A/N: Firstly a huge thank you, this story hit 200 followers; for a story that just started out as a one shot that's pretty awesome to me!

Callie was exhausted, after Tim's surgery, she'd immediately been paged into an emergency surgery; a motorbike vs tree incident meaning the patient was left with an arm hanging off and a bad ankle break; both of which required Callie to fix. That meant she'd had to leave Tim's aftercare in the hands of the nurses and one of her residents; it wasn't that she didn't trust them; she'd just wanted to see Tim through till he came round from anaesthetic. More so, she hadn't seen Arizona since she'd been watching in the OR gallery; she knew that she had tried to keep her schedule light too, but Callie wasn't sure whether she had managed to actually keep it that way.

When Callie pushed the double doors of the ortho ward open, she instantly headed to the desk to pick up Tim's chart, her eyes scanning over the post-op notes, a smile spreading across her face when she saw that everything was as it should be. Callie knew that they wouldn't really know if the operation had worked properly for a few weeks when the main healing had passed and Tim could get into therapy, but good post-op results were always a good start to any patients' recovery. Double checking Tim had been put in the same room on the board, Callie headed over, gently pushing the door open so as not to startle Tim if he was asleep. As Callie closed the door quietly behind her she smiled when she took in the sight before her; Tim was still out of it in the bed, his shoulder heavily strapped and held up by one of the hospital arm hooks; next to his bed, Arizona was also fast asleep, her head rested on the bed as both hands grasped firmly around Tim's. Callie took a moment to just take in that sight; a sense of déjà vu creeping in as the position Arizona was in was very reminiscent of when Callie had been first recovering from the car accident. Even now she could remembering the day she woke up vividly; looking down and seeing a blonde mess of hair, her hand slightly numb from where Arizona had been holding it so tight.

Moving silently around the bed, Callie pulled one of the spare blankets out of one of the small drawers in the room, placing it over Arizona. Gently placing a kiss on Arizona's temple, she returned to her work, taking note of the monitor above Tim's bed, pleased to see that everything was exactly as it should've been.

'All good Doc?' Tim's gravelly voice sounded quietly in the room, his eyes blinking furiously as he tried to regain focus without disturbing his sister.

Callie smiled, seeing Tim awake offering another firm step in the right direction, 'Everything looks good.'

Tim just nodded, glancing to his sister he just smiled, wiggling his fingers to relieve the pins and needles that he'd woken up to, 'You should take her home.'

'I will,' Callie said with a smile, signing off on her notes. 'How does it feel?'

'Pretty numb to be honest,' Tim replied. 'That good?'

'I gave you a nerve blocker after I'd closed up, it'll gradually wear off and kind of ease you into the pain rather than you just waking up and being seriously uncomfortable.'

Tim nodded, 'Thank you Callie.'

'It's my job,' Callie replied.

'You know what I mean...thank you for letting me in...you could've reacted very differently when I turned up on the hospital's doorstep.'

Callie just shrugged, 'You're her brother Tim...she missed you every day...I wasn't about to send you away. I mean, I was scared, I knew that it would go one of two ways; either you coming back from the dead would either send us back to square one, or I knew it could potentially save her. I'm very glad my hunch was right and it was the latter.'

Arizona stirred, her body sub-consciously responding to Callie's presence, peaking an eye open, she pushed herself up off of the bed when she saw that Tim was sat up awake.

'Nice of you to join us sleeping beauty,' Tim said with a grin.

'Shut up,' Arizona responded immediately, looking between the two of them. 'How did it go?'

'Good,' Callie replied. 'Everything's as it should be at this stage, we'll know more tomorrow when we take him off of the nerve blockers.' Arizona nodded, smiling at the obvious success of the operation. 'Come on, let's leave him to rest.'

'See you tomorrow T, take it easy and do everything the nurses tell you please?' Arizona said, stretching as she stood up off of the chair.

'I'll be on my best behaviour,' Tim said, with a wink. Although he wouldn't admit it, he was exhausted and would be very happy to just spend the remainder of the evening asleep.

'I'm sure Teddy will come along and give you a bed bath,' Arizona said, smiling when Tim went a deep shade of red at her words.

Callie joined in with Arizona's laughing, saying their goodbyes as they headed out of the ortho ward, 'So you're ok with him and Teddy now?' Callie asked, knowing that the two of them had obviously had some sort of conversation about it when she had been operating on Tim.

Arizona chuckled, 'Yeah, she admitted that she liked him when we in the gallery.'

'I wondered what you two were laughing about.'

'Yeah, that, and she didn't know that I nearly bolted before our relationship even began,' Arizona explained, when Callie looked at her expectantly, she continued. 'The whole newborn thing.'

'Ohhh, that,' Callie said, smiling.

'Yeah, not my finest moment,' Arizona agreed. 'She asked me if I'd always known that you were the one, I told her about my freak out...which I think reassured her that she's not the only hopeless one.'

'You think they'll be good for each other?'

'I hope so,' Arizona replied honestly. 'I don't think there's ever a right time to get over losing the person you love, especially after the way Teddy lost Henry...I mean I felt a bit like a hypocrite saying that.'

'What do you mean?' Callie asked.

'Well I told her that it was time to move on...but if anything happened...to you...I'd never move on...no matter what anyone said to me,' Arizona said honestly. 'Be right back.' Leaving Callie no room to answer, she headed through to the private changing rooms, something that had become routine since the accident; letting Callie see her in just underwear was proving difficult enough, let alone any of the other staff that could walk into the changing rooms.

Callie got changed herself, silently going over what Arizona had just said, knowing full well that she was right. If Arizona hadn't come back from the plane crash...well it just didn't bear thinking about; as hard as it had been since then, she wouldn't trade it for the world, because it meant her wife was still very much alive and they still had a long future together ahead of them.

Callie sat patiently till Arizona appeared around the corner, leaving together as they headed to the day-care to pick up Sof. 'I wouldn't either by the way,' Callie said, reaching out and linking their fingers together.

'Wouldn't what?'

'Move on...if anything happened to you,' Callie explained, feeling she needed to say it as well.

Arizona nodded, a small smile on her lips, 'I know.' Moving closer to Callie, Arizona gave the hand in hers another squeeze, it wasn't something they needed to have a big conversation; the admission that neither of them would be able to move on if the other died wasn't something new to them. It wasn't a feeling developed due to the crash; it was a feeling that had always been there throughout their relationship.

'Thank you for doing the operation Callie,' Arizona said.

'Thank me when we know if Tim's got function in his arm,' Callie replied, not wanting Arizona to get her hopes up to high.

'He will,' Arizona replied, smiling at her wife as she subconsciously picked up her pace when the door to the day-care came into view. 'And even if he doesn't get full function, he'll have more than he did when he first got here.' Arizona pushed open the day-care door, instantly smiling when she saw Sofia sat on the floor; full concentration on the blocks in front of her.

Callie moved forwards, speaking to Jenna, the day-care leader as she signed Sof out, grabbing her bag and hearing that she had been a delight all day.

'Momma!' Sofia's shout caused Callie's head to whip round; delighting in the way Sof stumbled her way towards Arizona who instantly scooped her up and lifted her above her head. Callie just watched, content to just enjoy seeing the two of them together; she always thought that nothing would come close to the happiness and thrill she felt in the OR; then she saw her wife and daughter together, and now everything else paled in comparison.

'Mami!' Sofia declared, looking over Arizona's shoulder and seeing Callie.

'Hey mija!' Callie instantly moved forward, one hand on the small of Arizona's back as she leant over her shoulder to place a noisy kiss on Sof's cheek. 'Shall we go home and have some...pizza?'

'Pisa! Pisa!' Sofia said as she bounced in Arizona's arms.

'I think that's a yes,' Arizona said with a chuckle as they made to leave the day-care.

'You ok with pizza?' Callie asked.

'You know I'm always ok with pizza,' Arizona said, throwing a wink to her wife as she headed off, Callie left to just grin broadly as her wife came back to her that little bit more.

X

'She's flat out,' Callie said as she rejoined Arizona in the living area after putting a sleepy Sofia to bed.

'She gets that from you,' Arizona said, grinning when she saw the mocked shock on Callie's face. 'Can you grab the bottle on your way?'

Callie nodded, going into the kitchen and picking up the bottle of red that they had opened with dinner, pouring the rest of the bottle between the two of them. Sitting back down on her end of the sofa, Callie sat with her feet tucked underneath her as she faced inwards to Arizona.

'Oh, Owen said yes about next weekend definitely,' Callie said. 'So we can head off on Friday morning until Monday night basically.'

Arizona's dimples popped, 'That sounds perfect.'

Reaching forwards, Callie pulled out her laptop from underneath the table, 'There's basically like two places that I thought looked good...'

Arizona shifted herself closer to Callie, her prosthetic already off and left in the bedroom. Resting her cheek on Callie's shoulder, she smiled when she saw the familiar background of the three of them before watching as Callie pulled up her internet history. 'So this is the first place,' Callie said, enlarging the picture. 'It's on the outskirts of the city,' Arizona leant in closer causing Callie to chuckle. 'Babe, I'm sure you need to get your eyes tested.'

'Shh, I'm not old yet,' Arizona replied. 'That's nice...'

'Yeah, nice is about it, which is why I'm leaning more towards this one,' Callie said as she opened the next tab along. 'This is a bit further out of town, totally in the middle of nowhere; in a word, it's massive.'

'And it has that Jacuzzi you were on about,' Arizona said, ignoring the fact that getting in that said Jacuzzi filled her with nothing but dread.

'Well, that too,' Callie said. 'So you think this one too?'

Arizona nodded, 'Definitely, can you book it now?'

'Yeah,' Callie chuckled.

Arizona let Callie continue with the booking as she reached down underneath the throw she had over her to her leg with her left hand, she was really sore today for some reason; and as much as she was trying to hide it, she couldn't help but wince as she touched a particular tender spot.

Callie's eyes instantly shot to her left as she both heard and saw Arizona cringe, obviously in pain; 'Sore?'

Arizona just nodded, knowing that there was no point in lying; Dr. Torres knew the signs of limb pain better than anyone; and Calliope Torres her wife, knew her better than anyone.

'Do you want me to...' Callie began to ask, finishing the booking and placing the laptop on the table.

Arizona nodded again; she was still very shy about this new routine they had with Callie massaging her leg, but she couldn't deny how much it helped and how good it made her feel. Moving from the sofa so she was kneeling on the floor, Callie shifted until she was in front of Arizona, waiting until she had lifted the throw off of her lap; knowing that this all had to be on Arizona's terms. Arizona pulled back the throw, resuming her usual routine of looking anywhere other than at Callie or her leg whilst the two were touching.

Callie kept her eyes fixed on Arizona's thigh, beginning the familiar routine, knowing the particular pressure points which usually gave Arizona some relief.

'Why is it so bad today?' Arizona found herself asking. 'I mean, I've hardly done anything today and yet it hurts more than usual.'

'Sometimes it depends what you've done,' Callie replied. 'You had that big surgery this morning.'

'Yeah and then I've been sat next to Tim ever since.'

'Yeah so you're stiff,' Callie replied again. 'Sometimes, you'll find that sitting for a period of time will make you seriously stiff, which I think is today. When you're on your feet all day, then you get sore. Soreness and stiffness are two very different things. Is this helping?'

Arizona bit her lip, 'Honestly? Not really.'

Callie furrowed her brow, she knew what she needed to do, but she also was equally as scared to even suggest it. Arizona watched as Callie obviously fought with herself as to whether to say what she was thinking, 'What is it?' Arizona asked.

'I know how to help you,' Callie replied.

'But?'

'You might not...like it,' Callie explained.

'You need me to take my sweats off don't you?' Arizona said, her question mostly rhetorical as Callie looked up to meet her eyes, the look in them the only confirmation she needed. Arizona sighed, the mood suddenly turning very heavy as a plague of emotions hit her as she thought about finally letting Callie 'see' her leg.

'Do you want me to get you your pills instead?' Callie asked, leaning back on her heels.

Arizona shook her head, chewing on her lip as she played out the scenario in her head, 'Can you give me a minute?'

'S-s-sure?' Callie replied, 'Here? Or?'

Arizona shook her head, 'I'm just going to go into the bedroom and...'

'It's ok Zo,' Callie cut in. 'You don't have to explain anything...and I don't want you to feel like you have to do anything.'

'I don't...' Arizona said, sighing. 'I just...I want to so much, and I'm so frustrated with myself...you're you...and I just...just give me a minute to go into the bedroom and give myself a piece of my mind?'

Callie couldn't help but chuckle, 'Ok, I'll clear up out here and then come see how it's going ok?'

Arizona nodded, accepting Callie's hand in support as she pushed herself up on her crutches and hopped towards the bedroom, 'Callie?'

'Yeah?' Callie said, turning towards Arizona.

'Thank you for being so patient,' Arizona said.

'You don't need to thank me Arizona,' Callie replied. 'I'll wait as long as it takes...I don't want to rush you and we start taking steps backwards...just take your time, and don't feel like you have to do anything tonight.'

With a firm nod, Arizona closed the bedroom door in between them, moving around and sitting down on the bed. Pulling her sweats down, she let them pool onto the floor as her eyes fell onto her residual limb. As she stared at it, the surgeon deep down within her was telling her that it was a perfect incision, a job well done; but that didn't stop the wave of repulsion hitting her as it always did when she looked down at where her left leg used to be. How could Callie look at her and not be disgusted? How could she touch it and not feel physically sick? Sure she dealt with it every day, but none of those belonged to her wife.

In the living area, Callie cleared up the dishes and wine glasses, checking the confirmation email she'd received for their weekend away before she headed towards the bedroom door. Pressing her ear against the door, she could hear no movement, so reaching out, she tapped gently on the door, 'Can I come in Zo?'

A quiet, 'Yes,' came from the other side, Callie slowly opening the door and stepping inside. Looking towards Arizona, she saw that her sweats were on the floor but now she was firmly underneath the duvet, the frustration evident on her face along with a few stray tears.

'Hey,' Callie said, remaining awkwardly where she was.

'Hey,' Arizona replied, patting the bed next to her so that Callie knew it was ok to sit next to her. Instantly moving around the bed, Callie sat on top of the duvet, looking towards Arizona. 'I was all ready...then you knocked...and I panicked...and ended up under the duvet.'

'That's ok...'

'No it's not!' Arizona said, the anger in her voice solely directed at herself, 'You're my wife Callie and you're meant to find me hot and sexy and want me but instead you're massaging my...my...stump...and I just...'

'Stop,' Callie said, her hand gripping Arizona's to emphasise her need to speak. 'You. Are. Beautiful. You always have been and you always will be...even when you're ninety-three and wrinkly and have grey hair, you will still be the most beautiful, hot and sexy woman to me...and I will still want you then, as much as I wanted you when I first met you, as much as I wanted you on our wedding night and sure as hell as much as I want you now...'

'You want me now?' Arizona asked, her voice barely audible to Callie where she was standing.

'Of course I do Zo,' Callie replied.

'How?' Arizona continued, fully focused on her hand playing with the duvet cover. 'How can you want me Calliope?'

Callie sighed, she was running out of ways to tell Arizona how beautiful she still was to her; she'd tried sympathetic, she'd tried funny and she'd tried to be firm; but none seemed to be getting through to her. Of course at the back of Callie's mind was the fact that she could show Arizona how much she still wanted her, but she knew that was definitely not on the table just yet. Deciding to try a slightly different angle, Callie stroked her thumb across the back of Arizona's hand as she formed what she wanted to say, 'Do you remember when I was pregnant? And then after the accident?'

'What?' Arizona asked, her head turning slowly towards Callie.

'When I was pregnant with Sof, I wouldn't let you touch me…after the accident, it took months for me to be naked in front of you again,' Callie reminded Arizona. 'I was terrified that because my body had changed, firstly because I resembled a whale…and then because of the scarring and stretch marks after Sof was born; that you wouldn't want me…that you wouldn't find me attractive at all…and I know that's not the same as this…but it also kind of is.' Callie licked her lips, 'Everyday you'd tell me that I was being stupid, that I was the most beautiful woman in the world, that you wouldn't have changed a single thing about me because every blemish told a story and made me that little bit more perfect to you….at first I didn't believe you…but I did in the end, and that was because of you. Because of what you would say to me, what you would do to me…eventually, I believed it myself…and you will too Zo…If I have to spend the rest of our lives telling you how gorgeous you are; how perfect you are…then I will, because that's exactly what you are.'

Arizona blinked heavily, the tears in her eyes spilling over and trickling down, dropping onto the couples' entwined hands. Arizona knew Callie was right; throughout Callie's relatively short pregnancy and then particularly after the crash, Arizona had had a hard time of convincing Callie of her beauty. Thinking back to the first time they made love after the crash, Arizona easily recalled how slow it had been; she had spent a lot of time just worshipping Callie's body, simply kissing every inch of flesh she could, particularly every little scar she found; those from Callie's bout of chicken pox, to the larger, more recent ones on her chest and lower abdomen. Arizona remembered how Callie had tensed every time she had touched those scars; afraid that she would turn away in disgust; afraid that Arizona wouldn't be able to physically love her in the same way she always had. After a full night spent in bed however, Callie had soon forgotten her previous insecurities and the spark in her eyes had returned in full force; Arizona reaping the reward of Callie's change in perception of her own body.

Before she could let her head run away with her thoughts, Arizona threw back the duvet; almost like ripping off a band aid. When she did, her eyes instantly fell on what remained of her leg; it felt so alien and yet a huge part of her at the same time. As much as she loathed the taught and scarred flesh, she had come to also see it as the reason she was alive. If Callie hadn't made the decision she had then Arizona was beginning to see that she would've most likely lost her life. Lost her chance at seeing Sofia grow up, lost the chance to expand their family with Callie, and mostly, she would have lost her chance to live the rest of her life out with the love of her life.

Callie waited patiently, watching as a plague of emotions crossed over Arizona's face; she didn't want to move too soon or too suddenly and cause Arizona to replace the duvet; this was a huge step forward for them and Callie knew that more than anyone. Callie had seen residual limbs before so she was totally prepared for what she would see; even though this limb belonged to her wife, it didn't shock her or repulse her s much as it didn't when she looked at that belonging to a stranger. She loved every single part of Arizona; every part of her physical appearance, and every part of her personality; and that meant she certainly loved what was left of her leg.

Arizona chanced a glance across to Callie; cringing when she saw that she was looking directly at the area of the bed where her leg was rested. 'You don't have to look at it,' Arizona said, her voice hoarse and quiet.

Callie's eyes moved slowly upwards, meeting Arizona's, 'Do you want me to not look?'

Arizona's brow furrowed, 'Do you want to look?'

'Arizona…' Callie said softly; she didn't want to answer that particular question, knowing that whether she answered yes or no, Arizona would find fault in both. 'You need to stop expecting me to react in the way you think I should...Frankly I'm slightly offended that you think so little of me.'

'I don't think little of you at all Calliope,' Arizona replied immediately. 'It's like you said earlier, I'm having a hard time believing the words you're saying.'

'I know, and that'll only improve with time,' Callie replied. 'Can I?' Callie nodded towards Arizona's leg, her hands remaining where they were until she got the ok from her wife.

Arizona sighed, closing her eyes tightly, she nodded.

'Open your eyes Zo,' Callie said, still not moving. Arizona sighed, opening her eyes and fixing them onto Callie's face, barely breathing as Callie's hand moved off of the bed and onto her leg. She wanted to be sick, and yet having Callie's hand there offered the most comfort anything had since the accident. Expelling the breath she had been holding in a loud puff, Arizona looked into Callie's eyes as her thumb moved backwards and forwards over her thigh. There was no sign of disgust or lie in those eyes; Callie was just...Callie. She was the most perfect, loving, supportive wife she could ever have asked for and she shouldn't have doubted her for a second.

'This ok?' Callie asked when Arizona had been quiet for some time. Arizona nodded, biting her bottom lip as she fought the overwhelming urge to run; her feelings were all over the place; one minute she felt totally safe and comfortable with Callie, and the next she wanted to run a mile. 'What are you thinking?'

'I don't know,' Arizona answered honestly, her thoughts and emotions too jumbled for her to understand, let alone her try and explain them to Callie. 'I'm terrified...horrified...and at the same time just your hand being there makes it feel a bit better.'

Callie nodded, glad that Arizona was being honest with her, 'Do you want me to take my hand off?' Arizona shook her head immediately, 'Can I move my hand?' Slower this time, Arizona nodded her head. Callie shifted so that she was knelt on the bed in front of Arizona, Callie's hand never breaking contact with Arizona's leg. Callie gave one last look to Arizona's face, giving a small but reassuring smile before she turned her attention back to her hands and Arizona's leg. Callie followed the same sequence of massages that she had been using with Arizona through her sweats, but this time, without that simple barrier, Arizona felt more relief than she had in a long time.

As Callie continued with her massage, Arizona felt herself relax more and more, leaning back against the headboard as the pain in her leg was quickly replaced with not only relief but also relaxation. Arizona couldn't deny that what Callie was doing felt insanely good, and as long as she kept her eyes closed, it was almost as if her leg was complete and Callie was just helping her relax after a long day at work.

'This ok?'

Arizona nodded, 'It feels better already.' Callie smiled, continuing and concentrating on the areas where she felt the most resistance. Neither knew how long the moment lasted, neither cared; in a way, it was the most intimate moment they'd shared since the crash.

Eventually, Callie's hand slowed to a stop although she left one hand softly on her thigh, 'I don't want to overdo it and end up doing more harm than good.'

Arizona nodded, 'Thank you Calliope, it feels...different.'

'Different good, or different bad?'

'Good,' Arizona said. 'Like that massage worked more effectively than any of my PT sessions...or my pills...'

'If you let me do it every day, give or take, then I think you'll see an improvement...mostly in that you'll be able to go through a full day of work with less and less pain, hopefully eventually with none at all,' Callie said.

'That sounds really good right about now,' Arizona replied, her eyes travelling down till her gaze fell on Callie's hand on top of her limb. Moving her own hand, Arizona brought it to rest on top of Callie's, looking up with a smile to show Callie that it was ok, that this evening had all been worth it. 'Thank you for being so patient...I know I've not been...'

'Stop,' Callie interrupted. 'Don't...don't ruin the moment...with talking,' Callie chuckled, Arizona joining in, 'Just, I'm glad that you trust me enough now.'

Arizona nodded, 'I know it took me a while...but I'm getting there...we're getting there...right?'

'We are,' Callie agreed, squeezing the hand in hers.

'And we're going away at the weekend,' Arizona continued, definitely feeling like a weight had been lifted off of her.

'We are,' Callie replied again, her smile lighting up the room.

'And I love you,' Arizona continued, reaching forwards and tucking a strand of raven hair behind Callie's ear.

'I love you too,' Callie replied, leaning forwards and placing a gentle kiss on Arizona's lips. 'You want a coco before we go sleep?'

'As long as there's marshmellows,' Arizona said with a smile.

Callie chuckled, getting off of the bed and heading out towards the kitchen to make them both a cup of coco, virtually on cloud nine at the nights events and how Arizona had come round to letting Callie help her.

Arizona remained in bed, listening to Callie in the kitchen; the normalcy of the situation meaning more to her than any grande gesture that Callie could've come up with. That's all Arizona wanted; to be normal again; to go to bed with her wife and not be worried about what she might see or think. And tonight was definitely one more step in that definite direction with Arizona feeling more like herself than she had in an exceptionally long time.