(Chapter 13) Season 8: Episode 16

Callie Torres lay in bed, her body wrapped around her wife's from behind. She rested her chin on Arizona's shoulder, peace and quiet finally filling the air after another long and grueling shift.

The day, like most days, had been a crazy one. Both Callie and Arizona were so busy with patients, and surgeries, and never-ending hospital drama that they barely had an hour with their daughter.

The Peds surgeon had left her micro preemie and rushed to pick Sofia up, but by the time Callie got home and the little family had dinner, it was already past the baby's bedtime. Sofia barely made it out of the tub and into her pajamas before sleep took over her little body, her sweet yawns leaving the two women in a state of both awe and regret. These were the days the blonde despised, but they were inevitable for two successful surgeons with a baby. It wasn't going to change anytime soon.

Callie must be feeling bad about the lack of time with their daughter too, the blonde thought as she pressed her back against warm, caramel skin. She thought about striking up a random, unimportant conversation to take their minds off of it, but barely had her mouth open when another voice broke the silence.

"Do you think she really meant it?" Callie asked, causing the blonde to raise an eyebrow. Arizona rolled over to face her wife, her hands coming to rest atop the brunette's chest.

She could feel Callie's heart beating beneath her fingertips, and she couldn't help but smile despite the sadness in the big, brown eyes before her. "What are you talking about, Calliope?" she whispered, bright blue setting into the rich chocolate she adored.

"Teddy," Callie replied, letting out a heavy sigh. "Do you…do you think she meant what she said earlier? That nothing matters to her now that Henry is gone?"

The blonde inhaled sharply and furrowed her brow, taking a moment to carefully think over the question at hand. Arizona's small, delicate fingers had never left their position over Callie's heart, and the steady rhythm of the perfectly working organ gave her an answer at once. "Yes. I think she meant it. In fact, I know she meant it."

"How do you know?" the brunette inquired, once again staring into the endless ocean of blue before her. "I mean, I'm sure it feels that way…like her life is over, like nothing matters anymore. But she won't feel that way forever, right? She's a surgeon. She's still operating. She must…she must get some joy, or at least satisfaction, from saving lives. Right?"

The blonde stopped her wife's heartbreaking rambling with a kiss, her lips touching Callie's forcefully but tenderly. She dug her fingertips into her wife's chest, wishing she could hold that beating heart in her hand. The brunette shot her a questioning look, but didn't dare ask. She knew her wife…Arizona would explain when she was ready.

Another moment of eerie silence passed before the blonde could form words, past feeling coming back with a vengeance. "When y-you almost…when I almost lost you, I-I thought about what my life would be like," Arizona choked out, tears burning the back of her eyes.

Callie pulled her wife in close, her own eyes clouded with empathetic sadness. "Arizona…" she whined, already feeling guilty for taking them down this path. "Baby, please don't…"

"No. You asked me how I know," the blonde cut in, her tone firm. "I know how Teddy can feel that way…feel like she can't function, can't think straight, can't care anymore. It's hard to care when the love of your life just disappears one day."

"But I didn't disappear on you, Arizona," Callie whispered, grabbing the hands on her chest and holding them tight. "See…I'm right here."

"I know. I know that, Cal. And believe me, I will always be grateful that I got to keep you…and Sofia…and my life. But there was a period of time when I didn't know if either of you would make it. And I…I f-felt so empty inside. I couldn't sleep, or eat, or even cry anymore. It felt like my soul had already died."

"Oh, Arizona…" Callie breathed, her lungs feeling the burden of her wife's heartache.

"I knew that I would have to go on if Sofia made it…even if you never came back to us. I knew that," Arizona told her wife, baby blues leaving brown for a moment to glance over at the baby monitor. "I would have still done it, Calliope. I would have still been her mama."

Callie could no longer keep the tears at bay, letting them fall on her wife's cheeks as she pressed her forehead to Arizona's. "I'm glad I got the chance to see it," the brunette whispered. "I wouldn't want to miss seeing you with our baby. It's the best thing in the whole world."

"No. No. Being a family is the best thing in the whole world," Arizona said, her own tears creeping out. "None of this would be the same without you. My life would still feel empty. I would have no one to share the joy of our daughter with…or the sorrow of losing a patient. I would have no one to laugh with, or cry with, or make love with. And that's how Teddy feels right now, because…because her husband didn't make it. She didn't get a second chance. Hell, she didn't even get to say goodbye."

Callie released a heavy sigh, burying her nose into soft, golden locks. "I'm sorry you had to go through all that," she whispered. "I don't think I could have handled it. In fact, I know I couldn't have. I died inside without you, both times we were apart. And you were still alive…still here, on earth. I can't imagine losing you for real."

"And hopefully, you never will," the blonde said as she pulled back to look into her love's eyes. "At least not until we're really, really old. Like loose, saggy skin and walkers kind of old."

Neither woman could help the laughs that escaped their lips, Arizona's statement finally breaking the tension their melancholy conversation had created. "Is she going to be alright?" Callie asked when the giggles subsided, her mind unable to turn off their friend's despair.

"I don't know," Arizona answered truthfully, choking down the vile lump in her throat. "I honestly don't know if Teddy will ever be the same again. But I do know this…we are going to be there for her, every step of the way. We're going to share in her grief, and sorrow, and anger…even if it's terribly sad and difficult. And we're going to share our love, and joy, and happiness with her…even if she doesn't want us to. Because that's what good friends do."

"Well, you would know," the brunette said as she pulled her wife into her arms once more, beating heart against beating heart. "You're the best friend anyone could ever ask for."

"You're not too bad yourself," Arizona whispered, gazing into a pool of dark chocolate before her lips came crashing down upon her wife's.

A multitude of emotions passed between eager mouths, quiet desperation in their kiss. They clung to one another like never before, bodies and souls wrapped up in undying love and gratitude for the life they were so fortunate to share. Tonight, there wasn't just a desire to make love. There was a need…a need to take what could have been lost forever.

A/N: Guess I am going to make a slow transition back here. Posted all the old "moments" in one chapter, and this is the latest! Hope it makes everyone happy to see me back on FF. Not sure if I will publish everything here, but I did want to put this out there. We'll see. Hope you are all doing well & would love to hear from you!