Disclaimer: This is AU. I do not own any of the characters from Grey's Anatomy. I just manipulate them to my will. Also, any line or phrase or setting that seems remotely familiar from any other show, movie or book, also not mine. I borrow…
AN: Hey all. Sorry for the wait. Just couldn't get into the writing groove. Well, that plus my computer going tow up on me. Also, I want to caveat this by saying I had this idea first. Like… I had it while I was finishing up CGAH3. So, I'm no copycatter ;-) Enjoy!
Chapter 3
Callie's POV:
It's always an experience coming to Colorado. It's like a whole other world than what I know and have grown up with. In Miami there is always something to do or somewhere to go. If I want to go see a movie at three in the morning, no problem. If I want a piece of pizza at three in the morning, no problem. The only thing you don't see at night are the stars. Not as in 'actors and actresses' stars, but as in the stars in the sky. The lights of Miami drown them out. But in Sparks, Colorado, it's like you can reach out and touch them.
So, during our first night here in Colorado, both Arizona and I got to see that wonder in our daughter's eyes. Ali's never seen the stars like that. Yes, she's been to Colorado before, but she was too little to remember anything. Now, at four years old, she's able to. She's able to comprehend the differences between the sky at home, the bustling city of Seattle, Washington, and the brilliant night sky blanketing Sparks, Colorado.
And that's just the tip of the iceberg. When our little girl saw just how many horses Arizona has in her family's stables, and saw the wide open fields just begging to be ridden across, I swear her little brown eyes popped out of her skull. Yes, I've given birth to a country girl at heart. And it couldn't make her Momma any prouder.
Which is why Ali is out with Arizona this morning. It wasn't the plan, but when Arizona got up at the butt crack of dawn, Ali was waiting for her. Decked out in her tiny jeans, her favorite horse shirt, and her cute little cowboy hat, our daughter was ready for the day. She begged and pleaded with both of us, and somehow Ali won. When our girl turns those eyes on there is very little she can't get her way with. So, with a canteen full of coffee and a bottle of juice, Arizona and Ali drove off in a cloud of dust, leaving me alone on the Robbins farm to waste time.
It wasn't all a waste. I did bring some work with me so I made use of the quiet house and got a lot done. It's amazing how well I work without the pitter patter of tiny feet barreling through the house, most of the time followed by a second larger pair of feet just behind her, or the pitter patter of incompetent interns roaming around just outside my office door. Mix that with doing a load of laundry and dusting the loneliness out of the usually empty home, it was 11:30 before I knew it.
A quick twenty minute drive back into town and I pull up in front of Betty's just in time to see Arizona and Travis walking down the street, each with a little one in tow.
From atop her Momma's shoulders Ali waves to me, and I wave back.
"You've got some kind of growth on you, cowgirl," I play. "You should really get that checked out."
"I know. I've tried to get rid of it but the darn thing just won't budge."
I shield my eyes from the sun and smile up at our daughter. "Hmm- well, at least it's cute."
"Really? A little hairy for my tastes, but…" Arizona reaches up to find the soft undersides of Ali's arms and tickles her. And I nearly have a heart attack when I see Ali lean back in her fit of giggles, but Arizona's sure grip on our daughter's feet keeps Ali safe and sound.
"Did you behave for Momma, mija?" I ask our daughter.
"Yes," Ali replies between giggles. "I got to drive a tractor, Mommy!"
"You did?"
"Yep, should have seen her. A natural." Arizona replies proudly. "So, I'll be retiring any day now. I was thinking Spain. We do have your father's house there. …Thoughts?"
"Sangria and bikinis?"
"You know it."
"I'm in."
"Sign me up too!" Travis adds with a smile.
And Arizona sends firm punch right to the man's bicep. "Perv."
"Hey, don't make me kick your ass in front of your wife and youngin', Z," Travis growls while rubbing the sting out of his arm. "Cuz I'll do it. I'll knock the country right out of ya."
The five of us finally make it out from under the hot Colorado sun and into the cool air-conditioned air of Betty's. Travis asks the young, probably high-schooler working her summer job, waitress for the best booth in the place; which isn't much of a choice because there is all of four booths in the tiny local establishment. Arizona and I bookend out little girl between us on one side while Travis slides in behind his, now just under seven years old, daughter.
"No George?" I ask.
"Na," Arizona answers as she grabs two packets of crayons for the girls to color with. "He needed to do a few things before we meet up again after lunch."
We're interrupted when Betty decides to visit us, and Arizona proudly introduces the Sparks legend to Ali. I can still remember Arizona telling me about what it was like when she was young; the big weekends when she and Tim got to come into town and eat here with their parents. Betty has been running Betty's since before Sparks' has had a history, so to see the woman meet the next generation is amazing.
"So what do you think, girlie?" the older woman asks our daughter between the few teeth she still has left. "You like it here?"
"Yeah," Ali answers softly. She knows she's supposed to be polite but around strangers she becomes a bit of a wallflower.
"You a trouble maker like your Ma here?"
"Don't listen to this crazy old woman," Arizona tells Ali. "Your Momma was a saint." Both Betty and Travis laugh out loud at this.
"So you're still sticking with the story that your brother was the one who put those cows in Principal Harris's office?" Betty asks with a knowing look.
All it takes is one look for me to know the truth. Those pink lips squeezed tight, that blush settling in dimpled cheeks, those blue eyes not able to hold another's; all signs that point to a guilty Arizona.
"You know Tim," Arizona mumbles, avoiding Betty's gaze. "Always playing with fire."
"Mmhmm," Betty hums. Our food arrives on the arms of our waitress, so with one last look Betty leaves us be.
"So…" I purr into my wife's ear while lean over Ali between us. "Principal Harris?"
"Our high school principal," Travis supplies with a smile. "She was a mean old bitty, that one."
"You put cows in your high school's principal's office?" I ask.
"I was dared. What was I supposed to do, back down?" Arizona asks innocently which makes Travis chuckle.
I cast my gaze across the table and towards Arizona's lifelong friend. "Why do I have the sneaking suspicion that you were a part of this too?"
"Who do you think dared her?" Travis asks, and both he and Arizona bust out laughing.
The rest of lunch passes in a blur of laughter and stories. Apparently the only thing to do in Sparks is to farm, rodeo, drink, and raise hell. And it seems my cowgirl has experience in all the above. Why I ever thought that Arizona was this sweet, innocent little thing, I'll never know. She's been a revel from day one, and I wouldn't want her any other way.
By the time the five of us leave Betty's Ali is dragging and Liz, Travis's little girl, has had enough of shadowing her daddy for the day. Arizona and Travis still have a few hours of work ahead of them, so I offer to take Liz back to the house with Ali and myself. And since Ali and Liz have become fast friends, both girls are very happy with the arrangement.
The rest of my afternoon is spent watching the two little ones. And because Ali is such a big girl, she doesn't want to take her nap. …Even though she can barely keep her eyes open. But they both end up passing out on the floor not even halfway through the DVD they are watching. Which is what Arizona and Travis find when they get back at just after three. And then nap time is over.
It takes mere minutes for Travis to get the girls wound up again, and soon Arizona is kicking the lot of them out of the house for fear of breaking one of her family's valuables.
"You get everything done today?" I ask Arizona as we sit on the back porch and watch our daughter romp and play. Some kind of cross between football and tag has unfolded, and now Travis is wildly chasing both girls around the plush grass, each one squealing in the way only little girls can.
"Most of it," Arizona groans while stretching her aching left leg out and wrapping her arm across the back of the porch swing and around my shoulders. "We're supposed to get a pretty good storm tonight so- you know people, always have to make the small talk. I think I had the same conversation a dozen times today."
Travis finally catches up to our daughter and hauls her up into his strong arms. We watch as black hair gets spun around in circles, Ali squealing in delight the entire time. And when she gets set down, she giggles incessantly as she tries to walk with her dizziness.
"You know, I've been thinking…" Arizona muses after we've been watching the scene unfold for a good half hour.
"Well that's never safe," I play. "What about?"
"About that conversation you and I had, oh… two, two and a half years ago."
"You're gonna have to help me out, cowgirl."
"You know, the one about waiting until I was done with school to talk about having another baby." She pauses for a moment, her eyes turning to meet mine. "You remember?"
"Yeah," I reply in only but a whisper and I'm sure that the pounding of my heart drowns it out.
"Well… I'm done with school," Arizona says.
"Yes, you are," I say.
"So?" She asks.
And I don't even need to think about it. "Yes."
The smile that appears on my wife's face is breathtaking. "Yeah? So then… we're talking about-"
"No," I interrupt. "I wasn't- Not talking… I want to have another baby with you. I don't need to talk about it, or think about it. …Do you?"
"Not at all," Arizona replies softly. She closes the few inches between us and gently presses her lips against mine. "So we're having a baby?"
"We're having a baby." My fingers tangle in soft, blonde hair and my lips seek hers again. I can feel her excitement seeping through her kiss and I know she can feel mine. I've wanted another baby for so long, pretty much since Ali was off the boob, but timing just wasn't right. My wife was up to her eyeballs with school and her company, and I was still trying to tread water as the new Head of Orthopedics. When Ali was walking and talking, we talked about having a second, but it wouldn't have been fair. Not to Ali, not to the baby.
But now? Now… it's perfect. And I don't care how it happens. I just want it to happen.
"So, when we get back to Seattle we'll-" The rest of Arizona's sentence never comes because out of nowhere a football nails her right in the chest. It takes us both a moment to realize what happened, but once the blonde sees her friend ten yards out with a shit eating grin on his face it's all over.
Moving faster than she has in years, Arizona bolts from the porch, over the railing, and gives chase. …Ali and Liz joining in as well.
"Yep," I sigh. "That's the mother of my children."
When Travis and Arizona are nearly dead from exhaustion, everyone comes in out of the sun and refreshes with a big glass of iced tea. And while my wife chats aimlessly with her friend I take a moment to just look at her. The lightness in her shoulders, the shine in her bright blue eyes. Two days of working under the sun has given her skin that glow I just love on her, and I don't think her dimples fade for a minute. She beautiful. Gorgeous. And, if it's possible, I love her even more today than I did yesterday.
A knock on the back door and the conversations stall. Since I'm closest, I open the door.
"Hey, Cal," The brunette says warmly. "Is Z here?"
I don't answer the woman, and instead just back up to let her in the house.
"What's up, Katie?" Arizona asks.
Katie McKenzie, also known as Arizona's ex. She's been working for my wife for years. Of course, considering her past actions towards Arizona, she started on a probationary basis. But apparently Katie has learned her lesson, turned a new leaf, seen the light- whatever tired cliché you want to use- because now she pretty much oversees the Robbins farm and all is well. The farm is running smooth and the land is being kept up; which was one of the biggest worries Arizona had when Barbara moved to Portland to be with Jose, she didn't want the home that's been in her family for years to just go under. So I've tried to take Arizona's lead and let bygones be bygones, but there's just a part of me that will never be able to trust the woman fully.
"-coming by next week to take a look at it," Katie finishes. I realize I didn't catch any of her conversation with Arizona because I was too busy staring daggers into the woman's back.
Liz and Ali come running back into the kitchen, and Katie's mouth drops. "Oh my- Z?! This can't be your little girl," she says sweetly. "She's absolutely gorgeous." Arizona just smiles proudly and watches as her ex kneels down to our daughter. "Hi, Ali. My name's Katie, it's nice to meet you. Your Momma tells me you just love horses. Is that true?"
"Mmhmm," Ali hums while keeping a grip on Arizona's leg for comfort. "I has my own horsey."
"You do? What's his name?"
"Ariel."
"Ariel?! That's an awesome name!" Katie exclaims which makes Ali smile her toothy smile. "You know what, kid? I like you. Maybe the next time you come visit you and I can go for a ride. If your moms say it's alright, of course."
They seal the deal with a quick high five and then Ali retreats to the safety of the living room.
Standing back up, Katie looks towards my wife and says, "You got a good one there, Z."
"Don't have to tell me," Arizona replies, sending a sultry wink my way. And with a smile Katie heads back out the door and towards the stables to continue with her responsibilities.
Travis and Liz head out soon afterwards. The skies have already darkened and a front can be seen creeping closer and closer. It's like one of those National Geographic pictures; on one side is clear and bright, and the other dark and foreboding.
"Looks like a bad one," I mumble, eyes turned up western sky.
"About time," Arizona replies. "We've been needing rain for weeks."
A tiny hand finds its way into mine and I look down to find our daughter clinging to me. She hates storms- which is kind of ironic because she was born during one and most likely conceived during one- and becomes very clingy and anxious when one is brewing. I can't count the number of times Arizona and I have woken up to an added third in our bed the morning after a bad storm back in Seattle.
So Arizona and I do what Arizona and I do when a storm is brewing. We distract our daughter. Instead of letting her worry about the growing winds and thundering skies outside, we make her laugh and giggle inside. We cook us up some hotdogs and have a picnic on the living room floor. And when Ali asks to watch Shrek for about the ten thousandth time, we pop it in and snuggle together on the couch; Ali in my lap on one end, Arizona with a small pile of work in her lap at the other.
"Did you have fun today, mija?" I ask while the previews roll on the TV screen.
"Mmhmm," Ali hums while chomping on a popcorn kernel.
"Did you like playing with Liz?" Arizona asks from the opposite end of the corner.
"Yeah," Ali smiles. "She's my best friend. Can she come home with us?"
"No, baby, she can't. She lives here," I answer. "But maybe Liz and Uncle T can come visit sometime."
I catch a look in Arizona's eyes, the look she has when she's thinking about something, and then she asks, "What do you think about being a big sister, Squirt? Would you like that? Having a little brother or sister around to play with?"
"No," Ali replies without batting an eye.
"No?" I ask in surprise.
"Can I have a puppy instead?"
"You'd rather have a puppy than a baby brother or sister?" Arizona asks. "Why?"
"Cuz babies smell icky," Ali answers before shoveling another handful of popcorn in her mouth. And the way she says it, so matter of fact and logical, makes both Arizona and myself chuckle. Both of us knew that if and when we had another child that Ali would take some time coming around to it. Being the only child fits her tastes quite nice. …Sharing has never really been her strong point.
So we let the issue go for the night and continue on with the movie. A loud crash of thunder rips through the sky so strongly that I feel it in my chest, but the movie is doing its job and Ali barely flinches. And before Shrek can bring Princess Fiona back to Far Far Away, our daughter is sleeping soundly in my lap, but we let the movie play anyway.
Another crash of thunder, along with a strike of lightening flashing through the windows, brings a knock to the back door. With a quick look to Ali and myself, Arizona stands and unlocks the back door which allows a soaked and dripping Katie McKenzie into the house.
"Katie, what are you-"
"I know, I'm sorry," she interrupts my wife. "I was on my way home but I couldn't see two feet in front of me with the rain." Through the open door behind her I can see the sheets of rain coming down sideways. "I know it's a lot to ask but- can I stay here for the night?"
"Uh-" Arizona peeks over her shoulder to me for a split second, then answers, "Yeah. Yeah, of course you can." Another strike of lightening immediately followed by it's scream of thunder makes us all jump. "Shit- that was close."
I gently move Ali to the couch and stand to join the two women now out on the porch. I don't think I've ever seen it rain as violently as it is right now- and I've lived in both Miami and Seattle, places known for their storms.
"The radio said there's a tornado watch in effect," Katie says. "At least, while I was still getting a signal…"
Rain quickly turns to hail, the blackness of the skies lighten to a grayish-green. The air is literally charged, and I can feel the power of the earth tingling through my body.
"You feel that?" Arizona asks in a tone that makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up. "That's not good." A howling sound fills the air, almost like a freight train barreling past you at speed. A sound that makes my stomach drop. "What the hell…"
The three of us step out from beneath the porch and seek out the source of this hair-raising sound. While being pelted with hail we walk up the drive just enough to see around the house.
"Should I run down to the stables and-" But Katie never finishes her sentence because another flash of lightening paralyzes us all. A tornado, as wide as we can see, fills the horizon.
"There's no time," Arizona says. "It's coming straight for us."