A few days passed and Callie was moving around more freely. She had been confined to her bed on Arizona's instructions but now she was bored.

"I can go to work to observe" Callie whined as she watched Arizona getting ready

"No, another couple of days resting won't do you any harm" Arizona ordered

"Well at least leave me the kids…"

"Calliope you can't pick them up. You can't reach for high objects. They'll be better off in daycare. The two of them will run you ragged"

"Just leave me one then. My favourite one…" Callie smirked

"You have a favourite?"

"Of course don't you?" Callie smiled playfully

"Who's your favourite Mama?" Chloe asked as she came bounding into the bedroom causing Callie's face to drop

"I don't really have a favourite sweetheart. I love you both the same" Callie offered but it proved worthless as the two toddlers began debating in loud, irritating voices who was better.

"Well played Calliope" Arizona smirked as she side stepped her warring children and sauntered out of the bedroom


Arizona had a spring in her step. Tonight was her big anniversary dinner and Callie had promised her an amazing, romantic, sexy night. It had been almost a week since Callie had fallen down the stairs and they hadn't participated in any sexy activities together as Callie had been in too much pain. But now she was almost recovered and back to work.

"Tonight is the big night huh?" Teddy said to Arizona as she approached her at the surgical board

"Yep, no kids just me and the Mrs" Arizona said with a broad grin

"Nice. Do you know what she has planned?"

"I'm not sure but I do know that she had made hotel reservations"

"You have a perfectly good house"

"Yes but the hotel comes without the kids in the morning. Claire is staying over with them"

"I won't expect to hear from you until tomorrow evening then" Teddy smirked before walking away.


Callie was walking down the corridor with a chart in her hand and had a nagging feeling in the back of her mind that she was forgetting something. She had been experiencing this a lot lately and it was starting to concern her slightly.

"Dr Torres, I have a knee replacement in 20 minutes. Are you up for scrubbing in?" Erica Hahn asked as she saw Callie approach her

"Yeah great" Callie smiled

"Did you need to leave early tonight?" Erica questioned as she glanced at the clock and saw it was approaching 4PM

Callie looked a little confused before shaking her "No, I'm good"

"Okay then, see you in there" Erica smiled before leaving

Callie closed her eyes to try and get rid of the annoying voice in her head telling her she was missing something big.


Arizona paced the length of her kitchen furiously. It was 7.45PM and Callie was nowhere in sight. She had promised Arizona that they would be out of the house by 7PM and now she couldn't even be contacted.

"You look really pretty Mommy" Cruz said as he walked into the kitchen in his Toy Story pyjamas

"Thank you Baby" Arizona said exhaling and picking him up

"Is Mama taking you out?"

Arizona sighed, her son was so perceptive and he knew that Callie was in trouble.

"No I don't think so Darling"

"Mama runs late all the time. Don't be mad at her" Cruz said using his best puppy dog eyes causing Arizona to smile a little

"It's time for bed little man" Claire the Nanny said as she entered the kitchen

"Night Mommy" Cruz said giving her a big kiss before racing Claire up the stairs.

Once Cruz was out of sight Arizona let her temper rise again. She paced and paced until she saw Callie's car lights pull onto their drive at 8.05PM.

Callie walked into the kitchen with a big smile on her face.

"Hey Baby… Wow you look amazing" Callie said taking in her wife's dressed up state

"Are you kidding with this Calliope?"

Callie frowned a little

"Are you really walking in here like this?" Arizona questioned firmer

"Have I done something?" Callie asked innocently

"What day is it Callie?"

"It's Thursday" Callie stated simply

"Nothing special about this Thursday?"

Callie stood still for a moment trying to think. Oh Shit!

"It's our anniversary" Callie whispered, her voice thick with emotion

"Yeah, yeah it is!" Arizona said raising her voice for the first time since her wife's arrival "And what a great fucking night it's been! Did Erica have a little special surgery for you to scrub in on?"

"No, Arizona I didn't do this on purpose. I just forgot" Callie tried to explain until a packet of sweets flew at her head narrowly missing her

"Jesus Arizona… I'm sorry. Let me get dressed, I'll make this night perfect I promise"

"Thanks but I'll pass!" Arizona snarled "I have better things to do than play second fiddle to Erica Hahn"

"No Arizona it wasn't like that!"

"Were you with Erica tonight?"

"I was in the OR…"

"With Erica Hahn?"

"Yes but not how you're making it sound"

"You make me sick! Ever since she has been on the scene you've changed. Do you have a little crush? You know she's gay right?"

"No I didn't know that and no, I don't have a crush" Callie said before Claire came in and looked uncomfortable between the couple.

"I'm sorry Arizona but Chloe wants you to say goodnight"

"I'll go up in a second. You can go home Claire. We won't be going out tonight" Arizona said glaring at Callie who just put her head down in defeat as Arizona left the kitchen.


An hour later and Callie was sitting in the kitchen waiting to sort this mess out with Arizona. She couldn't believe that she had messed this night up.

When Arizona did enter the kitchen Callie stood quickly, disappointed that Arizona had changed into her sweats, removed her make-up and still looked furious

"Can we talk please?" Callie whispered

"I don't want to hear it Callie. It's just utter crap that comes out of your mouth and it makes me sick"

"I'm a good wife Arizona and I'm a good mother. I wouldn't do anything to intentionally hurt you or the kids. I didn't set out to hurt or upset you tonight. I genuinely forgot and I don't know why"

"I'll tell you why Callie, you forgot because you have let your priorities change. Me and the kids are no longer your first priority, work and impressing Erica Hahn are"

"No, you're wrong!"

"We both know that I'm right Callie. It's good that you love your job and want to become an excellent surgeon but it isn't fair that the kids suffer. They need you to be their mother above everything else and if you can't do that then maybe we need to re-address everything"

Callie's face fell "What? You're splitting up with me? For fuck sakes Arizona, I missed one dinner and I'm sorry!" Callie cried "I'll quit the programme tomorrow if that's what it takes. I couldn't care less about the hospital if it affects my life with you"

"Calliope, you're young, you were a kid yourself when we went into this thing"

"I love you! Age doesn't make any difference. It's never been an issue before. I was 19 when I met you and you were 24. I've been by your side through everything. Where is this coming from Arizona? We're happy"

"It's slipping away Callie… Something is off"

"Then I'll fix it! Nothing is too big for us to sort out. Just tell me what to do"

"I can't keep telling you what to do Calliope" Arizona whispered sadly

"I'll go to the Chief in the morning and tell him that I'm dropping out of my residency" Callie said sadly "I want to be here, I'll bring the kids up, I'll devote my time to getting us back to where we were-"

"You can't quit your job" Arizona interrupted "I won't let you quit"

"So what, I'm supposed to quit our family? You're making this impossible for me"

"You're a doctor and a damn good one"

Silence engulfed them both as they stood on opposite sides of the huge island in the kitchen.

"It's been a long day, I'm going to bed" Arizona said breaking the tension in the air

"Can I come?"

"Probably best if you sleep on the couch tonight" Arizona nodded before leaving Callie alone to sulk and head to the couch.

She winced slightly as she laid down to get comfortable. Her ribs ached a lot from standing in the surgery for so long and the tension she felt in her body probably wasn't helping. She closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to suppress the headache she had behind her eyes.


Callie could feel eyes on her, burning into her. She slowly pushed her eyes open to see two beautiful blond children staring at her in confusion

"Why are you sleeping on the couch Mama?" Cruz asked

"Er.."

"Mommy is mad at you" Chloe told her simply

"You were late" Cruz added

Callie wanted to bury her head back under her blanket. It was too early to have her three year old children point out her wrong doings in the most simplistic way possible.

"You should buy her flowers" Cruz smiled

"She likes yellow ones" Chloe chirped in

"Or pink ones" Cruz added

"Thanks for the tip" Callie muttered hoarsely

"If Mommy doesn't let you sleep in her bed, you can share with me" Chloe grinned flashing her famous inherited dimples

"Mommy will love you again if you just say sorry" Cruz nodded. He hated when they fought.

Before Callie could respond Arizona appeared in front of them.

"I told you kids to grab your shoes" Arizona told them firmly "We're going to be late"

"I thought you had the day off?" Callie asked

"Turns out I didn't need it" Arizona said, still clearly angry with her wife

"Just say sorry" Cruz whispered

"Cruz, Chloe, now! Come on" Arizona said clapping her hands to get them moving.

The kids quickly said goodbye to Callie before running into the hallway.

"I'll see you later then" Callie said softly trying to engage with Arizona who simply turned and left.


"Torres, you look like crap!" Mark said grinning at his friend "Hot night huh?" He said nudging her as he sat next to her at the cafeteria table

"Terrible night" Callie murmured "I forgot about the dinner plans"

"You went straight to the hotel? Nice!"

"No, I forgot about the whole thing! I stayed late in surgery, got home to an angry Arizona"

"Ooh" Mark said sympathetically knowing it's never good to be on the wrong side of Arizona Robbins

"I slept on the couch. She's so mad at me Mark. I don't know how to fix it"

"You could always buy her flowers…."


Callie stood nervously in the elevator as it approached the PEDS floor. Her shift finished half an hour ago and she resorted to desperate measures. She had run to the florist and bought the biggest, brightest bouquet. She felt like she was coming down with something and wanted nothing more than to crawl into bed but reconciling with Arizona was more important.

As she stepped into the children's floor she made a beeline for Arizona's office, knocking softly

"Come in" Arizona called from the other side of the door

Callie slowly opened the door and walked in.

"Is this a good time?"

"Not really. I'm going over the latest budget report"

"Well I'll keep it quick. I just wanted you to have these" Callie said putting the flowers on Arizona's desk

"Original" Arizona said unimpressed with the gesture "Cruz mentioned I could be getting flowers today"

"I'm really sorry about last night"

"Yeah you said"

Callie felt tears springing to her eyes again.

"Will you have dinner with me tonight? I'll cook and we can talk" Callie asked with the vulnerability evident in her voice.

"Okay" Arizona relented

"Thanks. I'm off now so I'll take the kids and just see you at home" Callie smiled softly

Arizona just went back to her spread sheets as Callie left the office.


Arizona sat in her car outside of their mansion and took a couple of deep soothing breaths. She had put off coming home for as long as she could. She knew that Callie would pull out all of the stops tonight and she knew that she needed to forgive her. But deep down she was still so mad.

Arizona stepped out of her Mercedes GL and walked into their home. She could smell her favourite dish wafting through the air and she knew that she had already forgiven Callie a little bit more.

"Mommy, quickly you have to come and help" Cruz said running into her arms clearly upset

"What's wrong sweetie?"

"It's Mama, she's bleeding"

Panic rose in Arizona's mind for possible reasons that Callie could be bleeding as she followed Cruz through the foyer and into the kitchen. She quickly scanned the area looking for an injured Callie only to find the table set beautifully and the dinner waiting to be re-heated.

"Where is she?" Arizona asked her son who was pulling her by the hand

"In the bathroom"

Arizona quickly scurried to the bathroom and found her wife sitting on the floor holding a wash cloth to her forehead and her daughter sitting next to her trying to nurse her.

"What happened? Are you okay?" Arizona asked concerned as she knelt down to assess Callie.

Callie was deeply pale and clearly a little disorientated.

"Hum, yeah. I'm okay, just hit my head" Callie said with her words slurring slightly

Arizona removed the wash cloth and took in the deep gash above Callie's right eyebrow.

"You need stitches. What happened?"

"I slipped and hit my head on the counter in the kitchen"

"She was asleep for a really long time Mommy" Chloe said

"I'm sorry" Callie muttered "I just wanted tonight to be perfect"

"Don't be sorry, this isn't your fault. I'm going to call Claire and ask her to come and watch the kids and then I'm getting you to the hospital" Arizona said gently squeezing Callie's hand.

When Arizona came back into the bathroom Callie was still in the same place with the kids sitting next to her quietly.

"Guys, can you go and wait for Claire and make sure Simba comes in from the garden" Arizona smiled at her kids as they left the bathroom

"Claire will here in 10 minutes. I'll page Mark and get him to do your sutures" Arizona said as she knelt down again and took the wash cloth.

"Do you not have a suture kit here that you could do it with?" Callie asked quietly

"I think it's best if we go to the hospital"

"You want me to have a scan don't you?" Callie muttered already knowing the answer

"I don't think it can hurt" Arizona whispered as she held Callie's cold hands.

"The scan results are probably going to show a tumor" Callie said

Arizona closed her eyes at the words.

"You don't know that-"

"I collapsed on the stairs last week, I have a constant headache, I'm forgetting everything and I just passed out again. We both know the signs"

"It could be a cyst or a small bleed. That's if it's anything at all. You are a pretty big klutz" Arizona tried to tease to ease Callie's fears.


Arizona sat in Derek Shepherd's office with her heart beating wildly out of her chest and her steady surgeon hands shaking violently. She glanced over at Callie who was sitting in the chair next to her looking exhausted. Arizona had brought her to the ER where they had sutured her head, paged Derek for a consult and got Callie an MRI scan. Arizona had insisted on sitting in for the results to come through but Derek had banned her, telling her she was family not a surgeon and she would wait outside. It was now 12.30AM and they hadn't been told anything.

"Does Derek keep everybody waiting like this?" Arizona said getting annoyed "If the Chief ever tells me how wonderful he is again I'm going to punch him"

"Punch the Chief?" Callie smiled "Bailey would have you arrested in a heartbeat"

"I'd take her out too" Arizona grinned before they fell back into silence.

"Derek is probably trying to figure out how to tell us that I'm dying" Callie droned before the door opened and Derek entered with scans and files in his hands.

"Sorry for the delay" He smiled before sitting behind his desk

Arizona could tell from his body language that this wasn't good. If Callie's tests had been clear it would have been the first words out of his mouth to alleviate their worries.

"It isn't good news I'm afraid" Derek began causing Arizona to struggle to catch her breath "You have a large lesion that is adjacent to broca's. The good news is that it doesn't appear to have invaded broca's yet"

"But you can operate right? You can get it out?" Arizona asked hurriedly

"We'll run further tests tomorrow, more extensive tests. There are a lot of factors involved here Arizona. I don't want to tell you that I can get this thing and then find that it's too far gone"

"Derek either you get it out or I will find somebody that will" Arizona snapped

"Arizona" Callie said softly, speaking for the first time "Derek is one of the best neurosurgeons in the country. If anybody can get it, he can"

"We just need to know exactly what we're dealing with here Callie and we'll know more tomorrow. I'm sorry that I don't have better news for you" Derek offered sympathetically

"That's okay. We figured that it wasn't good news" Callie said sadly

"I would suggest that we get you admitted Callie, let you get some sleep and then in the morning we can run some more tests and move forward from there" Derek said shuffling his papers together

"I want to go home" Callie said tiredly

"Calliope, the hospital is the best place for you" Arizona said

"Please take me home Arizona. Let me sleep in our bed tonight and wake up with the kids in the morning"

"Okay, we'll go home" Arizona smiled


When they got home, Callie was totally fatigued and let Arizona deal with Claire and send her home. She climbed the stairs with Arizona closely behind her and looked in on her two kids who were sharing Chloe's bed. Callie stood at the doorframe with Arizona and felt the emotion rise in her for the first time.

"I want to see them grow up" Callie whispered

"You will"

"I want to grow old with you and do everything that we have promised each other"

"We will. Calliope, we can beat this. Do not give up on me"

"If the surgery goes well, chemo goes well, then we know that realistically I have 5 years"

"Do not go down the statistics route"

"We're doctors, we work on statistics. The kids will be 8 or 9. That's a sucky age to lose a parent. Maybe it would be better if they lost me now"

"Just stop it!" Arizona snapped pushing Callie out of the doorframe and into their room "Nobody is losing you! You're fighting this and we're going to get through it. I need you in my life Callie, the children need you in their life! You don't get to create this perfect life for us and then decide to bail out! You have cancer and it's going to be hard, but we will fight it as a family!" Arizona warned

"I have cancer, you're not supposed to shout at me" Callie said from sitting on the bed

"Oh no, it's not going to work like that! I have to shout at you to keep you in line. You're not pulling the cancer line on me everytime you screw up"

Callie smiled at Arizona's façade and strength she was showing, even though Callie could see in her eyes that she was terrified and breaking.

"Can I pull the cancer line for getting out of grocery shopping?"

"No!" Arizona said sitting next to her wife on the edge of their bed.

"Can I pull the cancer line when the kids wake up at 5.00AM on a Saturday?"

"No!" Arizona smiled

Callie looked up at Arizona and smiled softly with tears brimming her eyes before she whispered "I have cancer Arizona"

"I know baby" Arizona said as she pulled Callie into a deep hug "I know, but we'll be okay. We'll fight it" Arizona whispered soothingly into her ear as her own tears streamed down her face "We have to be okay"