll just be filling out all these forms Ellen gave me."

"I won't be long, maybe an hour or two at most."

"Sounds good. Enjoy your nap," Teddy said with a knowing smirk.

"Oh, no, we'll just be sleeping. There's no way I'm going to keep Callie from her sleep. Not if we want a pleasant evening," Arizona said with a small chuckle.

"Go. I'll be fine."

Two hours later, after cuddling with her wife and actually napping, Arizona walked down the street and over two blocks to pick up Sofia. Hand in hand, mother and daughter headed for home, Sofia skipping along.

"Did you have a good time, Sofia?"

"The bestest!" Sofia exclaimed.

The young girl proceeded to list off all the things she'd done with her friends.

"You know what, Mama?"

"No, what?" Arizona said back with a smile.

"Brady saw Santa Claus."

"Did he see him at the mall?"

"No. He saw him last Christmas, when Santa came to their house. He woke up in time to see Santa eat a cookie before he left. I'm gonna see him, too. I'm gonna wait up so I can see him."

"I'm pretty sure Santa waits until you're asleep before he'll come to your house, Sofia."

"That stupid Charlie said that Santa Claus isn't real."

"Sofia, what did we tell you about calling someone stupid," Arizona chastised her daughter.

"Well he is!" Sofia whined. "There is such a thing as Santa, and I'm going to prove it. You wait. I'll figure out a way to see him."

Arizona didn't doubt Sofia in the least. Her daughter was both stubborn and creative, Now the blonde had to come up with her own plan to thwart Sofia. It was either that, or find a way to get a Santa Claus to show up.