I Saw Mama Kissing Santa Claus
Chapter 4
Christmas Day, December 25th, 2017
Callie slowly stirred awake. She was tired and her body ached in spots that hadn't ached like that in some time. She and Arizona had stayed up a late celebrating Christmas. They'd celebrated Christmas several times before finally falling asleep. Arizona was softly snoring beside her, a pale arm wrapped protectively around Callie's waist. The Latina smiled as she lightly trailed her fingers up and down her wife's bare skin. Arizona's lingerie hadn't stayed on long. After Callie had admired the green and red lacy outfit for a few minutes, she'd nearly torn it off in her haste to touch her wife.
"Good morning, Arizona," she greeted her wife when she noticed Arizona's eyelids begin to flutter.
"Mmmm," the blonde murmured snuggling up even closer to Callie. "Merry Christmas, Calliope."
"Merry Christmas."
Arizona's hand moved down to caress Callie's abdomen. She kissed her way down to where her hand now lay. "Merry Christmas, baby."
She placed several more kisses across her wife's belly returning to Callie's lips. The light kisses soon deepened and the blonde's hand drifted lower. Before her fingers could reach their intended target, a strong hand clasped her wrist and pulled it away.
"Why'd you stop me?" the blonde asked, disappointed.
"We need to get dressed. Sofia will be up and –" Callie stopped talking and looked at the clock. "It's almost nine o'clock!" she said, panic in her voice. "Why isn't Sofia up?"
Callie sat up abruptly, tossing the covers back.
"What's wrong?" Arizona asked, not happy that her morning plans for further celebration had been derailed.
"Get up," Callie said, reaching for the unworn nightgown that was tucked under her pillow. "Sofia usually gets us up by seven."
"That is odd," Arizona agreed as she quickly put on her prosthetic.
"Do you think she's sick? She seemed okay last night." Callie pulled her nightgown on, then her robe.
"She's probably fine," Arizona soothed her wife. "She stayed up late to see Santa. She's probably tired and is sleeping late."
"I'm going to check on her," Callie said, hurrying for the door. "No healthy six year old sleeps this late on Christmas morning."
"She might if she's a Torres," Arizona muttered as she put on her candy-striped pajamas. "You Torres women love your sleep."
"I heard that," Callie shot back as she left the room.
Arizona listened to her wife scurry up the stairs. With a heavy sigh, the blonde went into the kitchen. Teddy was sitting at the breakfast bar, coffee cup in hand.
"Coffee's already made," the cardio surgeon said.
"Oh, thank God. Coffee," Arizona said as she poured a large cup.
"Everything okay?" Teddy asked once her friend had taken a large gulp of the hot beverage. "Callie shot up the stairs faster than any pregnant woman should be able to move."
"It's Christmas morning."
"And?"
"And Sofia should've been up hours ago. Ever since she's been old enough to tell time, she's always woken us up at exactly seven o'clock."
"Maybe she's tired from last night's excitement from seeing Santa."
"That's what I said!"
Upstairs, Callie knocked on her daughter's door. "Sofia? It's Christmas morning, sweetie. You can get up now. Santa came last night."
Getting no response, Callie opened the door and went into the room. Sofia was still on the bed, her back to the door.
"Sofia? Are you awake?" The small girl nodded her head. "Don't you want to see what Santa brought you?"
"No! I don't wanna. You can't make me."
Callie was shocked by her daughter's words. She sat down on Sofia's bed and placed her hand on her daughter's back. "Sofia, honey, what's wrong? Why don't you want to?"
"Santa's stupid. I hate him."
Sensing her daughter's turmoil, Callie let the use of the words 'stupid' and 'hate' pass for now. "Why would you say that?"
"He just is."
"Well, you have other presents to open if you don't want anything from Santa. Your Mama and I, and Aunt Teddy have Christmas presents for you. There's even a gift from the baby."
"I don't want anything!" the little girl cried into her pillow.
"Sofia, honey, what's wrong?" Callie gently asked, moving further onto the bed so she could hold the crying girl.
"I can't tell you," she said between sobs.
"Sofia, you can tell me anything."
"No, Mommy. Don't make me," she wailed.
"Okay, okay," Callie said, kissing the top of Sofia's head. "I won't make you. We'll just stay here until you're ready to get up and have something for breakfast. You have to have breakfast, okay?"
Sofia nodded slowly as she nestled her body close to her mother's.
"Would you like pancakes, waffles or French toast?" Callie asked after Sofia had seemed to calm down somewhat. "You can have whatever you want."
"F-f-f-french toast," Sofia stuttered as she tried to stop crying.
"Do you want bacon?" Sofia nodded against her mother's chest. "And maybe Mama will let you have a cookie or two with breakfast."
Sofia suddenly stiffened in her arms and began to cry harder. Callie didn't know what to do or say. Hearing footsteps, she looked up and was relieved to see Arizona.
"What's wrong? Is she sick?" Arizona inquired.
"I don't think so. I don't know what's wrong."
"Sofia, what's wrong?" the blonde asked as she walked over to the bed. "Do you feel okay, kiddo?"
Arizona placed her hand on Sofia's forehead. Shocking both of her mothers, Sofia shied away from her Mama, an angry look on her face.
"Go away, Mama," she shouted as she resumed crying once more.
"Sofia?"
"Go away!" the young girl repeated. "I hate you!"
The look of devastation that crossed Arizona's face made Callie's heart ache. She wanted to take Arizona in her arms and hold her until that look disappeared, but right now, her daughter had priority.
"Arizona…"
"It's okay, Callie. I'll just… I'll just go back downstairs."
"She doesn't mean it, Arizona," Callie said.
"I do, too!" Sofia protested. "You go away, Mama. I hate you!"
Callie heard Arizona gasp and the Latina swore she'd do everything she could to never, ever see that kind of pain on her wife's face ever again.
"I'm going to… " Arizona's voice trailed off as she left the room, head bent and shoulders sagging.
"Sofia Robbin!" Callie said firmly. "You do not tell people you hate them, especially not your Mama," she gently tugged Sofia into a sitting position. "That was a mean thing to say. You need to apologize."
"No!" Sofia was adamant.
"Sofia, your Mama loves you – "
"No she doesn't. She doesn't love us."
"Yes, she does. She loves us so much."
Callie's words only brought a fresh round of sobbing from her daughter. Callie gently rocked Sofia in her arms, hoping that she could calm the young girl enough for her to say what was really wrong.
Downstairs, Teddy looked up from her coffee to see a downtrodden Arizona, tears in her eyes.
"Arizona? What's wrong? Is Sofia okay?" Teddy asked, jumping up from her seat.
"She's… Sofia's… she's really upset, and we don't know why," Arizona answered, wiping a tear from a corner of her eye.
"Why aren't you with her?"
"Sofia said she hates me," Arizona said, her lip quivering. "And I know, I know kids say that and they don't mean it. I know that."
"But it still hurts," Teddy said, understandingly.
Arizona nodded. She knew deep in her heart that her daughter really didn't hate her. And Teddy was right; it hurt. It hurt the blonde to think that she'd done something to upset Sofia so much that the young girl could only express herself by saying she hated her mama.
"What can I do? Do you need me to do anything?" Teddy asked, concerned for her friend.
"Sofia and Callie both need to eat breakfast, especially Callie. I'm going to… I think I'm going to go for a drive or maybe go to the hospital. Once I'm out of the house, can you get them both to come downstairs and eat breakfast? And Callie's probably in a panic as she needs to start fixing dinner. Maybe you could help her with that."
"Arizona, don't go."
"I think it's best until Sofia's had a chance to calm down. I'll take my phone with me, and you can call when the coast is clear and I can return."
"Arizona, you really should stay."
"She needs time to calm down." Arizona stifled a sob. "Right now, she doesn't even want to see me."
"Oh, sweetie, I'm so sorry," Teddy said, putting her arms around her friend.
"I don't understand, Teddy," Arizona said, placing her head on her friend's shoulder. "I don't know what I've done… She was fine last night… and now… and now, she bursts into tears when she sees me..."
"We'll figure it out, I promise," Teddy consoled Arizona, rubbing her back. "You know she doesn't really hate you, right?"
"I know. I just… I can't fix it if I don't know what I've done."
"I know, I know," the taller woman said soothingly.
Arizona stepped away from her friend. "I'm gonna go get dressed and get out of here for a little while."
"Are you sure you need to leave, Arizona? Can't you just stay in your room or something?"
"It will kill me, Teddy, if I have to sit in the other room and not be with my daughter on Christmas morning."
Arizona retreated to the master bedroom. She quickly changed out of her pajamas into warm clothes.
"Make sure they eat," Arizona repeated as she walked out the door.
Teddy stood in the empty kitchen, stunned. "What the hell?" she muttered to herself as she headed up the stairs. She knocked once on the door that had been left partially open. Callie was sitting on the bed, holding Sofia.
"Hey Callie, Sofia," she said softly. "Merry Christmas."
Sofia lifted her tear stained face. "M-m-m-Merry Christmas, Aunt T-t-t-teddy."
"How about we have some breakfast?"
Sofia shook her head and buried her face against her mommy's chest.
"Arizona?" Callie mouthed.
Teddy shook her head and silently said "Hospital."
Callie's face fell. Her Christmas was turning into a disaster. Sofia was upset and apparently hated her mama and Santa Claus for some unknown reason, and Arizona had fled the house.
"C'mon, Sofia," Teddy said gently. "Your mama had to go the hospital so we need to make your mommy and the baby some breakfast."
"C-c-can you make French toast?" Sofia asked.
"If you help me, I can."
"Okay," she said in a small voice, removing herself from the comfort of her mommy's arms.
"Go wash up, Sofia, and then we'll have breakfast," Callie said. "And don't forget to brush your teeth."
"I won't, Mommy," Sofia answered as she went across the hall to the bathroom.
"What the hell happened, Callie?" Teddy asked when she heard the bathroom door close.
"I don't know," she said, swinging her legs over the side of the bed. "Help me up?" she asked, holding her arms out.
Teddy gently tugged the pregnant woman to her feet. Callie nodded her thanks.
"Arizona was in tears."
"This day is turning into a nightmare," Callie said as she ran her fingers through her hair. "I don't know what is causing Sofia to be so angry at Arizona. How was Sofia when you put her to bed?"
"Great. She was really excited to have seen Santa; couldn't wait to call her friends in the morning and tell them. She was fine, Callie."
"She won't tell me what's wrong. She just keeps crying and telling me how much she hates Santa and her Mama."
"It doesn't make any sense. Maybe she had a nightmare and she's confused it with reality."
"I don't know what to do, Teddy. I don't want to punish her because she's truly upset, but I can't let her get away with telling Arizona that she hates her, either. She knows better."
"Well, let's get the two of you fed and take it from there. Maybe with some food in her belly and seeing the presents will help her."
"I hope so."
"Do you want me to talk to her?"
"Not yet. Let her calm down first."
Sofia sulked all the way through breakfast. She sniffled and sighed as she ate her French toast in silence.
"Can you keep an eye on her while I shower?" Callie asked.
"Sure. Is there anything I can do to help with dinner?"
"Not yet, but I will need you to give me a hand later."
"Not a problem," Teddy replied.
"Thanks. I won't be long."
Exhausted from crying most of the night and morning, Sofia grabbed her favorite teddy bear and went back to her room. She curled up into a tiny ball and fell asleep. Once the little girl was asleep, Teddy sent a text message to Arizona, telling her to come back home.
The peds surgeon had stopped at a convenience store and bought a large coffee and several donuts before going to the hospital. She thought about going in, but didn't want to face anyone. Too many people would question why she had gone to work, and there would be others who would be asking about Sofia's Christmas morning. She parked her car in the doctors' parking lot and drank her coffee and ate her donuts in silence, tears repeatedly filling her eyes. In her heart she knew Sofia still loved her, but the words still hurt.
She was relieved to get the simple "Come Home" text message from Teddy. She tapped out a quick reply before starting the car back up.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Teddy stood alongside Callie in the kitchen as they prepared the Christmas dinner. Teddy didn't say anything when the Latina blamed the onions for the tears in her eyes. The cardio surgeon wished there was more she could do for her friends other than offer silent support.
"You called Arizona?" Callie asked.
"I sent her a text and she sent one back saying she was on her way."
"Good. I'm worried about her."
"She'll be fine, Callie. She didn't leave you. She just thought it would be best to be out of the house for a little while."
The sound of the garage door opening and then closing brought a tearful smile to Callie's face. She set her knife down on the counter and waited for her wife to come inside.
"Arizona," she breathed, taking her wife into her arms.
"How's Sofia?" Arizona asked.
Callie continued to be amazed by her wife. Arizona was clearly hurt by Sofia's actions, yet the first words she spoke were to ask about her daughter.
"Napping."
"And you?" Arizona asked, her body finally relaxing in her wife's arms.
"I'm okay, but how are you?"
"I'll survive," the blonde answered. "I'm sorry I left. I hope you're not angry."
"No, no, I'm not angry, Arizona. I was worried. Where did you go?"
"I bought a cup of coffee and some donuts and had myself a cry while sitting in the parking lot at the hospital," she replied, somewhat embarrassed by what she'd done.
Callie kissed the tears from her wife's cheeks. "We'll figure this out. You know she doesn't really hate you, don't you?"
"Yes."
"Good."
"How's dinner? Can I help?"
"No, I think we're almost done. Teddy has been surprisingly good in the kitchen."
"Hey! I heard that," Teddy said. "I'm more than good."
"Meh," Callie said with a shrug of her shoulders, causing a small smile to appear on Arizona's face.
"Well, I've got to be better than Arizona," Teddy continued.
Arizona walked up to her friend. "You're the best, Teddy," she said and she gave her friend a fierce hug. "Thank you."
"You're welcome."
"Do I have time for a quick shower?" Arizona asked. "When are Owen and Cristina going to be here?"
"You've got time, and probably not for another half an hour or so," Callie answered her questions.
"Good. I've had quite the day. I may even join Yang for some shots of tequila," Arizona said, heading for the bedroom.
"Arizona does shots of tequila with Yang?" Teddy asked, dumbfounded by that news.
"Weird, I know. I was shocked the first time I saw it."
"Well that's something I think I'd pay to see."
"Too bad you weren't here last New Year's. They both got pretty hammered and passed out on the sofa together. I'm not sure what they were doing before they did, but somehow Yang ended up using Arizona's prosthetic as a pillow."
"Tell me you have pictures," Teddy pleaded.
"I'll show them to you later. I downloaded them to my laptop."
While Arizona was still in the master bedroom, getting dressed, Cristina and Owen had arrived. They were a little earlier than expected. The McDreamy house had been a little chaotic with the two small children running around, hyped up on Christmas. After a few hours of that, Cristina was ready for the relative calm of the Robbins-Torres household.
"Hey Cal, Teddy," Cristina said, handing Callie a bottle of tequila as she walked through the front door.
"And a Merry Christmas to you, too, Cristina," Callie called after her friend.
"Merry Christmas, Callie," Owen said, kissing his host on the cheek. "Sorry we're early," he apologized.
"No apologies needed."
Cristina looked around the living room, baffled by all the still wrapped presents.
"Um, Cal, why haven't you opened your presents?" She looked around the further. "And where's my goddaughter?"
"Sofia's in her room," Callie said.
"Why?" Cristina was blunt as ever.
"Because she hates me," Arizona said, entering the room.
"What? There's no way she hates you," Cristina said.
"Arizona, you know that's not true," Callie said.
"Well, she does today," Arizona said, her voice cracking. "Did you bring tequila, Cristina?"
"Wait, what the hell is going on here?" Cristina demanded. "I feel like I've walked into some alternate universe, twilight zone. Robbins is asking me for my tequila, Altman is in the kitchen cooking and Sofia hasn't opened any of her presents, including mine. Which, I might add, I made a special trip over here two days ago to make sure Sofia had it for Christmas morning."
Callie took Cristina's arm and led her away from the others. "Something upset Sofia last night and she won't tell any of us. She's been crying on and off all day."
"What the hell did you do to her?"
"Nothing! She was fine when she went to bed. This morning she told me she hated Santa Claus and she hated her Mama."
"That doesn't make any sense. She loves roller girl."
"I know, I know. Arizona is crushed."
They both glanced over toward the kitchen. Arizona was tossing back a shot of tequila.
"You know what? I'm going to talk to Sofia, if only to keep your wife from drinking my tequila."
"Thank you."
"Whatever," Cristina said with a wave of her hand as she walked up the stairs to her goddaughter's room.
Cristina tapped lightly on the door before pushing it open.
"What's up, doc?" she said.
Sofia flipped over and taking one look at her godmother, burst into tears. "Crissina," she wailed.
"Hey, hey, hey, doc," Cristina said, rushing over to the bed. "What's the matter?" she asked as she climbed onto the bed with her goddaughter.
Sofia buried her face into Cristina's shoulder and sobbed. She shook her head, crying, "I can't tell you."
"Sure you can, doc. You know you can tell me anything."
"She… she… I saw… I hate her," Sofia said before collapsing again in sobs.
"C'mon, doc, you know you don't hate your mama."
"I do so… I hate her… she doesn't love us anymore… she doesn't love Mommy," she said, gasping for breath.
"That's not true," Cristina said matter-of-factly. "I've never seen anyone love each other as much as your moms. It's almost sickening how much they do."
"She doesn't!" Sofia protested. "She doesn't and I hate her."
"Sofia!" Cristina's voice was sharp. She needed Sofia to calm down and focus. "Take a deep breath and tell me what happened."
"Mama… she… " Sofia hiccupped back her tears. "She kissed someone else!"
"What? Are you sure?"
"Yes, I saw her."
Cristina's mouth dropped open in disbelief. Surely the young girl was wrong. She had to be. There was no way Robbins would cheat on Callie again.
"When did you see this, doc?"
"Last night… I was supposed to be in bed, and I saw her."
Cristina hoped this was a big misunderstanding. It had to be. If it wasn't, Cristina was personally going to see to it that Callie became a widow. There was no way she was going to let Robbins survive if she cheated again, especially if her goddaughter witnessed it.
"Who did your mama kiss?" she asked with some trepidation.
"S-S-S-Santa Claus!" Sofia said. "Mama is only supposed to kiss Mommy… but… but she k-k-kissed Santa."
Cristina comforted the young girl for a several minutes, assuring her that everything would be fine. She wondered what the couple had been doing when Sofia saw them. She almost shivered at the images her mind conjured up of the two women doing… something while Callie wore a Santa suit.
"Doc, can you be a big girl and wait here for a few minutes? I want to talk to your mommy."
"Don't tell her, Crissina. Don't tell her Mama kissed someone else."
"I just need to talk to her, okay?"
Getting a nod from the sad young girl, Cristina got up and immediately went downstairs. Her friends and her husband were gathered by the breakfast bar. Arizona had a shot glass in her hand and Callie was standing beside her, rubbing the blonde's back. Her mentor, Teddy, was pretending to be busy by moving bowls of food around on the counter like some weird game of Three Card Monty. Owen was awkwardly watching the others as he sipped from a glass of wine.
Cristina marched over to the parents of her goddaughter.
"Cristina," Callie greeted her. "Did Sofia talk to you? Did she tell you what was wrong?"
"Look," Cristina began, "I don't know what freaky things you two were doing with a Santa suit last night, and I don't really want to know." Her face crinkled with disgust. "But whatever you were doing traumatized my goddaughter."
"What? We weren't –"
Cristina cut Callie off. "Sofia saw her Mama – " Cristina glared at Arizona. "Her Mama," she continued, "kissing Santa Claus last night. And unless Robbins has something on the side with Santa, I'll just assume it was you she was kissing, Cal."
"But… but she was asleep," Arizona protested. "She was in bed."
"And all we did was kiss."
"Well, apparently she thinks her Mama doesn't love her Mommy anymore because she kissed Santa." Cristina poured herself a shot of tequila. "You need to fix this. Now."
"Great, just great," Arizona muttered. "I break my daughter's heart either way. She finds out there's no such thing as Santa Claus or she believes her mother is a big cheater."
"It doesn't have to be either, does it?" Teddy asked.
"You got a better idea, Teddy?" Callie asked.
"Can't you just explain that Callie was being Santa's helper?"
"I don't think so."
"Well, how do you explain all the different Santas in the malls and on the street corners? Does she know it's Karev that dresses up as Santa Claus at the hospital?"
"It might work," Callie said thoughtfully. "What do you think, honey?" she asked Arizona.
"It's worth a shot. Anything's better than having my daughter hate me on Christmas."
"I'll go talk to her," Callie said, setting her glass of sparkling grape juice on the counter.
"I'll get the Santa suit," Arizona offered. "I think you'll need the evidence."
A few minutes later, Santa suit in hand, Callie entered Sofia's bedroom. Her wife waited in the hall, out of sight, but within hearing distance.
"Sofia, I need to talk to you," Callie said.
"About what?"
"About what you saw last night."
"No, Mommy. I can't tell you!"
"Sofia, you didn't see Mama kissing Santa Claus."
"I did," she protested, fresh tears springing to her eyes.
"Sometimes Santa needs help. You've seen his helpers at the stores. You know they're not Santa, right?"
Sofia nodded. Her parents had explained to her that the Santas she saw before Christmas weren't the real Santa Claus. They were his helpers. Santa Claus only came out on Christmas.
"Last night, when Santa was getting ready to leave, he asked me to help put the rest of your presents out."
"He did?"
"Yes, he did. Of course I couldn't say no to Santa. Would you?"
"Uh uh," Sofia said eyes wide as she shook her head 'no'.
"Well, as Santa's special helper, I had to dress like Santa." She held up the red suit in her hand so Sofia could see it. "When Mama saw that I was helping Santa, she was so proud of me that she kissed me. You didn't see Mama kissing Santa Claus. Mama was kissing me."
"Really?"
"Really." Callie pulled Sofia into her lap. "Your Mama loves us Sofia. She wouldn't do anything to hurt us. You know that, right?"
"Yeah," the young girl said in a small voice.
"Now I know you thought you were right, but you really hurt your Mama. You said some pretty mean and awful things to her."
"I'm sorry, Mommy," Sofia cried.
"Don't apologize to me, Sofia. You need to apologize to your Mama."
"Is she here? She came back, didn't she?"
"She's here and she can't wait to see you."
Out in the hall, Arizona had heard every word exchanged between her wife and her daughter. Callie was once again proving how great she was at being a mom. The blonde took a deep breath to calm herself, then stepped into Sofia's room.
"Mama!" Sofia shouted, leaping off the bed and crashing into her. "I'm sorry, Mama… I'm sorry. I didn't mean it… I don't hate you…" she cried.
Arizona pulled her daughter into her arms and hugged the young girl tightly. "I know, kiddo, I know. You were just confused."
"I love you, Mama."
"I love you, too, Sofia."
She held Sofia close until her daughter was no longer weeping. "Are you ready to go see what Santa left for you?" Sofia nodded. "But before you open those presents and your stocking, there's a very special gift from the baby to you."
"The baby got me a present?"
"Yes," Arizona said. "Why don't we go downstairs and open it first."
"Okay."
Sofia quickly ran from the room, eager to open her presents. Arizona stopped her wife from immediately following her daughter down. She cupped Callie's cheeks in her hands and gave her a long, loving kiss.
"Not that I'm complaining, but what was that for?" Callie asked when the kiss finally ended.
"Thank you. You were great with her. You are such an awesome mom."
"You are, too, Arizona."
"Mama! Mommy! Hurry up!" Sofia called out from downstairs. "I want to see what Santa brought!"
"Inside voice, Sofia," both women said simultaneously as they returned to the kitchen.
"Sorry!" Sofia yelled.
"That's our girl," Arizona said, squeezing Callie's hand. "Merry Christmas, Calliope. I love you."
"I love you, too. Merry Christmas."
Hand in hand, the couple walked down the stairs to join their friends. Sofia was nearly bursting with excitement as she hung from Owen's arm, her feet dangling just above the floor.
"Is it time? Can I open my presents now?"
"Yes, you may," Arizona said. "Let me get the baby's present for you first."
Sofia led the way into the living room, positioning herself between Cristina and Teddy. Arizona reached under the tree for the gift she wanted Sofia to open first.
"This one is for you, Sofia, from the baby."
Sofia ripped the wrapping paper off and flipped the lid off the box. She pulled out a magenta t-shirt with rainbow letters spelling out 'I'm the Big Sister'. Seeing the color of the t-shirt, Cristina made a gagging sound. Sofia reached in and pulled out another t-shirt, this one purple with the same words but spelled out in shiny glittery letters. Cristina rolled her eyes, hoping her goddaughter hadn't seen her reaction. The final piece of clothing was a black hooded sweatshirt with the same phrase in white letters.
"Okay, that one meets with my approval," Cristina said.
"I'm… a… big… sister," Sofia sounded out. "I'm a big sister!" she said with a smile.
"When the baby gets here, you can wear them and let everyone know who you are."
Sofia hopped off the sofa and went over to Callie. She patted her Mommy's belly and said, "Thanks, baby." She leaned over and whispered," Hurry up and get here. I can't wear my new clothes until you do."
Callie and Arizona stifled their laughter, both touched by Sofia's actions.
"Come over here, doc, and open my presents next," Cristina said to her goddaughter.
"Okay," the young girl said, climbing back up beside Cristina.
Arizona searched under the tree until she found the two gifts from Cristina. Within minutes of getting them, Sofia had torn the wrapping paper off. One present was the game Operation. The other was a pair of navy blue scrubs, custom made for Sofia. Beneath the scrubs lay a children's sized lab coat with Sofia's name embroidered on the front.
"It's just like yours, Crissina! Thank you!" she said, holding up the coat. "I can be just like you now."
"Oh, God help us all if that happens," Callie whispered to her wife.
"Hush," Arizona replied, gently admonishing her wife. "Aspiring to be a surgeon is not a bad thing."
Sofia pulled off her pajama top before anyone could stop her. Cristina cackled at Callie and Arizona's shock and embarrassment. Even Teddy was amused by her friends' reactions.
"Sofia Robbin! What are you doing?" Callie said.
"I gotta put my scrubs on," she said, pulling the navy blue shirt over her head.
"You don't change your clothes in the middle of the living room, in front of our guests," Arizona said.
"Why not?" Sofia asked innocently.
"You change your clothes in your room."
"All right," she sighed before sprinting up the stairs. Moments later, clad in her new outfit, she stood in the middle of the room, holding her arms out.
"Look! I'm a surgeon," she said proudly.
The rest of the afternoon was spent opening presents, followed by dinner. By the end of the day, Sofia was asleep in front of the tree, dressed in her scrubs and surrounded by her presents. Cristina, Teddy and Arizona had Sofia's game on the kitchen table, and they'd somehow turned it into a drinking game, complete with trash talking. For every miscue, the offender had to drink a shot of tequila and start over.
"I don't think they're playing by the rules," Callie chuckled.
"No, they're not," Owen agreed. "Who do you think will win?" he asked as he sat next to Callie on the sofa.
"Cristina can hold her liquor better, but Arizona's more competitive."
"I think Teddy could surprise them both," Owen commented.
In a comfortable silence, the two friends watched the three women who were completely focused on the game.
"I didn't think this day could've ended any better," Callie commented. "Especially with the way it started."
The game's buzzer rang out, followed by an accusation of cheating and an "In your face!" from Cristina.
"And I think that's my cue to take my wife home." Owen said, getting up from the couch.
An hour later, Owen and Cristina long gone, Sofia was put to bed. Teddy, suffering from the multiple shots of tequila she'd been forced to drink upon finishing last, stumbled up to the guest room shortly after that.
"You ready to turn in, my champion?" Callie asked, kissing her wife's cheek.
"Yes, I'm ready to celebrate my victory," a tipsy and handsy Arizona said, her hands slipping up Callie's shirt. "I love you, Calliope."
"I love you, too. Merry Christmas."