A/N: Sorry this is later than planned, but in my defense it was the beta's fault not my own. LOL
How about that episode last night? So So Good!
Chapter 7
In stunned silence, Arizona and Aria watched Callie walk out of Nicky's room and disappear down the hallway. Arizona stood there, unsure of what to do or what to say. She had her suspicions about the cause of Callie's reaction, but couldn't now for sure since her wife wasn't really sharing with her.
It was clear Callie's reaction had to do with more than just the results of the DNA test, since they had all pretty much been expecting the results they revieced.
"She um, she just needs some time," Arizona tried to reassure not only Aria but herself as well. "Things between Callie and her mother, your mother, haven't exactly been easy, which makes everything more complicated."
Aria nodded her head in understanding. "I'm sorry," she apologized.
"It's not your fault," Arizona dismissed. With a promise to come check on them again later, Arizona left the room and headed towards the attending lounge in hopes of finding her wife. She was disappointed to find it empty. Callie wasn't scheduled for any surgeries so she wasn't sure where else to look.
With a new direction in mind, Arizona found an empty on-call room and locked the door behind her. Plopping down on the bed, she reclined back and pulled her phone out of her labcoat pocket. Scrolling through her contacts, she found the one she was looking for.
"Hey, Mom," she greeted when Barbara answered on the other end. "Could you do me a favor?"
"Anything, sweetheart," Barbara easily agreed.
"I know it's a school night, but do you think you and dad could keep the girls at your house tonight?" Maybe giving Callie a quiet night would help the other woman work through her thoughts. She wasn't sure it was something Callie wanted, but maybe it was something she needed. Arizona considered for a moment staying at her parents too, but didn't want to be far from Callie if she needed her.
"Of course we can," Barbara smiled at the thought. She'd never deny extra time with her granddaughters. "Is everything alright?" she asked concerned.
"Yeah, at least I think it is," Arizona started, not sure how to explain without saying too much, at least for the time being. "Callie's just dealing with something and I was thinking maybe a quiet night would help her. I'll fill you in more later," she promised. The elder Robbins had long ago been told about Callie's sister, but now wasn't the time to let them know they'd found her.
"Alright, well I'll have the girls grab their things when they get home from school and then get them back there tomorrow morning. Give Callie my love," Barbara ordered her daughter. She'd felt like something was off with her daughter-in-law the last few times she'd spoken with her, but she didn't want to push. She knew the other woman would come to her when she was ready.
"I will," Arizona told her. After a quick goodbye, she ended the call and threw the phone on the bed next to her. Lying back, she closed her eyes and tried to think. Clearly more than just Aria showing up in their lives was bugging her wife. She had a feeling she knew what was going on.
When Callie and Lucia were fighting, Callie had always been so nonchalant about the whole thing. Arizona always worried that Callie pushing down her emotions would come back to haunt her. It looked like she was correct. Her wife was now feeling all of the emotions she should have felt back in high school. Now Arizona just needed to find a way to help her deal with them.
~CA~
Callie climbed her way up the stairs and opened the doors that led out onto the helicopter pad. Wandering around to the side of the roof, she found a good hiding place and sat down.
Staring down at the phone in her hand, she was torn. A part of her felt like she should tell her mother that she'd found Aria. Another part of her worried what the news would do to their relationship. Would Callie be pushed to the side again if Lucia and Aria developed a relationship?
Maybe Aria didn't even want to meet their mother. Was she supposed to honor that wish if it's what the other woman wanted? She didn't think it would be possible to keep such a secret from her mother indefinitely, no matter if it was what Aria wanted or not.
A lone tear slid down her cheek as she thought about every single time her mother had neglected. She thought about every argument, every heated word. She tried to remember any moment where she'd felt truly loved and wanted, but none came to mind.
She didn't know how long she was on that rooftop, but only the sound of her pager finally pulled her from her thoughts. She wiped a hand across her eyes, removing any remnants of tears. Hands smoothed her clothes as she headed back inside and down to the ER to see who had paged her.
The rest of the day went by in a blur. She blocked out all of her personal feelings and concentrated fully on her patients. Throwing herself into her work was always a good way to forget everything that was going on.
"Arizona, Amelia, Alexia?" Callie called through the darkened house later that night. It was too early for the girls to be in bed so she wasn't sure why the house was so quiet. She knew Arizona had beaten her home though because her car was in the garage. "Where is everybody?" she mumbled to herself.
Dropping her purse on the couch, she made her way through the house towards the kitchen and the stairs that led to the basement. Often times she'd find the girls down there playing video games, but everything was quiet at the bottom.
She headed back upstairs only to find both of her daughters' rooms empty, but a few muffled sounds from the direction of her bedroom alerted her to someone's presence in the house. Her bedroom was empty, but there was a glow coming from the connecting bathroom.
What she didn't expect to find was Arizona on the lip of the tub, wearing only a robe, and lit candles all around her. "What's going on?" she asked quietly.
"I thought after the day you had, you could use a little relaxation," Arizona smiled. Standing up, she moved to her wife, intent on helping her out of her clothes.
"Where are the girls?"
"They are spending the night with their grandparents," the blonde whispered, placing a kiss on Callie's lips as soon as she'd freed her from her shirt.
"But it's a school night," Callie protested weakly, already enjoying what Arizona was doing to her.
"And mom is fully capable of getting them to school in the morning. Now just enjoy," Arizona instructed as she finished undressing her wife. Slipping her robe off, she slid into the tub and then held out her hand for Callie to join her.
Typically when they shared a bath, Callie was always the one holding Arizona to her, but tonight was all about Arizona taking care of her wife. Once Callie was in the water, Arizona pulled her back so she was lying against the smaller girl's chest. Putting her arms around Callie's waist, she placed a kiss on her shoulder, holding her close.
"This is definitely what I needed," Callie whispered, closing her eyes and giving all her trust to Arizona. Soft hands made their way around her body, caressing her in a way that only they knew how.
"I love you so much, sweetheart. I hope you never forget that," Arizona whispered in Callie's ear as her right hand hit the spot Callie desperately need. "I love how you trust me to touch you like this, to know I am the one that is making you come." It wasn't much longer before Callie was doing exactly that.
The two women gently washed each other's body before climbing out of the tub. Taking their time drying each other off, they headed back into their room and slid beneath the covers naked.
With Callie's head on her shoulders, Arizona nuzzled her face into dark hair. "Tim called me today," she said softly, not wanting to break the moment, but wanting to talk.
"Oh yeah? How's he doing? How's JoJo?" Callie asked. Their nephew was the cutest little boy either girl had ever seen. He had his mother's red hair and Tim's dimpled smile. Callie was really hoping their next baby would be a boy.
"They are all doing really well. JoJo is walking now. Tim said he keeps Megan on her feet all day. He's a little stinker too, always into everything," Arizona grinned at the thought.
"Just like Alexia was at that age. Must be a Robbins thing," Callie teased. Although Amelia had been fairly active around that time, because of her prematurity it had taken her much longer to get into the mischief her sister and baby cousin found so easily.
"Oh hush you," Arizona said, lightly pinching Callie in the side. Turning more serious, "I told him about us wanting another baby. I hope that's okay. We never really discussed when we were going to tell me."
Callie looked up at Arizona and reached a hand up to cup her cheek. "No, it's fine. We didn't talk about it," she agreed. "What did he say?"
"Not much, just that he was happy for us. He's going to tell Megan, but promised to keep it a secret from anyone else."
Callie smiled, glad to have someone like Tim in her life. Honestly she was grateful to the entire Robbins family for taking her in when she never really felt like she had a family of her own. She'd carried the name for over 12 years now and still some days it seemed surreal. "I love you so much," she whispered just before she placed a deep kiss on her wife's lips.
Arizona smiled, unsure of where that came from, but loving the sentiment all the same. "I love you too. But if you're trying to start something, we probably need to eat dinner first," she teased.
After giving it some thought, Callie realized Arizona was right. She couldn't remember the last time she ate. She hadn't had time to eat between her surgeries. As soon as she realized this her stomach let out a loud growl. "Maybe you're right about that."
"Come on goof, let's get some grub." Pushing Callie off her body, Arizona climbed out of bed in search of some comfortable clothes to spend the rest of the night in."
"Grub? And who's the goof?" Callie smiled. She loved the times when Arizona reminder of the young girl she'd fallen in love with. She fell more in love with the blonde every day, but sometimes it was nice to be reminded where they started.
"So how are you really doing with this whole sister thing?" Arizona asked once they were seated at the table with some leftover chicken lasagna on their plates. She was hoping now that Callie was more relaxed, she'd be more willing to open up.
"I don't know. It's confusing," Callie started. She realized she'd been keeping herself closed off from Arizona and that was the last thing she wanted to do. They'd always been able to communicate with each other. It was what made their bond so strong.
"Go on," Arizona encouraged when Callie sat there in silence.
"I don't know if I'm supposed to tell Mom or not. Am I supposed to just make nice and start inviting her to family events now?" She had so many questions and so few answers.
"I think you just have to play it by ear. See what both of you want out of this. As for telling your mom, well I think that's something you need to discuss with Aria first. I know that may feel like you're being disloyal to your mother, but all of us were thrown into this situation. Aria didn't go looking for you, she may not be ready to meet Lucia," Arizona pointed out.
Callie pondered Arizona's words. She was right. It would be different if one of the parties involved had gone looking for the other, but in this case it was simply a coincidence that they'd all met.
"But what if mom someday goes looking for her and finds out I've known all along?" Callie asked, knowing Arizona didn't have the answer. As far as she knew Lucia had no intention to find her other child, but she couldn't sure it wouldn't happen one day.
"I don't know sweetie," Arizona told her, knowing Callie wasn't really expecting an answer. "That's one bridge you'd have to cross if you come to it.
"What if Aria does want to meet her and then Mom pushes me away again?" Callie asked with fear in her voice. Now they were getting to the root of what Callie was feeling. "She couldn't even look at me before because I made her miss her precious oldest child. What if they meet and I become invisible again?"
Arizona didn't miss the glossy look in Callie's eyes. Her wife was on the verge of tears. Now she was happy she'd sent the girls to their grandparents' for the night. It looked like maybe Callie was finally going to be able to deal with everything she'd bottled up for the last 14 years- well, her entire life really.
"She's not going to do that," Arizona tried to reassure.
"You don't know that," Callie quickly replied. "She did it before. Surely it wouldn't be hard for her to do it again."
"Things are different now," Arizona told her. While they still weren't as close as some parent-child duos, Callie and Lucia had made great strides trying to fill the gap in their relationship. "Maybe this will bring you two closer," she pointed out.
"I won't hold my breath on that one, but it's possible I guess."
As they slowly ate their dinner, Callie talked more openly about her fears. Arizona held her hand across the table, sending every ounce of love she possibly could through that simple touch.
"I really think you need to talk to Aria. She has so many questions and it's not my place to answer them," Arizona suggested as they both took their dishes to the sink. Callie rinsed them off while Arizona loaded them into the dishwasher.
"I know. I didn't mean to take off like that. I just needed some time to think," Callie explained.
"I know you did, and I told her that too. I'd answer her questions if you were okay with that, but I think its better coming from you."
"No you're right. I'll talk to her, I promise. Maybe I'll stop in on her tomorrow," Callie thought aloud as she ran through her schedule in her head.
"Alright, well if you want me there with you just page me, even if it's just to entertain Nicky while you two talk."
"I will. I promise," Callie told her, pulling Arizona into her arms and place a kiss on her forehead. "Thank you, for be here with me through this."
"Mmm, anytime. It's what I'm here for."
Callie smiled, pulling Arizona even closer to her, silently hoping tomorrow would take awhile to get here.
