It only took one chapter in this new fic for me to think about closing my account in here, for good. It's so annoying to feel the need to educate people all the time, to ask them to be nice and kind to each other, and keep deleting comments like "you're a b****" or "why don't you go and get someone paid to review your chapter?". And what's impressive is that no one, who wants to attack for just no reason, EVER signs their name. So, I believe none of you wants to start a real dialogue, you just want to be mean and that's pretty immature. So, for the last time, I will write some clarifications in here, even though I know don't have to, but out of respect since I'd like to think that at least I'm polite.
1) A step-by-step for you who don't want to read stories in non-fluent English. First, read the summary of the story - if the author says English is not his/her native language, you don't click on the fic. Second, you read another story. It's not that hard, right? A piece of cake! Is it really necessary to hit the reviews just to say I should not write in English in order NOT to annoy you? I would be glad to invite those people to have a conversation in the other two languages I'm fluent on, but since English is the most understandable in the platform, I think it's fair for me to give a try so more people can read. And in all of my stories, I warn people about it. So, the attack is not only unnecessary but also says more about you than me.
2) This is FICTION. I understand some of you are really passionate about some characters and it's hard for you to read stories where they are playing the "bad guy". But this is just storytelling, guys. A made-up story using already existent characters from a show we all love. And if I say that this is going to be a MERZONA fic, it's quite obvious that Callie is going to appear since she's Arizona's ex-wife and it's part of the drama. If you don't like the new couple, you can also choose NOT TO READ it. But, anyway, I removed Callie's tag from the story, since I know some people just search for the characters without actually reading what's the story about. But, please, I can't change my way of writing out how I see their plot just to make Callie looks like an angel. And yes, in MY story, it makes sense that I mention her because it's part of the drama I created to write it.
3) I am completely open to constructive criticism. If you guys have ideas or think maybe I'm saying something that doesn't correspond to the "reality" (let's not forget that Grey's Anatomy is ALSO fiction), I am more than glad to discuss it, but let's do that in a friendly way, we have PMs for it. It's really hard to think about this place as a free space to put your ideas on and receive a bunch of nonsense attacks for free. I'm not a professional writer, and even if I was, this isn't a JOB, it's just a fun thing to do, create stories and tell them. I don't have an editor, I don't have a researcher, I'm not Grey's Anatomy screenwriter. This is not a writers' room. And, to be fair, you are also not professional critics, so we should all just calm down and enjoy the opportunity to write and read different stories of our beloved characters.
I have a few more chapters already written and I'll post it, but if it continues in that kind of aggression I will shut it down. I rather write to myself than fight against people who don't even have the courage to sign their names. It's really not what I want for my life.
To the other amazing readers and authors who are always supportive, I really appreciate it, and I hope you continue to spread joy and amazing stories, and also continue to be nice to one another like you had been so far. That is how it's supposed to be! :)
Thank you for your time!
Arizona's day wasn't being quite so easy, with lots of fetal emergencies and a few of them resulting in surgeries. She needed to follow Alex's cases on Peds since he was leaving the next day to his vacation time and Arizona needed to cover for him. It was almost 7:30 pm when she finally left her last surgery of the day. She scrubbed out and headed to the attending's lounge to change into her regular clothes, pick up her daughter and finally get some rest. She texted Meredith to let her know she was leaving, in case she needed a ride.
Just finished my last surgery for the day, I'm going to change and leave. Need a ride? –A.
As she entered the lounge, she was surprised to see Callie in there. She wasn't supposed to be in Seattle for at least two more hours and definitely she wouldn't be at Grey-Sloan.
"Hey, I thought you were arriving later" – Arizona greeted her ex-wife.
"Yeah, I've changed my flight, I actually needed to talk to you" – Callie said, seeming nervous but excited at the same time.
"Sure, what's going on?" – Arizona asked.
"First of all, please, let me just say it, ok? I know you're gonna want to scream, but let me say it all" – Callie asked and Arizona nodded yes, suspicious. – "You know that Penny's grant will end soon, right? And I know that this is your school year with Sofia. But Penny received a great, irrecusable offer in Milan, and I wanted to see with you if I could have Sofia for the next year, and you'll get the next two in a row" – Callie asked, smiling, while Arizona was frowning, confused.
"Wait, wait. Do you want to have Sofia moving to Italy?" – Arizona asked, not believing Callie's words.
"Yes. Arizona, I swear I don't want to fight, I mean, you were wonderful to have me take Sofia to New York and I know I'm asking for a lot, but I need you to understand that if Sofia doesn't go with me, I won't be able to see her as much as I wanted. I don't have any offer there yet, I'm still trying to contact a few colleagues, so I won't be able to fly out to the US so often. I know they're looking out for a fellow fetal surgeon to share the work in here with you, so you will have a more flexible schedule and you will love Milan, you can visit us anytime!" – Callie was trying to explain.
"Callie, are you out of your mind?" – Arizona asked, slightly angry but still keeping it down.
"Arizona, please, can you at least think about it?" – Callie raised her voice a little bit.
"Of course I won't think about it, Callie, that's insane!" – Arizona was now shouting.
"Arizona, would you…" – Callie tried to talk but the blonde interrupted her.
"No, Callie, now you're listening to me. What the hell is wrong with you? You already live across the country with our daughter, which I graciously agreed to, because you were miserable in here. We had a deal. I saw my daughter less than thirty days this year and do you really think it's fine for you to suggest taking her to live in Europe? And assuming that I am the one who needs to fly there to see her? Tell me, what the hell it's wrong with you?" – Arizona shouted.
"Do you think I like moving in and out all the time? Do you think it's a hobby for me to change houses and jobs? I'm asking you for your comprehension to give me a time for adjustment while I'm in there. If not the whole year, then maybe half of it?" – Callie was still considering.
"It's not my problem if you like it or not, Callie. I never asked you to move out or to stay in Seattle. You're free to do whatever you want, follow whoever you'd like, but you don't get to take my daughter along like she's your security blanket" – Arizona shouted.
"OUR daughter, Arizona" – Callie shouted back.
"Yes, our daughter. But I'm the one who has her custody. Don't you forget about it" – Arizona said.
Right at this time, Meredith entered the lounge, clueless of the fight between the two women in there. She was running to catch Arizona in there before she leaves since she could use the ride home.
"Oh, hi… I didn't know you were here, Callie" – Meredith said and immediately noticed that there was a big tension in the room.
"Stop being so manipulative, Arizona. If it wasn't for me you wouldn't even HAVE a daughter" – Callie said and the tears rolled down on Arizona's face immediately.
"Whatever, Callie. You can say whatever you want. She's not leaving the country and she'll move back to Seattle as soon as the school year ends. That's not up to discussion" – Arizona said, lowering her voice.
"You don't shout order things, Arizona, she's not a property, and she's not yours only!" – Callie shouted again, ignoring Meredith's presence.
"I get to shout any order I'd like because I have her custody after you took us in court because of it" – Arizona shouted back.
"Because you're an unreasonable piece of…." – When Callie was about to finish her sentence, Meredith interrupted her.
"Callie, that's enough. Maybe you should leave, now" – Meredith suggested, trying to escort her friend out of the room.
"I'm not leaving until this bitch realizes she's not Sofia's owner!" – Callie was out of control.
"Callie, leave. Now" – Meredith ordered.
"I won't…" – Callie was interrupted again.
"I said NOW, Callie. Or I'll kick you out of here. Leave this room" – Meredith shouted, sounding angry.
Callie picked up her purse and left the room. Arizona was sitting down wiping her tears in silence and stocking something inside her purse.
"Are you ok? Do you need anything? Can I get you a glass of water?" – Meredith offered, rubbing Arizona's arm, who sighed, in order to control her shaking voice.
"No, thanks. I just need to leave." – Arizona said and immediately remembered why Meredith was inside the room, after all – "Do you still want a ride home?"
"Yes, if it's ok with you" – Meredith said and Arizona nodded yes.
Inside the car, Meredith was sympathizing with Arizona. Callie's words were brutal and filled with anger, and although she was completely out of control, it seemed to hit Arizona harder than she expected.
"Do you want to go somewhere before picking Sofia up? To cool it off?" – Meredith suggested, trying to offer some help.
"No, I actually need to see my daughter. You didn't have to do that, I know you're Callie's friend. I'm sorry you had to watch it" – Arizona apologized.
"That person is not my friend, Arizona. My friend wouldn't say such thing. I don't know who Callie became after she left Seattle, but I assure you that she's not the person I used to call a friend. And I'm glad I could step up and make her stop. She was completely out of control" – Meredith said, looking at Arizona who still had tears in her face.
"Can you please call Maggie and check if Sofia is ok? I'm afraid Callie took her" – Arizona almost couldn't finish her sentence out of the terror imagining Callie kidnapping her daughter.
"Yes, of course" – Meredith picked up her phone and dialed Maggie's number. "Hi, Maggie. How are things in there?" Meredith said and Arizona couldn't hear well what Maggie was saying, so Meredith put it on speaker.
- I'm heading home, soon. Can you just, please, don't let Callie take Sofia if she stops there by any chance?
- Ok, sure. But why? Did something happen?
- No, but it's Arizona's night with her daughter and she'll be there soon. Just make sure Sofia doesn't leave the house.
- Yeah, sure. I will.
After the call, Arizona seemed calmer. At least she knew her daughter was safe. They were parking near Meredith's front entrance, and Meredith looked at Arizona, feeling sorry for everything.
"Hey, let me help you wipe your face off before Sofia sees you. Kids notice things, you don't want her to be worried" – Meredith said and helped clean Arizona's tears and blurred makeup, smiling at the blonde.
"Thank you, Meredith" – Arizona said and they both walked out of the car, going towards Meredith's house.
After Arizona left with Sofia, Meredith sat on her couch, still remembering the fight and how brutal Callie was with Arizona, even after she let her take Sofia across the country.
Amelia walked down the stairs, she had just woke up after a power nap and found Meredith with a blank stare in the living room.
"Hey, what's wrong?" – Amelia asked.
"Oh, nothing, I just testified the worst fight between Callie and Arizona at the hospital." – Meredith said.
"Why were they fighting?" – Amelia asked, intrigued.
"I just got in the end of it, apparently Callie wants to move to Europe and asked Arizona to let her take Sofia again, and after Arizona said no, she just flipped out and started to call her really, really bad names. It was horrible and cruel to Arizona. She's a completely different person from the Callie I used to know" – Meredith confessed.
"Well, truth to be told, I never liked her very much" – Amelia confessed.
"Arizona? Why?" – Meredith asked, confused.
"No, I love Arizona. I meant Callie. After that dinner when everybody found out about Penny she just assumed she was the victim and we were the bad guys who didn't want to be close to her girlfriend. And then it happened the whole custody battle in which she implied to the judge that Arizona wasn't just as a true mother as she is since she adopted Sofia. I can't understand why everybody had her back and not Arizona's" – Amelia said.
"It wasn't Callie who told the judge, it was her lawyer, Amelia" – Meredith corrected her.
"She knew her lawyer was going to do that, she should've stopped her" – Amelia exclaimed.
"Yeah, well, you're probably right" – Meredith said.
"I am. And truth to be told AGAIN, I can't understand why haven't you apologized to Arizona yet" – Amelia exclaimed.
"About the trial? She won the custody and I think my deposition actually helped her more than helped Callie" – Meredith quipped.
"Yes, she won the custody because she deserved it. But even so, you were there to speak good things about Callie and make Arizona sounds bad. I don't know why she still helped you after that, I don't know if I would be that gracious" – Amelia commented.
"What do you mean?" – Meredith was confused.
"After you were attacked, she helped you" – Amelia said.
"I know, she did my make up so I could have the kids, but it wasn't successful anyway. Not because of her, of course. But I thanked her that day, I just couldn't verbalize, but I thanked her, she knows that" – Meredith insisted.
"You don't know, do you?" – Amelia asked, smiling.
"Know what?" – Meredith asked.
"You were in that hospital for 6 weeks. I was back on alcohol and didn't live in here anymore. I've been here a couple of times to be with the kids, but other than that, did you think it was all Maggie and Alex who took care of them? Arizona was here every day, either in the morning or in the night, to help bathing and feeding them. She countlessly put them in bed, after an entire day of surgeries. She was those kids' savior, Maggie and Alex needed a hand. Two, actually." – Amelia told Meredith who was perplexed.
"Amelia, are you being serious?" – Meredith couldn't believe.
"Why would I lie about that?" – Amelia asked, intrigued.
"Why didn't she tell me?" – Meredith was confused.
"I don't know, maybe she didn't feel like she needed to tell you. She genuinely wanted to help and she did. I just thought Alex had told you that" – Amelia said.
Meredith was left alone thinking about what Amelia had said. She knew, obviously, that Arizona was a nice and kind woman, she often helped all of her friends at the hospital in many different ways, but Meredith had no idea that she was so gracious towards her, even after the custody trial. Now she couldn't stop thinking about how lonely she must feel, since except for Richard and DeLuca, and as was expected Bailey, who needed to remain impartial, everyone else sided with Callie. And now Callie is trying to take away Sofia again. Meredith felt an urge to call Arizona and apologized, but it was late and it was probably her last night with Sofia.