SHONDA & ABC OWN IT ALL
ELIZA'S POV
After Arizona clarified my promise to Sofia, I was finally able to fall asleep. My mind was put to ease and I was wrapped in Arizona's arms with her legs thrown over mine. I've never felt so comfortable and relaxed until now. Judging by the brightness of the sky and how rested I feel, I'm almost sure it's already mid morning. Today is the last day of the weekend before I return as a surgeon at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital and honestly, I want to spend today doing whatever it is Arizona and Sofia have in mind. As long as my time is being spent with them, I won't be one to complain.
I'm lying on my side staring at a picture frame standing on Arizona's end table. It's a picture of Sofia sitting on Arizona's lap with her arms wrapped around Sofia's waist. The smiles these two have displayed across their faces makes me feel the unbreakable bond and the immense amount of love they have for each other. I can't help the smile I feel widening on my face as I imagine myself sitting next to them. Woah, Eliza. Slow down. Call me crazy. Go ahead and think I'm insane. But anyone will agree with me when I say these two together make up an ideal family. There's nothing I want more than to join their family.
The sound of little feet running down the hall and down the stairs pulls me away from my fairytale. I turn my head to look back at Arizona who seems like she has no intention of waking up anytime soon. I stir a little from under her embrace and scoot my body away from hers when she loosens her grip and turns to face the opposite direction. I take it as my chance to get out of bed and shuffle through Arizona's drawers to find a set of clothes to lounge around in. I throw on an oversized hoodie and sweatpants and make my way out the bedroom door.
Turning back, Arizona's motionless. She'll be asleep for a while longer. Going down the stairs, I hear chatter coming from the TV and a soft, quiet laugh coming from a tiny human. As the floor beneath me creaks, a surprised Sofia quickly turns her head in my direction and gasps.
"Eliza!" She yells jumping from the couch, running towards me. "You're here, you're still here!"
I pick her up and she wraps her arms around my neck. "I told you I'd never leave you." I say into her ear.
"Thank you for not leaving." She pulls back giving me a smile and swivels her head looking around the room. "Where's mommy?"
"She's still sleeping. She must've had so much fun with you yesterday that she's pooped out today." I say as a matter of fact.
"I don't think that's why, but Eliza?" I look at her with raised eyebrows. "I'm really really really hungry."
"Hm, well what can I do to help your hungry tummy?"
She rubs her tummy and a small grin appears on her lips. "Do you make amazing pancakes like mommy can?"
"I wouldn't say as amazing, but I can try?"
She nods her head. I put her down from my arms and I make my way into the kitchen with Sofia following closely behind me. "Um," she says hesitantly. I look down at her and our eyes meet. "Can I cook it with you? I always help mommy and I want to help you too. I mix everything inside the bowl and she puts it on the pan and flips it."
"Sof," I say picking her up and placing her on top of the kitchen counter. "How about today I mix everything in the bowl and you put it on the pan and flip it?" Her eyes grow wide and her jaw drops open.
"You would let me do that?"
"Of course, and I'll be right behind you the whole time. That way you can tell mommy you made the pancakes all by yourself. So, you up for doing it?"
"Yes, Yes! A billion times, yes!"
"Okay, Chef Sofia." I throw her a wink and move around the kitchen gathering all the ingredients. "Let me get out everything we need, then you can take charge. Got it?"
"Got it!" She says with a nod. "Eliza?
"Yeah, Sof?" I say with my head poked into the fridge.
"I think this is the first night since I've been here that mommy didn't wake up crying. I think that's why she's still sleeping. She's usually awake before me." I pause my actions and silently wait to see if she has anything else to say in that subject. After waiting a second more, nothing. I close the refrigerator and glance her way. My heart sinks into the pit of my stomach thinking how badly I've hurt Arizona and how Sofia's noticed it. "I think she's had a good night because you're here."
"What?" I try to play it off. "Because I'm here? No way."
"Yes." She corrects me. "Is it selfish of me to always want you here?"
"Definitely not, but may I ask why?" I move closer to her and stand in front of her, placing both my hands on either side of her. "Why is it that you always want me here?"
"Because you care. I feel you care about me and I never felt that with mama's girlfriend Penny. She never talked to me and wanted to get to know me. She never tucked me in like you did last night and before I left New York, they were always fighting because she said she never signed up for a kid." Sofia's eyes fill with tears and my heart breaks for her. My heart's breaking, but I hold back tears of my own to be strong for Sofia. I cup her face with both my hands and furrow my brows. "That's why I asked mommy to come back. She doesn't know all of that and mama doesn't know I heard Penny say that."
Tears falling down Sofia's face I make sure to wipe each and every one of them away. I pull her into a tight hug and as her body begins to shake and tremble with sobs, she buries her face into my chest. "I'm so sorry, Sofia." It's all I can get out right now.
"It's okay because I have mommy." She pulls her face away and looks up at me. "I have you too, right?"
"Of course, you do, Sof. You definitely have me."
Her head sinks back into my chest and I tighten the embrace I have around her. It's silent, but it's a comfortable silence. A kind of silence where we don't have to say anything to each other to feel the love we have for one another. She trusts me enough to pour her heart out to me. She trusts me enough to let her into her life even after she's just been let down. There isn't anything in the world that I wouldn't do to protect Sofia.
We've stayed in the same position for a couple minutes now and the sound of Sofia's stomach growling roars through the air. "We need to work fast to get some yummies in our tummies." I playfully nudge her shoulder and we both break out in laughter.
As Sofia finishes up pouring the last bit of pancake batter into the pan, I make sure to put away the dishes we've finished using and the left over ingredients we no longer need use of. She flips the pancake cooking on the pan and already, she's a pancake pro. Turning off the stove, we place the pancake on the top of the pancake stack and just as I was getting ready to pour milk into a glass, the doorbell rings throughout the first floor of the house.
I look at Sofia who shrugs and I give her a sad smile. "Wait right here, okay?" She nods in my direction and I head over to the front door. Pulling the door open, a beautiful brunette from behind it appears in front of me.
"Hello," she pauses and her mouth drops open and her eyebrows raise, quickly replacing the smile she had. "Wait, you're not Arizona."
#waitaminnick, did she just?.. yup! i did, i did.
should i keep you guys guessing until after the weekend? let me know what you think.
also, follow me on twitter if ya' want. xoxobriavery
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