AN: So, I've come to writing the final part. Or rather, more of an epilogue I suppose. Thanks heaps for sticking with me through this longer fic, I've had a ball writing it. Your reviews have been great and I hope you've enjoyed reading it, which is what it's all about. There's space for a continuation, and I'll leave that open for the moment. I have ideas…I always have ideas, so we'll see what I come up with! :-)
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With the ultrasound probe pressed flush against her lower abdomen, Arizona was focussed solely on the inside of her eyelids. Her eyes were squeezed shut, the skin over her temples tightened and her teeth clamped shut. In comparison, Callie's eyes were wide and fixated on the screen, two hands awkwardly running over Arizona's arm and shoulder. The movement held no pattern and it was far from soothing, anxiety exuding from her fingertips.
Their breathing was chorused, almost symbiotically strained and fearful. The technician hurried her processes.
A heartbeat pulsed through the small, distorting speakers.
An expletive rolled off Callie's tongue and she hung her head, fighting the rush of emotion that seemed to tumble up her spine and through her chest. She rushed to exhale deeply, panting as if from exertion. Arizona pushed her shoulders off the table and with her elbows back, stared open mouthed at the monitor. Her eyes were a stark contrast from just a few moments earlier.
In the moment, there was no excitement. Only relief.
And the technicalities felt as if they took forever, measurements and seemingly random keyboard tapping. Arizona kept a fistful of Callie's shirt in her hand, holding her tightly against the side of the loosely termed bed. Callie wiped a tear away every few moments, trying to catch them before they tracked down her cheeks. They were desperately impatient, overwhelmed with the desire to rush into each others arms and although usually pedantic about details, they cared little for whether their calculations differed by a day or two.
There was a sense blanketing over them, which sang of hope and promise; a feeling that everything had been worth the anguish; the fight. Would they have survived another negative; another tragedy? The words had spoken with each other implied a thousand yeses; yet the hurt and the guilt that clouded their eyes and depressed their shoulders seemed a resounding no.
Yet the moment that they could slip into each others arms brought them so much more than a shared comfort. They pressed their bodies together tightly so that in similarly toned blue shirts, it was impossible to distinguish where they separated. They sobbed into each others shoulders, noses and cheeks firmly in the nape of their necks. Callie had both hands pressed to back of Arizona's head, pieces of hair caught and twisted around her fingers.
Arizona had her arms wrapped around Callie's waist, joined behind her lower back in an unrelenting grip. Her shoulders trembled; their shoulders trembled. "Thank fuck for that," Callie gasped between slowing shudders.
A giggle emanated from the body in her arms as Arizona turned her head slightly and tapped her forehead to Callie's jaw line. "Could not agree more."
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"Calliope, if I don't make it to the hospital, I am going to personally kill you. Do you understand?" Arizona muttered through gritted teeth, knuckles turning white where they gripped at the kitchen bench. "I will shove a sharp instrument through your eyeballs and then strangle you to death."
"Yes Arizona," Callie responded calmly, voice monotone. "You can kill me with your bare hands just as soon as you give birth."
"Here's an idea, how about we drop Sofia off and go to the hospital, I am not delivering on our lounge room floor."
Callie chuckled lightly. "In process Arizona, can't make it happen any quicker. I've got your bag, which by the way, would have been good if you had actually had it packed you know."
"I'm early! I'm not meant to be in labour yet."
"Tell that your contracting uterus sweetie."
Arizona scowled, straightening up as her most recent contraction faded. Her face relaxed momentarily and she took the small, hastily packed bag off Callie and draped it over her shoulder. "Granted, I probably shouldn't have left it until thirty seven weeks to pack a few things, but at least I actually bought what we need."
"And…"
Again, Arizona curled her lips in anger, though it was fairly innocuous. "And I shouldn't have mistook labour for Braxton Hicks."
Callie smiled and nodded, leaning forward and placing a chaste kiss on her flushed cheek. "I'll get Sofia, try and keep her asleep then we'll be at the hospital in fifteen minutes."
And they were at the hospital, exactly fourteen minutes and two contractions later. Arizona had mildly tolerated Sofia's excited babbling, from the second she woke up being put in her car seat. They had chosen not to find out the baby's gender, despite multiple scans. It had taken considerable effort really, to not take notice or look for the gender and a particular request that the sonagraph pictures reflect their wish not to find out. Consequently, Sofia spent the short car ride excitably asking how long it would be before she could see her baby brother or sister. She wasn't particularly patient, not surprisingly, and a vague very soon didn't quite cut her inquisitive and already intelligent mind. Never the less, she was collected from the car by Teddy when Callie pulled up outside her house. Mark would pick her up later on that night when he finished his shift at the hospital.
Pulling up in a back carpark, Callie hurried to put the car in park and rush around to the passenger side as Arizona's face contorted with another painful and contraction. Halting her grimace momentarily, a brief look of horror crossed her vision before recognition settled. "My waters just broke," she said through uneven breaths, fingers fumbling to gather the wet skirt at her lap.
"Of course they did," Callie muttered, adrenalin accelerating her heart rate as she glanced around for a stray wheelchair. "Birth suite isn't far to get to, you think you can walk?"
Arizona released a long, low groan, trying to draw in breaths in a way that remotely resembled the antenatal practise session. She shook her head though, trying to rid herself of the I can't do this message running on repeat around her mind. "I feel like pushing."
"Like bloody hell you're pushing here," Callie answered quickly, voice rising in a gradually developing panic. "We need to get you inside Arizona, we'll get you inside and you can push."
Arizona nodded, almost obediently, feeling the slight lag of a contraction though fully aware of her rapidly progressing labour and impending delivery. Tears glistened in her eyes as she allowed Callie to move her legs so she sat half out the car door, hair starting to matt against the sweat on her forehead. Somewhere in her pregnancy she had moved past the heightened anxiety and became more relaxed, laid back. Once the hyperemisis settled just before the thirteenth week and they had consecutive scans that showed a normal, progressing pregnancy, Arizona had simply settled. It seemed to Callie to happen overnight, but it was a gradual process really. It's just the change over a relatively short space of time was so remarkable. And the last trimester, they had come to thoroughly enjoy the pregnancy. They focussed on preparing the nursery, painting the walls and stocking gender neutral clothing and baby supplies in the closet. They spent quiet nights at home, reading stories to Sofia and singing songs together to Arizona's swelled abdomen. Sofia delighted in talking to her Mama's belly, telling in explicit detail every event from her day, whether she had spent the time at home or at day care.
Late at night, Callie and Arizona would lie quietly in bed, still tossing around baby names and talking through the occasional apprehension. They relished the last couple of weeks when Arizona started her maternity leave, unable to work to close to delivery given the nature of her job.
"Are you going to be nice to me when you're in labour?"
"Not a chance, I'm going to swear and yell and pierce your skin with my nails."
"Maybe we should have scheduled a caesarean…" The grin on Callie's face betrayed her teasing.
She hadn't quite sworn or screamed, but right now, fingers tightly curled around Callie's forearms, Arizona was definitely breaking skin with her fingernails. "Ready to stand?" Callie asked, gently coercing with a slight tug.
"No." Arizona's voice was slightly pitiful, the fire having subsided in the ebb. Still, she struggled to slide to the edge of the seat and into a standing position. Another gush of fluid rushed down her legs and she groaned at the sensation, using Callie's arms with a vice grip, to support her weight.
"So much for being overdue Arizona," Callie joked gently, struggling to manoeuvre herself to hoist the bag over her back, lock the car and pocket the keys.
"I'll go late you know; the first pregnancy always goes over."
"What medical journal did you read that in?"
"Ah, my mother's advice?"
Suddenly dropping her forehead to Callie's shoulder, Arizona cried out, stepping her feet out to stretch her back. She was louder now, content in the knowledge that Sofia wasn't watching with wide, fearful eyes. "I can feel it," she added, shaking her head as if trying to ward away the undeniable and instinctual urge to aid the process.
"Okay…okay," Callie responded, again glancing around. She had phoned ahead and they were expecting them, aware that Arizona was in a heavily progressed stage of labour. It was a small hospital, though with a busy private maternity service, they certainly wouldn't be awaiting their arrival outside. "Just do the breathing thing, and as soon as you can we're making straight for that door. Right?"
She earned only a pained grunt in response, but seconds later, Arizona was taking steps toward the double doors that Callie had indicated to. "This wasn't quite the water birth you were after," Arizona panted, managing to offer a half smile to a clearly stressed Callie.
Piles of brochures and fact sheets surrounded Callie on the bed, where she sat cross legged facing Arizona, propped upright by three thick pillows. "So, home birth is out."
"God yes, I want every medical specialist possible in at least close vicinity.
"Absolutely, I agree. We wouldn't have Sofia if it weren't for specialists, you and Addie. So, I'm guessing a water birth surrounded by a specially made mixed CD isn't up your ally?"
"How bloody clichéd."
"They say water births are less painful."
"I'm not giving birth to a freakin' orca, Calliope."
"But we like the water…"
"Not a chance in hell."
"In my defence, I wasn't that into it either. Maybe just being at hospital would have been good though," Callie answered, holding the door open with one arm and keeping the other wrapped around Arizona, supporting her wavering strength.
They caught the attention of staff with both their sudden entrance and Arizona's whimpering presentation. Nurses came running and someone pressed a button that elicited a piercing beeping sound for a few seconds; it only took a minute for Arizona to be on a bed with a few scrubbed personnel bustling around her. As they hurriedly removed her clothing, Arizona turned to Callie, face contorting, she pleaded, "Let me push."
Staff stumbled to get into position, quickly offering words of encouragement that fell largely on deaf ears. Callie nodded, raking her hands through Arizona's loosely tied hair, trying to brush the wet strands off her face. Her entire body tensed as her hands gripped at the side of the mattress, eyes glazed over.
Their Obstetrician was gently stating commands, but the words were lost on Arizona. "Wait Arizona," Callie communicated, peering between Arizona's legs and taking instruction from the Doctor. "Just wait until the next contraction."
Arizona nodded, licking her lips and swallowing heavily. "Is everything okay?" she asked, slightly dazed and disorientated.
"I can see the head," she whispered in response, lips pursed briefly against the corner of Arizona's eye.
The next contraction quickly took their attention and Arizona was being told to push from the four people in the room.
"Wonder if our tiny human will have dark or light hair?"
"Either is good…"
A piercing cry sounded through the room amongst the contained chaos and the entire scene played out as if Callie and Arizona were witnessing something external. Callie was cutting the cord and tearfully placing the squawking, bloodied infant onto Arizona's chest before she could really comprehend was she was doing. Arizona stared in amazement at the curled up, wrinkled baby nestled between her breasts, just a few short tufts of light hair visible beneath the membrane particles.
Callie was squatting next to the bed, one hand joined with Arizona's over the newborn's back and the other, still open palmed against the crown of Arizona's head. "You did it Arizona, look. We have another baby girl."
Nodding in awe, Arizona drew her eyes ever so briefly away from infant. "She's okay?" she asked, reaching out with her fingertips to tap at Callie's wet cheeks.
"Perfect." They both heard the Doctor's assurances, resettling back at the base of the bed for the placental delivery.
Arizona nodded and smiled, her eyes hazy yet dry. "We have a baby girl," she whispered.
"We have a baby," Callie repeated, in equal wonder. It had all been worth it, every single piece; every moment. Every shard of glass that had pierced them until they were exposed, raw and broken; it all led to that moment of completeness. Of unconditional love.
Who wouldn't bare a thousand wounds for that moment; for that one solitary moment?
Fin.