A/N: I'm so sorry this took so long. I just have not been in much of a writing mood. Not to mention when I did write, I'd decide after writing whole scenes that they were too repetitive (I mean how many times can Arizona be angsty about her arm to different people only to have them tell her to be patient?) so I'd toss them. Hopefully the next update won't take so long, but I'm not promising anything. Sorry!

Thanks as always for the comments. I know I'm never going to hit the nail on the head for everyone as to how the characters react. But I write the characters the way I interpret them, and that's enough for me. I just hope it rings true for some of you.

Chapter Ten

Callie made an airplane noise as she moved the spoon around in large circular motions on its way into Sofia's open mouth. "You do so love this cereal," Callie said with a quiet laugh as she watched her daughter's contented face as she worked to swallow the mush.

"Let's enjoy it while we can," Mark said from where he was standing at the stove watching over a skillet filled with amazing-smelling bacon. "Before long she'll be making a mess when she tries to feed herself and then after that comes the three to four years of nothing but chicken nuggets."

Callie chuckled as she loaded up the spoon again. "Well at least chicken nuggets are easy to microwave. My mom always reminds me how I went through about two straight years of a plantain addiction. She was constantly cooking them for me."

"Speaking of your mother, have you talked to her yet?"

Callie rolled her eyes. "No, but I do need to call her this morning. Arizona made me promise I'd set up a time to talk with her before I go back to the hospital." She reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone. "Guess there's no time like the present, huh?" She stared at the phone for a moment, trying to psych herself up to make the call. She had so many mixed emotions when it came to her mother, and with all the other emotions currently swirling around in her, having to deal with this was really not something she felt like she wanted to do. You promised Arizona, she told herself as she sighed and dialed. She held the phone up to her ear with her shoulder while continuing to feed Sofia. Focusing on her daughter helped balance out the apprehension she felt.

The phone only rang once before being answered. "Calliope?" Her mother's voice was hesitant, almost fearful.

"Hi, Mom. I'm sorry I haven't called earlier."

"Oh, honey, no. You need to focus on Arizona right now. My timing stinks I know. How is she?" She sounded concerned but it was hard to know how sincere she was over the phone.

"She's doing better. There's still a way to go, but she's stable. I'll know more when I get back over there this morning." Callie took a deep breath, trying so hard to push aside the hurt and pain she'd harbored toward her mother since her wedding. "Look, do you think we can meet up today, maybe get some lunch?"

"I don't need to get back to Miami right away. If you want to wait a few days until Arizona is doing better, I can wait." There was a quiet sigh. "I know I've messed up a lot here, Calliope." There was a pause before she continued. "And I know your family needs to be your top priority."

Callie was torn by her mother's reaction. There was a part of her that wanted to hold on to the hurt and the anger over how her mother had reacted before the wedding. And that part of her wasn't sure if her mother was just saying the right thing to say it. But then there was a larger part of her that really wanted to repair their relationship and find a way to be in each other's lives, and that part heard her mother's words and was buoyed by the sentiment. She made the decision to give her mother the benefit of the doubt, at least for now. "Arizona is my top priority right now, but I want to talk with you and I can find the time. Besides, Arizona was the one who told me I had to make time to talk to you."

"That's wonderful of her," Lucia said. "She seems like she's very supportive."

"She is. That's what a wife does," Callie said, with a definite emphasis on the word wife.

"Yes, that's very true," Lucia said, but there was just a hint of tension in her voice.

She's still not really comfortable with that. Callie took a deep breath to keep any irritation out of her voice. "Look, I need to get Sofia ready and get back to the hospital. How about I meet you at the hotel around noon? It's probably easiest if we just catch lunch there."

"Why don't you come up to our room? We can get room service and have a real chance to talk." There was a pause and then Callie could hear some muffled talking, as if her mother were blocking the phone while she talked to someone in the room. "Your father says he's got a few friends to visit while he's in town, so we'll have the room to ourselves."

For a moment Callie wondered if her mother was embarrassed to talk about her gay daughter or her bastard granddaughter in public. It was too easy to go back and remember how uncomfortable her mother had been less than a year before. She had little doubt that there was still some of that at play in her mother's desire to meet in private. But then she also considered the fact that they really needed to have a heart to heart and it would be easier for both of them if they had some privacy. "Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. I'll be over at noon."

"Okay, mija. We're in suite 1201."

"1201. Okay, I'll see you later." She waited for her mother to say her farewell before hanging up and sighing quietly. "I guess that went as well as possible. She at least acknowledged that I have a family and that it's important."

Mark came over to the table, two plates of amazing smelling food in his hands. "She's trying."

"I know. And I will hear her out. But if she hasn't budged on her medieval beliefs, I'm done, Mark. I can't keep hoping she's seen the light and then have it all come crashing down again." She picked up a piece of bacon and munched on it, smiling at the salty goodness. "Thanks for breakfast."

"No problem. And let's not worry about your mother for now, okay? Let's just enjoy all the artery-clogging food on our plates and spend some time with our daughter. The rest of the world can wait for a few minutes."

Callie squinted at Mark. "You've become really kind of mature and wise lately. Have you been replaced by an alien or robot or something?"

"Well, I could prove to you that I'm still me," he began as that familiar playful glint came to his eyes. "No alien or robot would ever have my sexual skills, but to prove that would require us to have a little roll in the hay and I know that's verboten." He smiled, clearly joking with her.

She groaned and rolled her eyes. "Nope, you're still you."

They both laughed and went back to eating their breakfast.

Arizona stared up at the ceiling and tried to force her brain to quiet down. It's the inflammation. Just the inflammation. Still it just did not seem to work and she rolled her eyes in frustration. She looked down at her left arm again, struggling to force her fingers to move, but nothing happened. She let out a long breath and felt tears run down the side of her face. "Dammit!"

"Hey, watch that language."

Callie's joking rebuke made Arizona's head pop up to find her wife standing in the doorway, a bright yet hesitant smile on her face. All the tension and frustration she had been feeling fell away in that moment of seeing the one person she knew would always be there for her and she felt her own smile come brightly to her lips. "Well, I guess the one advantage to being here and not at home is I'm allowed to cuss with no baby in earshot." Just the casual mention of their daughter brought a hint of the tension back as she felt the absence of Sofia in her daily routine. "How is our baby girl today?"

"Good," Callie said as she came more fully into the room. She took a moment to place a duffel bag and a plastic shopping bag down on the guest chair before coming over to Arizona's bedside. "She's eating like pig, but she misses her mama, that's for sure."

"I miss her, too," Arizona said as she reached out and took Callie's hand. "I missed you, too."

"Me, too," Callie said as she leaned down and gave Arizona a kiss that lingered for a few tender moments. "Good morning. How are you feeling?"

Arizona looked up into the deep brown eyes, just inches away, that stared into her own and were so full of concern and love it almost took her breath away. She reminded herself for likely the millionth time just that week how lucky and truly blessed she was to have found Callie and have this amazing woman as part of her life. More so now than ever. I can't imagine going through this without her. "I'm feeling a lot better. I haven't even needed an extra hit of morphine yet today. And that includes all the jostling around with my morning blood work and scans."

"How'd that all go?" Callie asked as she stood back up and pulled the side barricade down off the bed so she could sit down right next to Arizona. She instantly took up Arizona's hand and played with her fingers absently as she focused her attention on her wife.

"Not bad. I was surprised I wasn't in more pain through all the moving from bed to gurney and back. Webber oversaw most of it. He said something about Bailey being in late because of car trouble. I guess once she gets in and gets up to speed, we'll hear. They only brought me back a few minutes ago and she still wasn't here as far as I know."

"Good," Callie said as she smiled. "That gives us time for me to pamper you a bit."

Arizona's interest was piqued and she smiled. "Pamper?"

Callie got up and grabbed the shopping bag she had brought with her, bringing it over to the rolling table next to Arizona's bed. "I stopped by the store and picked up a few things to help you freshen up." She pulled out a toothbrush and some toothpaste, a small container of the skin cream Arizona used, and a container of dry shampoo. "I figured you'd prefer I be the one to give you a sponge bath rather than one of the nurses. And I brought a few of your favorite things to enhance the experience. It'll be a few days before you can really bathe, after all."

Arizona's smile brightened with each item that Callie pulled out of the bag. While she had been cleaned up at some point while she was unconscious, she still felt just a little icky from being in bed constantly with no way to even wash her face. "Have I told you how much I love you lately?"

"Not today," Callie said with a bright grin. She leaned over and gave Arizona another light kiss. "And I love you, too. Besides, I'm not being entirely unselfish here. You are just a tad ripe right now," she said with a playful crinkle of her nose.

Arizona rolled her eyes but couldn't help laughing. "But, more seriously, thank you for getting my favorite toothpaste and the lotion. The stuff they have here is just nasty."

"I remember it all too well," Callie said as she went over to the cabinet below the sink and pulled out the basin and the other supplies needed for a hospital-approved sponge bath. "I just wish I didn't have to use this stuff," she said as she held up the body wash.

"Well, let's just put it on the to-do list to ask someone to approve something less abrasive as soon as my incisions have healed enough," Arizona suggested.

Callie nodded as she placed the final items needed on the side table. She then went and pulled the curtain that ran along the front of the ICU room. The staff all knew to knock before entering a room with the curtain closed, so this would afford them some much needed privacy. Not that Arizona was ready for anything other than lying around and allowing Callie to get her cleaned up, but it was also just nice to be completely alone with one another.

Callie filled the basin with water and took a moment to wash her hands. As she brought the basin over to the bedside table she whispered, "Don't tell on me that I'm not going to wear gloves."

Arizona smiled brightly as she nodded. "It'll be our little secret."

Callie took her time to gently slide the sponge along Arizona's skin while making small talk. Arizona was grateful for the distraction of their conversation, because her skin felt like it was on overload. Every touch was like electric coursing through her, but not in the way Callie's touch normally affected her. It wasn't sexual at all. Instead, it was just so full of caring that it caused an amazing amount of emotion to well up in Arizona, so much so that she found herself on the edge of tears.

Callie must have noticed, because she stopped and looked down at Arizona with a worried furrow to her brow. "Are you okay? Did I hurt you?"

Arizona had to swallow to get beyond the lump that was in her throat and she shook her head quickly to try to counter Callie's worry. "No, not at all." She smiled as Callie reached up and ran a finger right under Arizona's eyes to catch the tears just starting to spill out. "It's just we've come so close to losing one another a few times now. I'm just so happy we're both still here with each other."

Callie drew in a sharp breath and Arizona could see the emotion play across her face. She tossed the sponge into the wash basin and sat down on the side of Arizona's bed. "I don't ever want to know what it's like to live without you."

"Can you promise me something?" Arizona had faced both the prospect of Callie dying and her own death in less than a year, and it made her realize she needed to get something off her chest. It was incredibly selfish, she knew, but for some reason it was important to her in that moment. "Promise me that if anything happens to me and you're ready to get out and date again that you will date anyone but Mark."

Callie broke out in laughter. "Well, besides the fact that I'd rather we not talk about anything happening to you or to me for that matter, I guess I can promise that. No dating Mark. No friends with benefits either."

Arizona laughed along with her. "I'll even promise you that if you die first, I won't date Mark either."

Callie's laughter continued even as she rolled her eyes. "You still suck at jokes."

"Then why are you laughing?" Arizona knew full well Callie found her funny. Their shared sense of humor was one of the first things that had made Arizona know this relationship could go somewhere even when she had doubts about dating someone so new to being with women.

"You got me." Callie admitted as she slid closer to Arizona on the bed. She leaned down so their faces were only a few inches apart. "You've always got me," she whispered before placing a gentle kiss on Arizona's lips. When they pulled apart, she was more sober. "And, seriously, I do promise no Mark, okay?" She bit at her lip and Arizona saw it tremble slightly. "But, really, let's not talk about this. It's all a little too fresh."

Arizona blinked at the vulnerability that was in Callie's voice. "I'm sorry. I—" She took a deep breath. "I'll do my best not to go anywhere anytime soon, okay? I mean, I landed a damn plane to get back to you and Sofia. I'd walk through Hell itself if I had to."

"Me too," Callie whispered. She then got a glint in her eye. "In fact, I'm going to walk through Hell at your request later today. I'm having lunch with my mother."

"I'm glad." Arizona reached up and cupped Callie's cheek. "And keep an open mind, okay?"

"I promise."

"Okay." It felt good to have an honest discussion with Callie, to address some of the issues that were weighing heavily on her, so Arizona decided she'd tackle the elephant that she felt in the room. "I'm sorry about our fight. Before the crash. I shouldn't have run off like that." She bit at her lip.

Callie's eyes went wide for a moment before she looked down at where her fingers were suddenly picking nervously at the blanket on Arizona's bed. "I pushed your buttons once you said you didn't want to get pregnant. I should never use Timothy against you in a fight. That was so wrong of me. I know that and I'm sorry." She finally looked up at Arizona. "And I know bringing Mark into it was dumb. My mouth opened before my brain had a moment to think about it."

Arizona nodded. "Thank you for your apology and I forgive you for bringing Timothy into it. I know you didn't mean to hurt me. But, look, I'm still not sure how I feel about being the one to get pregnant. I still need some time to figure that out. But I do know that whether you get pregnant or I get pregnant, I don't want Mark to be the sperm donor. It's not that I don't love him, because I do." She reached down and took Callie's hand in her own. "I just want to have the chance to have a child with just the two of us involved." She laughed quietly. "Well at least until our kid is eighteen and wants to meet the sperm donor."

"I get that," Callie said as she cupped Arizona's right hand between both of her own. "I mean the only thing that sucks about being married to you is the fact that we can't just have a child on our own." She smiled broadly. "Because, let's face it, if science could find a way for two women to somehow have a kid, we'd have some pretty beautiful kids."

Arizona smiled at the thought. "Yeah, your dominant dark Latina genes would likely overpower my recessive northern European ones, so our kids would probably look basically like you." She thought about that for a moment and smiled. "Yup, I'd say they'd be beautiful then."

Callie rolled her eyes with an amused look on her face. "Ah, you're even a charming flirt while laid up in a hospital bed." She then got a little more serious. "But back to the matter at hand. I agree I want to have our next child be just about you and me and our family. No sperm donations from anyone we know. I love having Mark in Sofia's life, but it would be nice to have the chance to share a future pregnancy just with you."

"Thank you. And I promise I'll think more about the question of being the one who gets pregnant if you can't." She shrugged with a quiet puff of laughter. "I've got little else to do for huge chunks of my day while I'm stuck here, after all."

"No, I should be the one to thank you," Callie said as she leaned down and gave Arizona a soft kiss. She then rested their foreheads together. "When you're ready, we'll talk about it like mature adults and come to a decision that works for both of us. And I promise I won't push you to do something you don't want to do."

Arizona looked into Callie's eyes. "I love you, Calliope."

"I love you, too," Callie whispered before giving her another kiss and sitting back up. "So, any more serious topics of discussion before I finish cleaning you up?"

"Nope," Arizona responded with a broad grin. She motioned with her head to the wash basin. "Why don't you warm that up a bit and get back to my sponge bath? Bailey could be here any minute now and I want to enjoy this as much as I can before then."

Callie stood up and picked up the basin so she could take it over to the sink for a refill. "Your wish is my command."

Lucia smiled at Callie as she opened the hotel room door. "Calliope, I'm so glad to see you." She hesitated awkwardly before taking a step back so that Callie could walk into the room.

"It's good to see you, too," Callie said, also feeling unsure how to act around her mother. She considered breaking the ice by hugging her, as they normally would when seeing each other, but then she remembered why they were in this awkward position in the first place. She walked into the room, noticing the room service cart sitting over near a small table by the window. "You ordered?"

"I hope you don't mind," her mother said as she closed the door and went over toward the table. "I figured you'd want to get back to the hospital as soon as possible and sometimes it can take a while to get room service. I ordered you chicken marsala."

"That's fine."

They sat down and began eating in silence. Callie kept shooting her mother looks as she ate her lunch, unsure whether she should start and finally deciding that she would be stubborn. She's the one who needs to apologize, so she needs to start.

Finally her mother put her fork down and took a long drink of water before clearing her throat. "I've been planning on coming out to see you the last few weeks, to talk, but work got busy. I'm sorry I didn't come sooner so we could have talked about this at a better time."

"Okay," Callie said slowly, with a measure of uncertainty in her voice. "What did you want to say?"

Lucia took a deep breath and then turned to face Callie more directly. "I've given things more thought and I've prayed about it. I've prayed about it a lot. I talked to Father Kevin, to Monseigneur Augustino and even to this new nun in the parish, Sister Mary Francis. Calliope, I realize now that it's not my place to judge. I can't know how God will judge you and so really all I can do is love you. And I do, mija, I love you so much."

Callie watched her mother's facial expressions and realized she was being totally sincere. That at least was a relief, but still, a mother should love her daughter. Her mother wasn't offering anything special by telling her that. The real question was could her mother love her daughter's life and choices. "And what about Arizona? What about Sofia? You can't be in my life without also being in their lives. You said it earlier. We're a family now. And that makes us a package deal."

Lucia's eyes fell for a moment before she looked back up at Callie. "I'm not going to lie. I wish you had married a man, in the Church, and had a family. That's the dream I had for you from the time you were born."

Callie started to say something, but Lucia held up her hand to stop her.

"Please, just let me finish." Lucia reached out to gently touch Callie's hand. "Yes, that was the dream I had for you, but the most important part of that dream was that you would find someone who truly loved you and that you would be happy. And I know that Arizona loves you, deeply and truly loves you. I was here long enough to see that, even if maybe at the time I didn't want to believe it. And your father has made a point of reminding me how much she loves you on almost a daily basis. And you're happy, right?"

The question instantly made Callie smile. "Arizona really does make me happy. And I love her, more than I've ever loved anyone. Way more."

Lucia smiled genuinely at that. "I'm glad you're happy. So, yes, I can accept Arizona and Sofia as part of your life and part of mine. Life isn't always what we dream it will be, but that doesn't mean we turn our backs on what comes of it." She paused for a moment, her eyes drifting back down to the table, and then said, "I do have a very small 'but' to add, though."

"Uh oh." Callie had just allowed herself to be hopeful for the relationship she had with her mother and already she was throwing a monkey wrench into the situation. "I'm kind of afraid to ask."

"I'm very Catholic. I don't think that's news to anyone. And, so, while I can accept that you are in a loving and committed relationship with Arizona, one that you plan to last the rest of your lives, I just can't call it a marriage." She cringed slightly, as if she were waiting for Calliope to snap back at her.

But Callie instantly knew where her mother was going. "It's a sacrament, and I didn't get married in the Church."

Lucia nodded. "To be truly honest, I didn't think of you and George as being married either. Not really. I just was afraid to say anything about it, because I didn't want to upset you."

Callie laughed quietly. "I guess the Church of Elvis isn't exactly St. Peter's."

Lucia shook her head. "No, it's not. So, can you accept that I have to draw the line there? That I want to have you and Arizona and Sofia in my life? I will support your family and the life you are building. I want to be your mother again and I do want to get to know my granddaughter. I just can't call Arizona your wife. I'm sorry that I can't."

Callie sighed heavily. "I'm not going to stop calling her my wife, even around you, because she is my wife. It doesn't matter what the Church says or what the law says. I made vows before God, the same vows I would have made in a church, and those promises and that love that I feel, that is what makes a marriage." She paused and considered what her mother was asking. As much as she wished her mother could back her fully on this, she understood why her mother felt this way. Just as her mother might not like every choice Callie made, she had to respect her mother's life as well and try to come to terms with what she did not agree with. "I guess we can agree to disagree on this, as long as you're supportive of our relationship overall. If you can treat Arizona like your daughter-in-law, even if you maybe can't use those words, I guess that's better than nothing. I want you in my life, Mom. I want you in Sofia's life and I want you to get a chance to get to really know Arizona, because she's such an amazing person. So, yes, I can accept that line. I may not like it, but I can accept it."

Lucia smiled. "Thank you. And I'm not saying I'm done evolving on this. I promise to keep working on it."

Callie smiled at that. "Okay, and thank you for continuing to work on it. But what about the whole 'baby born out of wedlock' thing?" Callie was really worried if she didn't get all the answers from her mother, if she didn't find out how she truly felt, that there would be other shoes that would drop down the road, and Callie didn't want that to happen.

"Again, it's not how I would have liked you to have a child. And I suspect that you would have preferred her to have been conceived in love and because you wanted her and not because you were hurting that Arizona left."

Callie nodded. "I can't regret what happened, because it gave me my daughter, and she's so wonderful. But I would have rather had her because Arizona and I planned it together, yes."

Lucia squeezed Callie's hands. "Exactly. But she's here and she's your daughter. I can't hold it against her how she came to be. And you all love her so much. Heck, Mark couldn't stop talking about her on the way from the airport. What's done is done and it's not my place to judge what happened. So, yes, I would like to get to know my granddaughter and be a part of her life."

There was still the tiniest part of Callie that was hesitant to take this newly enlightened version of her mother seriously. "So, you really don't think I'm going to Hell because I'm in a relationship with a woman and had a child out of wedlock? What if I have more kids out of wedlock? I'm going to have to since you don't feel I'm actually married and we do want more kids."

Lucia frowned and there were tears in her eyes as she met Callie's gaze. "Sister Mary Francis and I had a few long discussions about this. Everyone is a sinner, Calliope. But as she pointed out, you have no malice in your heart when it comes to your love for Arizona or your daughter. That all stems from love. And I like to think that God takes motivations into account when he's judging someone. You are such a good person, such an amazing person. You save lives and rebuild bodies. You went off to Africa with the Peace Corps when you could have just sat on South Beach and spent our money like most of our friends' kids. And you've built a family based on love. I don't know what God will do, but I hope He'll see all that. I felt like I had all the answers and I don't. I'm not even so sure that what everyone seems to think the Bible says about homosexuality is really what is in there. Sister Mary Francis gave me some great reading material on that question. So, really I don't know and I just can't live my life like I am certain one way or the other. My certainty earlier that God would send you to Hell, well that was just pride on my part. I hope God won't hold that pride against me when it's my time, either."

Callie looked at her mother and did truly believe her. This brought a smile to her face. "Thank you. Thank you not only for coming as far as you have, but for seeking out advice and trying to come to terms with this in the first place. I know it's not easy for you and I love you for it." She stood up and motioned for her mother to do the same. She then went over and wrapped her arms around her mother.

"Thank you, mija. And honey I'm so sorry about Arizona being hurt. I know this was so scary for you. I'm glad all our prayers were answered and she's alive and in such good hands."

Callie felt fresh tears come to her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. She had cried enough in the past few days. "Thank you. It was hard and she still has a lot of recovery ahead of her, but we'll get through it together."

Lucia stepped back from Callie and looked down at the floor for a moment before meeting her daughter's eyes. "Do you think I could see her before I leave town? I want to apologize for how I acted. No matter my opinion on your ceremony, it was still a very special day for you. And I hate to think I might have done something to put a damper on that."

Callie considered letting her mother know exactly how close she had come to cancelling the whole thing, not in small part based on her mother's reaction. But she knew she just wanted to put it all behind her and hope that things could only get better. So, instead she focused on her mother's request. "I'm sure she'd love to see you. And we could spring Sofia from daycare for a little bit so you could see her. If you want."

Lucia's face lit up into a bright smile without a hint of the tension that had hovered over her just the previous year during the wedding preparations. "Yes, I'd like that. I'd like to finally hold her."

"She's getting heavy," Callie said. "So do you want to be Grandma or Abuela? Barbara already claimed Nana, so sorry that's taken."

Lucia smiled with a slight shrug. "Can I be both? I hope you'll teach her Spanish, so whichever she's speaking, then that can be the one she uses." Lucia then tilted her head. "What are you going to be called?"

Callie laughed quietly. "A little while back, Sofia was making nonsense noises, but Arizona is convinced she called her 'mama', so we've decided to go with Arizona being Mama and me being Mommy."

Lucia's smile broadened and again there wasn't a hint of strain in it. "Mommy," she said as if she were trying it out and really liking the sound of it. "I'm sure you're a fantastic mother. I'm very proud of you."

"I'm proud of you, too, Mom." She smiled broadly and then looked back at their unfinished lunch. "Let's eat the rest of this and then we can head over to the hospital, okay? Arizona will be out of ICU by then so we can visit and then we'll go see Sofia."

"Sounds like a plan."

TBC