A/N: Sad feels ahead. Some heartwarming feels too, though. Enjoy! And thanks for all the reviews, guys! You're all super awesome!

Callie sat at her desk shuffling papers around and staring distractedly at her phone in hopes of a message back from Arizona, or to at least hear from Aria how she was doing.

Callie and Arizona had been texting back and forth since they had initially exchanged numbers and it had been happening more and more frequently the less time they got to hang out together. They never really talked about anything overly personal, most of their respective issues weren't something to be shared in a message, but they took the time to get to know one another, eagerly absorbing any bit of information about the other that they could. They'd ask how each other's days went and share summarized versions of any stories their day had given them and laugh or complain together depending on what the occasion called for. Arizona would give Callie messages to pass along to Ben and Callie would pass along pleasantries for Mark or check if her sister would be coming home. They were comfortable communicating back and forth like this; they had a nice, pretty, pink, happy little bubble. They didn't want to pop the bubble, it was safe in the bubble; real word issues didn't exist in the bubble, the bubble was good, the bubble was really good.

It had come to the point where the text to no-text ratio from Arizona would noticeably affect Calliope's mood when everything about the situation finally hit her and she realized, yet again, that things had to change. She couldn't keep doing this to Ben. She couldn't keep doing this to herself. She would be damned if she let this go on any longer, she had given Erica more than enough chances.

She grabbed her phone to call Erica when she noticed that she received a message while she was lost in thought.

Cal – won't be home tonight – have your sister come get Ben from the hospital in the waiting room or daycare depending on the time

If she hadn't been at the tipping point before she had certainly just been catapulted over the edge and into the chasm. Her blood boiled. There were so many things wrong with that message. She had begun to wonder if Erica taking Ben to the hospital was a common occurrence and the thought only served to make her even angrier, because it was entirely plausible, knowing Erica.

She called Erica with her jaw set and – not surprisingly – went straight to voicemail. It took a lot of self-control not to slam the phone against her desk and start speaking Spanish, she clenched and unclenched her muscles while waiting for the "beep".

"Home. Tonight. Not a question. Me and my son will be packing our things whether or not you decide to show up. There's your warning."

She regretted not using her desk phone, she wanted to satisfaction of slamming the phone down instead of angrily tapping a screen. She squeezed the phone in her palm and closed her eyes trying to reign in her temper. She was still at work, and she sure as hell wasn't going to let anything screw up that part of her life too.

Her phone vibrated in her hand and she hoped it would be Erica saying she'd be coming home and they could properly discuss their separation, because there was no negotiation at this point. A simple division of estate, she thought coldly. Callie had a huge heart, but if you managed to cause this much damage, the offending tumour would be entirely removed, and that's what it felt like now, a tumour; manifesting inside of her and sucking part of her away, while on the outside everything seemed the same.

As she finally got to unlocking her phone and checking her messages her heart dropped. Arizona and Mark are at the hospital. She started grabbing her things to rush to the hospital, her mind running through all of the trouble the pair could have gotten into and all the different scenarios that could have led to them ending up there when her phone vibrated to let her know the next message had come through. It's *only* a broken arm for each of them…you could have led with that Aria…

Callie dropped back into her chair relieved that their injuries weren't life threatening. For a sliver of a minute she admitted to herself that she might have overreacted before waiting for Aria to further explain, but her body and mind were humming with excess energy and pent up emotions, she couldn't really help it.

She confirmed with Aria that they would indeed be okay and making sure they knew that all they needed to do was call if they needed her before letting her mind slip back to the Erica problem. Deciding that, aside from the tragic circumstances, the three of them being at the hospital could work out for the best: they were already there, they could pick up Ben and then get to spend time together. Surely that would make her little man a happy camper and help to cheer up Arizona and Mark…

Hey, you mind taking Benny to Zona's so I can talk to Erica tonight? Have a sleepover or w/e

No prob, he'll be ecstatic…so will the big kids…good luck xx

thanks. Erica said they're at the hospital, so I'm guessing the daycare is where he'll be

sure. you ok cal?

no. but I'm working on it. if you see Erica tell her I left a msg for her.

x-x

Mark, Erica and Christina gaped in shock as they watched Ben and Arizona.

Mark was having a hard time absorbing everything they had just found out, and wanted nothing more than to know what to do to be there for the two dimpled blondes who had recently made a home in his heart.

Christina really didn't want to be involved in anyone else's drama, especially not any more so than she already was. She couldn't contain the gasp when she was struck by just how similar the two blondes actually were though. Yet, as much as she wanted the gossip, she was definitely going to take the first opportunity she could to sneak out of that elevator; something everyone else seemed to be failing to do.

Erica's eyebrows shot up as she watched the two embrace, she honestly just wanted to grab the next flight out of state and be done with all of this. She didn't feel any jealously or resentment towards the other blonde woman for what she was witnessing, if anything she felt slightly relieved.

"…Zona?" Ben leaned backwards in her hold to look at her as his little head slightly tilted and his face scrunched up to study her. She seemed different. He'd briefly noticed the casts on Mark and Arizona but it didn't look like she had the boo-boo kind of sad.

She swallowed thickly and met his gaze, determined not to break down in front of anyone, especially not Benjamin "Yeh little man?"

"Don't be sad." He leaned back into her, hugging her and resting his head against the nook of her neck.

Her lip quivered and she held him tight. The elevator doors had begun to close again and someone had once again hit the button to stop the elevator.

"Wait – " The ever sensitive Christina burst as realization hit her... "…all that's left of Timothy…"

"Your brother died?" Her voice softened at the end, possibly because she was now the subject of three steely glares.

She watched as Arizona simply nodded and was morbidly curious as to how this twisted story was going to end. She really wanted to see someone kick Hahn's ass…and she'd never say it out loud, but she wanted a happy ending for the others that were involved in Hahn's sick little game.

Ben had been set back down when it became too much for Arizona's casted arm to continuing holding him. Between the two blonde women's glares it looked like fire and ice were going to consume the elevator, taking down anyone who dare get in the way.

Christina quickly decided that sticking around wasn't worth weathering the impending storm and hit the button for the elevator and cautiously moved forward. By natural reaction Mark and Ben followed, assuming they were all getting off now.

Arizona and Erica remained on opposite sides of the steel box, not so much as flinching. Erica wasn't going to admit to any wrong doing, and this wasn't a fight Arizona could walk away from. The still stood unblinking as the elevator doors began closing.

"Wait Ar'Zona!"

Sloan and Yang turned at the sound of the little voice, the colour disappearing from their faces as they saw the two angry blondes at a deadlock and the little flash of blonde slipping through the elevator doors before they could close.

Mark quickly launched himself to repeatedly poke the elevator button, praying that the doors it wasn't too late and the doors would open back up. "Dammit!" he growled and punched the wall.

x-x

"Look – " Erica slapped the button to stop the elevator once again.

Arizona looked down with wide eyes to the small boy clinging to her leg and then back up to Erica. Was she really going to do this with Ben right there?

"I don't like you, and you don't like me. Let's just get agree to disagree." Apparently she was.

Arizona's body stiffened as she tried to keep what little cool she had left. She gently, yet firmly placed a hand on Ben's head over his ear with the other ear pressed against her leg, hoping that would be enough to keep him from hearing things that he shouldn't have to find out this way…or ever.

"Tell me. Tell me how it came to this." Her voice left no room for argument, almost daring Erica to see what would happen if she didn't.

x-x Around 4 years ago x-x

Erica had been paged down to the ER to do a consult on a soldier experiencing chest pain and was getting more and more irritated. Not only did she consider checking on 'simple chest pain' to be a waste of her time, she had heard from some of the nurses on the way down that this soldier didn't even seem to be suffering at all and the only trouble he was experiencing was which nurse he'd end up leaving with.

And to top it all off, she and Callie had been arguing about having children for two weeks now. Erica didn't want kids. She wasn't the mothering type, nor did she want to be. Her career was what was important to her, it was just who she was and that was what had initially drawn her to Callie; they both knew what they wanted, got it, and made a name for themselves in their respective fields. She didn't have to worry about explaining why she had to stay late or go to the hospital before the sun was up because Callie understood dedicating yourself to your work, and they looked good together, they were a power couple with beauty and brains, and Erica enjoyed being able to say that Callie was hers. Sure, she had known that Callie said she always wanted a family, but Erica thought that she'd either grow out of it or they'd no longer be together when the time came. Now Callie was ready for children, with or without her, and she wasn't ready to give Callie up yet.

So she stood leaning against the desk and stewing while she watched the soldier charm the nurses that seemed to gravitate towards him. Sure, she could see it…he was very good looking, those dimples would probably win over his intended target even if he didn't so much as utter a word or bat an eyelash, and he was clearly a smooth talker, therefor making him somewhat manipulative but by her reasoning, that also meant he was very smart and clearly knows what he wants and gets it. She could appreciate that.

The wheels were turning in her head as she made her way over to the soldier's bed. They exchanged pleasantries and in a move that was rather bold, she thought, he propositioned her to 'play doctor' and made some pretty hefty claims about his prowess.

She matched his confidence and flat out told him that he was the wrong gender for her and without missing a beat he had made a comment about mixing things up and being adventurous. He even admitted to only being in the ER to receive his doctors' note after having sustained some injuries a few months ago during training.

She didn't bother to kick him out as the ER was rather slow anyway. She rattled off all the typical medical history questions as she checked on his old injuries while he continued to hit on her. She had to admit that if guys were her thing she already would have caved. 'Hmmm…bold…confident…good looking…intelligent…no history of medical conditions in him or the family…' she mused 'if Cal really wants this kid it is going to have to be smart as well as good looking…can't very well ask a stranger for a sperm donation though…' She sighed "Excuse me one moment, would you" and left before he got a chance to reply.

While Tim spent the time that Erica had stepped out calculating his game plan, he knew his confidence would likely go a long way with this woman. He cursed himself for being so stubborn and competitive when it came to this challenge with his sister; sure this doctor was good looking, but this was a lot of work for a one-time thing, and he sure as hell didn't want it to be more than that…the woman would make an excellent villain in any of his Arizona's Disney movies, or could have even been, he was sure of it. He snickered at the irony of her being a heart doctor without a heart and quickly called his sister to make sure that this wasn't one of her previous conquests (an unspoken rule they had made) and by the time came back in he would be ready to win her over.

Erica, meanwhile, had went to find Montgomery and discuss how it would work if her and Callie were to have a baby and tried to explain the scenario she had in her head without giving details.

She just said that she had an old close friend that would be in town for the next few hours and had said he would be willing to give them what they need and made up some excuse about him not wanting to be near hospitals or be around the couple for fear of getting attached to the child-to-be and that she wanted to surprise Callie; she even impressed herself with how the lies were so easily flowing.

Addison briefly explained what would need to happen, as well as the timeline, and handed Erica a cup and told her that she'd even clear her schedule if Erica wanted to bring Callie in today. She had heard of the baby drama through the hospital grapevine and was glad that Erica and her partner were working things out; if this "baby daddy" was only going to be in town today then she would do her best to help them accommodate that.

With a quick call to Callie reciting her made up spiel and saying that if she can get over to the hospital this afternoon that they could have a child, she made her way back to . She wasn't exactly surprised when he hit on her again before they even resumed his examination, but he was certainly surprised by her response.

This might be easier than she thought. She narrowed her eyes and looked up from her clipboard "Tell you what, soldier. You cum in this cup…" she pulled the cup Addison had given her from the pocket of her lab coat and tossed it to the young man "and we can go on that date, or…whatever it was that you were suggesting" She hadn't really been paying all that much attention to anything she deemed irrelevant.

Timothy grinned, knowing he had won this one "A cup and a date? Where's the fun in that, Doctor?" His eyes twinkled with mirth as he toyed with the cup "How about a date with you, me and this cup in a private room here?" He wasn't entirely sure where the cup came into play, but assumed it was some sort of weird doctor/patient kink and he wasn't about to say no at this point. He still had no intention of seeing this woman outside of the hospital.

She narrowed her eyes at him before quickly scanning the area to make sure no one was watching and grabbed the man by his hand to drag him to an on call room. She figured if fooling around with this guy for 10 minutes was all it took to keep Callie then she'd do it, she'd just picture him being one of the ortho nurses instead.

"We do this by my rules…" She quickly shoved him inside of the room and got to work. Little did she realize that there had been not one, but two sets of eyes suspiciously tracking her and the soldier's movements from the ER to the on call room.

It was over and done in no time. Erica had been with men before and knew what she needed to do to get what she wanted, she tried to show some consideration for Tim but he still left the room grumbling. He was certainly expecting more from the encounter.

He left the hospital with his doctor's note in one hand and his phone in the other, calling his sister to complain about the lame time he'd had at the hospital.

Callie passed through the entrance going into the hospital as Tim was heading out, briefly acknowledging each other's existence in passing.

That afternoon, despite the odds of Erica's ridiculous plan backfiring, they had started what was supposed to be their family.

Their meeting with Addison went well in spite of the lack of planning beforehand and before they knew it they had several positive pregnancy tests lined up on their bathroom counter.

x-x

Arizona's vision blurred as she gulped, as if she could somehow swallow the irreparable damage and make it disappear. Timothy had died a year and a half after that…he never got to come back…he didn't know he… She couldn't bear to think about it. Her body started trembling enough to cause Ben to look up at her and she could have sworn she saw a fleeting moment of panic on Erica's face.

"…how could you? All this time…" it barely came out as a whisper

"He flirted with anyone with breasts. He didn't exactly scream of someone – "

"Don't."

Erica shrugged "I got what I wanted. He got what he wanted. There's no – "

"Don't."

"He wasn't – "

"You do not get to talk about Timothy. You don't know a damn thing about him! He was a great man, a great man, and don't you dare say otherwise."

Erica narrowed her eyes and hit the button for the elevator to resume its journey again, wisely choosing not to say anything. Only a curt nod of her head and brief acknowledgement of Arizona's parting words offered before leaving the suffocating box.

"He was a good man in a storm…a great man in a storm…you…you can't even see past the raindrops on your own eyelashes…"

Arizona just stood there, little Ben still attached to her leg and being patient and understanding beyond his years.

Erica was gone. Just nodded and left after dropping a bomb…and all Arizona could think of was her Grandfather on the USS Arizona, saving all those men after bomb dropped…Timothy doing the same on his own metaphorical ship, doing his best to save everyone he could…and Erica Hahn, sealing the hatches, sealing in those she's supposed to protect the most, effectively trapping them as her ship went down. Now it was up to her.