Chapter Ten: Domestic Life

Finally into the thick of it here- full on drama next chapter, a lot of fluff/hotness happened on accident.

(Important plot note! The timeline is a little manipulated because Amelia is with Arizona. So, instead of the marriage being the last hurrah at the Mcdreamy mansion, the dinner party is. So much for a happy hurrah... anyway

Thanks for the follows and reviews!

—

Approximately three months later, Meredith returns.

—

The door of the Mcdreamy House creaks open and there's quiet chatter.

"Alright Zozo, you take Bailey to..."

Meredith steps in with the kids in tow and another baby in a carrier.

For a minute all Arizona can do is stare; she feels strangely caught red-handed- just relaxing on Meredith's couch reading a book and sipping wine. She places down her glass and meets Meredith's tired eyes. She expects a rebuff of some kind, but instead is greeted with familiarity.

"Robbins, a little help?"

Arizona jumps up and takes the carrier- new born baby and all- from Meredith's hands. Every question Arizona has about the past nine months, dies on her lips. She shadows Meredith around the house and agrees to help put the kids to bed.

Arizona takes the new baby of out the carrier and hands her to Meredith. "She's beautiful."

Meredith nods tiredly. "She is. This is Ellis."

Arizona oversees Zola and Bailey brushing their teeth and helps them put on pajamas. Once they're tucked in she finds Meredith relaxing with Ellis.

"Where's Amelia?" Meredith asks, clearly as an afterthought.

"Oh, sleeping. It's early and sometimes I keep myself busy if I can't sleep." Arizona gestures to the mess on the table.

Meredith nods and suppresses a yawn. "Thank you."

Arizona nods. "Of course. Did you need anything else tonight. I can-"

"No, thank you for taking care of Amelia." Meredith cuts off her rambling to clarify. "I couldn't. And someone needed to."

Arizona feels the tension in her shoulders relax. "Of course. I love her."

Meredith nods. "I figured." There's the hint of an amused smile on her lips.

"Goodnight, Arizona."

"Goodnight, Meredith."

Amelia wakes to the sound of a screaming baby- a newborn to be exact- and for a moment she has to reassess her surroundings. The bed is soft, comfortable, there's a warm body in it next to her... so she's not in an on-call room. So that means...

She finds herself walking to Zola's room to find the source of the crying.

In Zola's old crib there's a tiny baby girl. She's squirming and wailing, her tiny face all red from the exertion. On instinct, Amelia picks her up and soothes her, swaying her side-to-side lightly.

She's jostled by tiny arms wrapping around her legs.

"Aunt Amy!"

She smiles, looking down to find enthusiastic smiles on the faces of her niece and nephew.

"Thanks. I thought Ellis was never gonna stop crying." Zola says, sounding exasperated; she definitely picked that up from Meredith.

Amelia looks down at the tiny baby who's finally quieted down. "Ellis." She knows she's smiling like an idiot, but she's just so glad to have her whole family back.

"Alright guys, go pick out some cereal and you can put on some cartoons."

"Yay! Race ya!" Zola says, shoving her brother out of the way to get a head start to the kitchen.

Absently, Amelia finds herself walking to the kitchen, her heart light. The tiny baby sleeping soundly in her arms.

—

Arizona wakes to the smell of coffee and the sound of light-hearted chatter. She wanders sleepily into the kitchen.

"Hey."

Amelia is practically glowing.

"Hey." Arizona makes herself comfortable at the island and takes the cup of coffee that Amelia offers.

"When did they get back?" Amelia asks, most of her attention focused on baby Ellis, who she still hasn't set down.

"Last night. You were completely knocked out." Arizona smiles. "Snoring even."

"I've told you I don't snore." Amelia sticks out her tongue playfully.

"Meredith still sleeping?" Arizona asks, sipping at her coffee.

"No, she went into the hospital to sort some things out. Paper work for her leave of absence and stuff. So, I've got the kids today."

"Mmhm." Arizona nods, returning Amelia's 1000 watt smile. "You don't seem to mind."

"Not at all."

"I have to get ready to go in. Long day." Arizona finishes the last of her coffee and stands to give Amelia a light kiss on the lips.

"Y'know now that Meredith is back we should probably get our own place." Arizona mentions nonchalantly.

"We?" Amelia wasn't expecting that, sure they spent practically every night together unless someone was working, but she's still surprised by the offer.

"Yes, we, silly. As in us, living together." Arizona smiles and shoots Amelia a wink.

Amelia nods. "I'll start looking today when I put the kids down for their nap.

"Sounds perfect." Arizona places one last kiss to Amelia's cheek before heading off to go shower.

—

"What about this one?" Amelia asks, pointing to her laptop screen.

"Well..."

She can tell Arizona disapproves when the blonde scrunches up her nose. It's adorable.

"Fine then, you choose. You can't seem to agree with anything I've picked." Amelia sighs; she's not actually irritated, just tired. It's been a long day for both of them.

"Okay, hold on hold on, what about this one?" Arizona stops scrolling and centers on a cute little modern looking apartment. It's simple. Not too expensive and most importantly it's close to the hospital.

Amelia nods her approval and leans over to give Arizona a kiss.

They're cuddled in her bed at Meredith's, just enjoying some quiet time after a long day of babysitting/working. The domesticity of it all is comforting and Amelia finds herself relaxing into Arizona's arms.

"We'll call the realtor tomorrow?" Amelia asks, making sure they've settled for now so she can shut her tired eyes.

"Sounds good. You get some sleep."

Amelia feels a soft kiss on top of her head and sighs as the light clicks off. This is her favorite way to end the day.

A week or so has passed since Meredith's return.

Amelia has gotten back into the full swing of things. Instead of avoiding complicated cases she's removing neuroblastomas right and left. She's devouring difficult cases like potato chips when you try to eat just one. She's floating on the high of spectacular tumors and her happy relationship; her family all back in one place; its smooth sailing and her confidence is back ten-fold.

She spots Arizona in the cafeteria and sidles up to her with her tray.

"Hey." She gives the blonde a quick kiss. "How's your day going?"

Arizona swallows her mouthful of salad and nods. "Good, nothing terribly traumatic yet, you?"

"Kicking ass and takes names." Amelia grins, biting into an apple.

Arizona laughs. It's good to see Amelia back on her feet. Her strong, adorable little super-hero. "Good. I'm so glad."

"So, Meredith is having a dinner party tomorrow. Sort of one last hurrah at the house to celebrate all us sisters being heads of departments." Amelia chews and swallows. "I know we're still living out of boxes, but it'd be nice to go."

"Of course." Arizona agrees, wondering why it would even be an issue. "Amelia, your eyes are doing that darty thing they do when you're nervous. What's going on?"

"Well... Callie might be bringing her new girlfriend." Amelia glances away and fidgets with her apple.

"Oh." Arizona feels like she's been punched in the chest. It shouldn't matter. She's happy with Amelia; Callie should get to be happy too. They haven't seen much of one another lately other then to organize Sophia's play date schedule and drop offs. It shouldn't matter at all, but it does. They were together for a long time after all, married even. It was the longest relationship she's ever had. But she's in love with Amelia now and she knows she will be there to help her get through it.

"If it's going to be too awkward you don't have to come..." Amelia trails off and Arizona can clearly see the worry and anxiety on her face.

"Of course I'm coming, don't be ridiculous." She smiles to ease Amelia's worries and reaches out to give the brunette's hand a squeeze. "I do have one question though."

"Yeah?" Amelia looks up, the sparkle back in her eyes.

"Who's cooking? Because it better not be you." Arizona nudges Amelia in the side and they both laugh.

"I assure you it is NOT me. Maggie can cook."

"Not that your burnt toast isn't a delicacy, but I'm not sure many people would appreciate it as much as I do." Arizona winks and sticks out her tongue.

"Watch it, Robbins or I'll have to keep that wicked tongue of yours busy." Amelia grins, worries completely eased by Arizona's teasing.

The blonde leans forward to seductively whisper in her girlfriend's ear. "I'll take you up on that tonight."

Amelia shudders and watches her girlfriend saunter away to answer a page. Her woman definitely knows how to rile her up.

The night of the dinner party arrives and everything is disjointed per usual in the Mcdreamy house. Meredith wanted to have one last big party- the house full of people- before selling it and reclaiming her mother's old place. She says it's what Derek would've wanted and Amelia completely agrees.

Surgeons with busy schedules trying to organize dinners parties isn't always such a good idea. To make matters a little more complicated both April and Jackson- who are on rocky shores- and Callie's new girlfriend are going to be there. Jo and Stephanie seem to be avoiding one another- Amelia doesn't even want to get in the middle of that- and Maggie is nowhere to be found.

When it rains it pours in this family. But there is one very bright light in all of the chaos...

Arizona enters the house looking breathtaking. Amelia whistles under her breath as she goes to greet her at the door.

Once through the threshold, Amelia puts her hands on Arizona's hips and pulls her in possessively. "You look positively stunning." And it's true, in that little black skirt, in those heels, with that bright red lipstick and her blonde hair in loose curls, Arizona is a vision. Amelia wants nothing more then to bring her home and have her way with her.

But then, she wonders briefly if the get-up is to make Callie jealous. After all, Callie is bringing her new girlfriend tonight. But Arizona must see the uncertainty in her eyes because she leans forward to whisper in her ear.

"This is all for you, babe." For emphasis she fiddles with the chain of the necklace Amelia gave her.

Never has such a simple sentence made her shiver with arousal this intense. Arizona hands skim over Amelia's backside and the brunette gently slaps them away.

"Down tiger." Amelia growls under her breath.

Arizona giggles and Amelia places a quick kiss on Arizona's cheek before leading her into the kitchen.

"Hey guys!"

There's Jo, Alex, Meredith, and April gathered in the kitchen surrounded by ingredients for an unmade dinner.

"Where's Maggie?"

Meredith shrugs. "She said something about needing to go to the hospital. Something about a UTI."

"Great." Amelia rolls her eyes and stares down at the pile of uncooked food. "We have a bunch of food and no one who knows how to cook it."

"Ooh, pizza! We can get pizza!" Arizona offers, taking a swig of wine from her glass. She already came to the party a little tipsy to take the edge off.

"You need to cool it with that." Amelia gestures to Arizona's glass. "But the lady is right. We have a house full of hungry surgeons and no one who knows how to cook."

"Wait, I know how to cook!" Arizona beams.

"Right now I don't trust you near an open flame." Amelia admonishes, trying to come up with a way to salvage this dinner.

"Alright!" April stands, throwing her arms up. "I'll cook. Wilson, hand me that apron. Shepherd, get me a cutting board."

"I could kiss you on the mouth!" Amelia commends, but instead tends to the mouth of her pouting blonde girlfriend.

Arizona smiles and Amelia rolls her eyes at her drunken antics. It's only nerves. Them being there as an out and proud couple, Callie bringing her new girlfriend for Arizona to meet. The drinking doesn't bother her, if anything she understands more than most.

It's at that moment, as Amelia's attempting to wipe off the smudge of bright red lipstick, that Callie enters the house with her new lady in tow.

"Nice shade of red there, Shepherd." Callie's amused tone reaches her ears and she blushes- caught red handed.

"I erm I -"

"Hey! Finally we get to meet the infamous, Penny!" Arizona chirps, extending her hand. "Arizona."

"Nice to meet you." The look on Penny's face fades from anxiousness to light amusement.

"Can I get anyone a drink?" Meredith offers; her back has gone stiff, eyes stone cold.

'What the hell?' Amelia wonders, but she doesn't waste too much time with it, trying to rein in her drunk girlfriend.

"Babe, why don't you come sit over here and watch April cook." She guides Arizona to another seat farther away from Callie and Penny and mouths an 'I'm sorry' over her shoulder, meant for Callie.

"Sure. I'm on call, but white wine for Penny?" Callie asks.

Meredith nods and mechanically goes through the motions of pouring a drink for their new acquaintance. If Amelia wasn't so focused on making sure Arizona didn't make a fool of herself- or them- then she might've caught the subtle cues.

"So, Penny, what do you do?" April asks as she slices and dices.

Amelia helps by stirring what's simmering in the pan, that and tossing the salad is about all she can handle cooking-wise.

"Well, currently I'm in between gigs." Penny sips at her wine, seeming tense.

"And what does that mean?" Amelia persists.

"Woah, what's with the twenty questions? Let's let her get settled in." Callie tries to steer the conversation and Amelia shrugs; she needs to focus on what she's stirring so it doesn't burn.

She notices Meredith whispering under her breath heatedly to Alex and wonders what's up. She's probably just pissed that Maggie bailed. Amelia shrugs and goes back to listening to the chatter between coworkers.

"Penny, this is Miranda Bailey the chief of surgery." Callie introduces.

Penny extends a hand. "Nice to meet you."

"Have we met before? You seem familiar." Bailey questions.

Penny seems to tense again. "No, I don't think so."

Arizona sidles over to Amelia, so the brunette is distracted from overhearing the rest of the conversation. "I think I like her."

Arizona's breath is hot against her cheek and her words are slurred.

"What?" Amelia shoots back.

"No, I mean, I don't hate her. I think she's good for Callie."

"Mmhm." Amelia nods, but suddenly feels self-conscious.

"Oh stop. You know that's not what I meant." Arizona kisses Amelia's cheek and tries to rectify her drunken misstep. "There's no one but you. Promise I'll show you tonight." She whispers in Amelia's ear and the brunette grins, but snatches the wine glass from her.

"Alright, enough of that. Think you can go help set the table?" Amelia asks, gesturing to Stephanie doing the task by her lonesome.

"Sure, no problem."

But as soon as Arizona stands, she's wobbly on her heels. It's bad enough that the prosthetic for wearing a heel isn't quite comfortable, nor does she use it very often.

"Woah, no. Sit back down." Amelia shakes her head and pushes Arizona back down gently. She assists April in putting the food onto serving platters.

"Alright guys, dinners ready!" April calls across the vast house. Jo and Stephanie come into the kitchen to help set out the platters.

A pager goes off and everyone looks down almost simultaneously.

"Oh shoot." Callie mutters. "I'm so sorry. I've got to go in."

"Well, it was uhm nice meeting all of you." Penny states mechanically.

"No, no you should stay. It's just a consult. I'll be back before you know it." Callie insists. "Shouldn't she stay guys?"

There's a few mutters of 'yeah' and 'sure' but Amelia takes the wheel, wanting to show there's absolutely no bad blood.

"Of course. Don't worry! We'll look after her. You go!" Amelia waves off Callie and steers the redhead to the table, giving her no choice but to stay.

Once they're all settled, the guests end up falling into the pattern of trying to get to know Penny.

"So, you said you were in between gigs. So you're a doctor?" Amelia starts, chewing a bite of chicken and chasing it down with a sip of water.

Penny nods, swallowing a sip of wine. "Resident actually." She freezes, fork midway to her mouth and Amelia notices the icy stare Meredith is leveling at their guest from across the table.

"S-so, I was working at a small place near the sound. It was shut down and I was accepted into a new residency program. The one at your hospital actually." Penny continues.

"Penelope Blake! That's where I know you from." Bailey shouts from across the table.

"Now who's drunk?" Arizona giggles under her breath and Amelia just places a hand on her arm, making sure the blonde is drinking lots of water.

"I had an interview with you scheduled in my calendar." Bailey finishes, shushing Arizona.

"T-that's right." Penny's cheeks are flush, and it's in that exact moment that the awkwardness finally reaches it's breaking point.

The sound of a fork clattering to the floor is the first jarring sound.

"You can't be serious?" Meredith asks Bailey, harshly. She turns to Penny. "Tell me she isn't serious?!"

Meredith stands and pushes her chair back.

"Mer what-" Alex begins to ask. Everyone looks back and forth between a flustered Penny and a furious Meredith.

"Perfect Penny killed my husband."

Amelia's heart jumps in her throat and her head starts to spin. She looks to Meredith and then levels a stare right at Penny. "I'm sorry, what?"

And so the drama begins...

Hopefully I did the dinner party justice and it amused you guys a bit. I had a lot of fun writing it!

Now for some angst!