Hey lovelies! Again, thank you for all the wonderful reviews! I love that you're enjoying this story so much. Here's the next part and review, reviews make me happy. Kisses!

P.S. This chapter will be a little like the first chapters, as in it will include little snippets of their life to move time a little bit. I hope you enjoy it.

'There's no combination of words
I could put on the back of a postcard
No song that I could sing, but I can try for your heart.
Our dreams, they are made out of real things,
like a shoebox of photographs with sepia-toned loving.

Love is the answer,
at least for most of the questions in my heart.
Like: "Why are we here?", "And where do we go?",
"And how come it's so hard?". It's not always easy,
and sometimes life can be deceiving.
I'll tell you one thing: It's always better when we're together.

Yeah, It's always better when we're together.'

Better Together – Jack Johnson

Chapter 21

As the weeks passed, both women felt happier and happier. It just felt so natural, being together. As if it was meant to be. And maybe, it was. Ever since they've told their parents, Eliza's mother texted Arizona every single day to know about her day, remind her to 'thank the universe for a new day' and 'salute' the sun, eat fruits & veggies and drink enough water; just like she did with her children and other daughter in law. Eliza found it mortifying but Arizona thought it was sweet and cute. Eliza's mom had always been kooky and she loved it.

Everything was going great and she could really see herself spending the rest of her life with this woman. Of course, she wasn't going to ask her to marry her just yet. She knew she would, some day. Was it too soon to be thinking about marriage? Yes, it was. Which is why she had to control herself. It even was too soon to move in together although they basically lived together already. Ever since they became girlfriends again, they spent at least four or five nights a week together. They saw each other every single day after work and rarely went their separate ways to sleep.

There was still Arizona had to do before moving further and making the relationship even more serious than it already was. She had to tell her ex-wife and her daughter about Eliza. She had barely talked to Callie in the past year and she had just not wanted to tell Sofia yet. She first needed to know where she and Eliza stood up. But in a couple of weeks, her little girl would visit Seattle and she wanted her to meet Eliza. This year, her daughter would spend Christmas with her other mother and her family. It was hard but fair, she had her the past year. However, she would visit her for two weeks right before Christmas.

She dialed her ex-wife's phone number and waited in line. It was always awkward talking to her though not really uncomfortable. They had gotten to a point where they could act mature, civil and even friendly. It felt good. There's always calm after the storm, her dad always said. And boy, was he right.

"Arizona?" Callie asked. Arizona was so deep in her thoughts that she didn't even noticed that the woman on the other side of the line had answered her call.

"Yes, sorry. Hi, Callie. How you?" Arizona asked.

"Hi. I'm good. How are you?" Callie asked.

"I'm good too. Great, even. Awesome."

"That's nice to hear." The brunette answered not really knowing what this was all about. "Are you calling Sofia? She's at a sleepover at Susie's house, I thought I told you."

"You did. You did. I just…I wanted to talk to you." The blonde said.

"Me?" Callie asked confused. "Sure, go ahead."

"I…I am seeing someone. Well, it's more than that, I'm in a relationship with someone. A serious relationship." Arizona blurted out.

"Oh." Callie said, not really knowing what else to say. Conversations with an ex about their love life where bound to be awkward, even if you yourself were already in another relationship. "That's great. I'm happy for you." she said genuinely.

"Thank you. It is. I'm very happy."

"That's all I ever wanted, Arizona. Really. Despite everything, I will always care for you and you deserve good things. You're a good person." The ortho surgeon said honestly.

"Thank you, again. That's all I ever wanted for you too." Arizona said.

"So, who is she? Does she work at the hospital?" Callie asked curiously.

"Yes. She's the new head of Ortho."

"Eliza Minnick?"

"The one and only." Arizona answered.

"I've met her before."

"I know."

"She's good. Her conference about arthroscopic open shoulder surgery on athletes and other advanced procedures was topnotch. I would love to work with her combining her experience in sports medicine with my cartilage research. We could conquer the world." Callie said cheerfully. "But I think that me working on a project with your new girlfriend would be too modern, even for us."

"I'm glad you recognized it yourself." She said laughing. "So, Callie. Sofia is coming to visit and I would like for her to meet Eliza. Are you okay with that?"

"Would it make a difference if I wasn't?" The brunette asked.

"I…ah…uh…" Arizona didn't know what to say.

"I thought so. And hey, I know it sounded a bit crass but what I meant is, this woman is part of your life now. It makes sense for her to meet Sofia." Callie said. "And I trust you, therefor I trust the people you surround yourself with. If you're with her, I'm sure she's a good person."

"Wow, thank you, Callie." The blonde said surprised. "I trust the people you surround yourself with too and, I don't think I've ever said it but, Penny is great. Sofia loves her and I can tell she loves her too. And, she makes you happy."

"Yes, she does. Very happy." Her ex-wife answered. "Look at us, acting all grown up and mature, talking about our girlfriends and stuff. Maybe we can double date when I'm in Seattle."

"Too modern, even for us, Callie."

"Yeah, that's what I thought." The brunette said.

"So, I'll call Sofia tomorrow to tell her about Eliza and maybe have them meet through webcam. Is three o'clock okay?"

"Three's great." Callie said. "Bye Arizona. Take care."

"You too, Callie. Have a good night." She said as they hanged up the phone.

"You have got to stop giving me hickies. We're not teenagers anymore." Eliza said, pulling Arizona into an on-call room and closing the door behind her.

"It's your fault for being so irresistible. I can't control myself around you." The blonde said, smiling and pushing her girlfriend against the door while grabbing her by the hips and kissing her neck.

"Oh, no, no, no, no. Stop. No more neck kissing for you, missy." Eliza said, gently pushing Arizona away.

"What? Why?" Arizona asked, pouting.

"Because, you've freaking branded me!" the brunette said, rather loudly, moving the neckline of her scrub top so that Arizona could see what she was talking about.

"Yikes, yes. That IS big." The blonde admitted. "Guilty as charged." She said smirking and kissing her girlfriend's neck again.

"Stop" Eliza said, pushing the blonde a little bit. "Look, the other one has not even properly healed yet." She continued, pointing to another one on the other side of her neck. "So, no neck kissing for you until you learn self-control."

"Wouldn't you be punishing yourself was well?" the blonde asked, raising an eyebrow and running her tongue along Eliza's neck while her hands went to find the hem of her scrub pants.

"I...uh…oh God." Eliza said, as her girlfriend continued to lick her neck and her hands went further south.

"Do you still want me stop?" the blonde said, running her hands along the brunette's stomach and removing her tongue from her neck. Eliza just shook her head to say no. "I didn't think so." Arizona replied huskily as her hands went down to where they were needed the most.

"Oh, I've been shaking, I love you when you get crazy; you take all my inhibitions, baby there's nothing holding me back. You take me places that tear up my reputation, manipulate my decisions, baby there's nothing holding me back…"

Arizona walked into the attending's lounge and noticed the back of a brunette head. A head she knew very well. Her girlfriend's head. She was so deep into the song she was singing that she didn't even noticed her coming into the room.

"She says that she's never afraid, just picture everybody naked. She really doesn't like to wait, not really into hesitation…"

Arizona was finding the whole thing rather amusing and adorable. Eliza wasn't exactly the best singer in the world. Actually, she was being too nice; Eliza was a terrible singer, but she had so much fun when singing to a song she liked that she found it adorable. Yes, she was absolutely whipped. Whipped to the point where her girlfriend's terrible singing skills didn't sound so bad to her.

"…she pulls me in enough to keep me guessing, and maybe I should stop and start confessing, confeeeeeeeessing!"

Arizona snorted and that was when Eliza turned around. She immediately blushed but didn't stop singing.

"Because if we lost our minds and we took it way too far and I know that we'd be alright…"

"What the hell are you singing? I've never heard that song. Or maybe it's that you're so out of tune that I can't recognize it…" she said snorting again.

"Hey!" Eliza said pretending to be offended and fake punching Arizona on the arm.

Arizona laughed and pecked Eliza's cheek. "So, what were you singing?"

"It's Shawn Mendes, Arizona…do you know nothing about modern music?" Eliza said, rolling her eyes.

"What?"

Eliza laughed soundly. "I have this young, 18-year-old patient; Sam. She says God sent her to me to make me cool again. Notice how my face looks thinner? She contoured it to make me look like a Kardashian."

"She sounds like quite the character."

"She most certainly is. She keeps me updated on the latest hits. Says she's going to make me go from 'almost 40' to 'top 40s'." Eliza said rolling her eyes.

"Well, I really do hope she manages to accomplish the mission God gave her. You really do need help with being cool again." Arizona said, teasingly.

"You're a meanie." Eliza said, whining.

"Yes, but you still love me, though."

"No, I don't. I don't love meanies." The brunette answered with a babyish voice. "Oh my god where did that voice came from? Am I becoming one of those women who speaks to their partner in a baby voice?" she asked scrunching up her nose.

"I think you are."

"I'm gross. We're gross." Eliza said, raising her hands in the air.

"Gross, but happy. It works for me." Arizona said smiling.

December 2016

Sofia's visit had to be postponed until the following year. Arizona was very upset. She really missed her little girl, but it was nobody's fault. It wasn't like Callie decided not to let her visit her or something like that. Weather got in the way. Snow storms in New York, bad weather all around the country, lots of flights canceled because of that. Some flights were allowed to leave New York but most had had to emergency land due to bad conditions and they didn't want to expose Sofia to a potential emergency landing without one of them. So, it had to be postponed. To say that she had 'a long face' all day long wouldn't even begin to cover it.

"Hey, change that face! Sofia may be able to come soon and, if not, you'll have all summer!" April said, trying to cheer her friend up, as they decorated the attending's lounge.

"Summer is too far away!" she said.

"It is but weather's been being a bitch. Did you know that Callie and Penny weren't able to fly to Florida either? Papa Torres sent them the private jet and still, they couldn't. They're waiting for permission to fly." Meredith said. She and Eliza were laying on opposite's sides of the couch inside the lounge, eating candy canes.

"Your ex-wife's father owns a private jet?" Eliza asked, shocked. Arizona had told her that Callie grew up privileged but she didn't really know to what extent.

"Yup. And a ginormous house in Miami with a private entrance to a secluded beach, a couple of boats including a yacht, tennis court, two pools…oh! Not to mention a rather big trust fund with more money that a few small countries in it, also lots of-" Meredith continued babbling until she got interrupted.

"Okay, okay. So, she's rich. We all know that." Arizona said, wanting the awkward conversation to stop.

"I didn't know that." Eliza said, from her spot in the couch.

"Maybe one day you'll get to visit, get all modern family and shit." Meredith said chuckling.

"Oh yeah, I've always wanted to go to a yacht party." Eliza said, perking up.

"Would you two shut up and help us?" April said, throwing some tinsel at them.

"I wish I could help, but I really don't want to." Meredith said, throwing the tinsel at Eliza. April looked at her expectantly.

"Arizona forbade me to go anywhere near the decorations. I'm not really the crafty kind." The brunette said shrugging and throwing the tinsel back at April.

"You're a surgeon! An orthopedic surgeon…how can you not be good with your hands?" April asked, exasperated.

"Oh no, Kepner. Trust me, she is VERY good with her hands. She just sucks with crafts." Arizona said looking at April.

"Urgh! Would you get your mind of your gutter for a second?" she said, throwing the tinsel at Arizona. While Meredith and Eliza laughed soundly from their spot.

"Don't hate me because I'm getting laid and you're not. Jealous is not a pretty look on you." Arizona said.

"Have you considered Amelia's proposal on joining the dyke squad? We could use more members." Eliza said, containing her laughter.

"Oh, and go on double dates! We would love another lesbian couple to go on double dates with." The blonde said. "No offense to you and Nathan, Mere. You're fun to hang out with too."

"You're perfect for each other, both equally annoying." April said rolling her eyes.

"We know." Arizona said smiling and winking at Eliza.

"And disgusting too. Matching tattoos and everything." April said.

"The epitome of disgusting, that's for sure." Meredith said, opening a bag of chips and throwing Eliza a couple.

"Look who's talking. You and your boyfriend are pretty disgusting too." The brunette doctor said.

"Can we please stop talking about couples and go back to decorating? Remember it's not polite to talk about that around single people who aren't getting laid." April said.

"You could be one half of a happy couple if you dated Amy and joined the LGBTQ+ community. Seems like a fun community. Maybe I should join too." Meredith said laughing. They loved to gang up on April. It was so much fun to tease her.

"I don't really know why I hang out with you guys." The redhead answered.

"Easy, you have no other choice." Eliza said. For the first time in a long time she felt completely and absolutely happy. She had a job that she loved, wonderful new friends, a very talented protégée that had become one of her dearest friends and, most importantly, she had the love of her life back with her. Yeah, life was definitely great.

Christmas Day 2016

They had decided to spend Christmas just the two of them. Both sets of parents wanted to travel to be with them but they wanted to spent their first Christmas together well, together. Just the two of them. When they were together as teens they were never able to spend Christmas day together because of their families. First, they didn't know and then, Christmas was a family thing. They coulnd't get away from it. But now…now things were different. They weren't kids in a closet anymore nor where they forced to spend the day at home, talking to their old nosy aunts and weird cousins. Now, it was just the two of them.

"I love that we're able to do this, you know?" Eliza said. They were in the bathtub, drinking champagne, bubbles around them. It was heaven. "I love that it's just you and me on this day. I mean, I love my family but this feels right. It feels like this is how it's supposed to be. At least this time." She said, her back against Arizona's chest.

"I know. This feels incredible. Best Christmas ever, that's for sure." Arizona said, wrapping her arms tighter around Eliza's waist and kissing her softly bellow her ear. "I'm glad we decided on making spaghetti tonight. As you know, I'm not well known for my culinary abilities."

"Hey, give yourself more credit. I've turn you into a decent cook." Eliza said, turning her face to the side to kiss Arizona's lips. "And yeah, it didn't make sense to make a big meal just for the two of us." Eliza said, squeezing Arizona's legs. "Besides, we could be having just bread and it will still be perfect."

"Yeah, why's that?" Arizona asked, wondering if it was possible for her heart to melt out of utter adoration for this woman.

"Because I would be eating it with you."

Yup. Definitely possible to melt.

"This has got to be the most Charlie Brown Christmas tree I have ever seen." Eliza said as they walked down the stairs to go exchange presents.

"That's why we needed to take it, babe. No one else was going to do so." Arizona said. "Besides, a huge tree would've made as much sense a big fancy dinner."

"I guess you're right." Eliza said smiling and grabbing six presents from the tree. "I know, I know. I went a little overboard but I kept seeing things that I wanted to get for you and I went a little crazy, but it's not like they're incredibly expensive gifts except for one or two, three tops and-"

Arizona stopped her girlfriend's rambling with a soft kiss. "Look at you, rambling like me."

"Well, we do spend a lot of time together." The brunette said.

"Too much time?"

"There's no such a thing as too much time with you, Arizona."

"Aw, look at you. Eliza 'badass' Minnick being all mushy and stuff."

"Shut up and open your six presents blondie." Eliza said handing Arizona the presents she bought for her.

"You really didn't need to buy me so much stuff but, thank you." She said as she opened the first present. It was a beautiful V-neck burgundy cashmere sweater.

"I noticed you had browsed online for cashmere sweaters but never actually purchased one so, I got you one. And burgundy is your favorite color, so I figured it was a good choice. You can exchange it if you don't like it." Eliza said nervously.

"Are you crazy? I love it. It's so soft." Arizona said rubbing her face against the sweater. "Thank you very much, babe." She said as she leaned in and pecked her on the lips and grabbing another one. A big one. She opened it and it was a beautiful pair of black suede 'kneezie' Stuart Weitzman boots. She opened her eyes so widely that she thought her eyes were going to pop out of their sockets. "Eliza, this is way too expensive. You really didn't have to."

"Maybe, but I wanted to." Eliza said, grabbing Arizona's hand. "Again, I noticed you were browsing for knee length black suede boots. And I noticed you search for this particular pair too."

"Yes, but are way too expensive. You've already given me an expensive sweater too."

"Don't worry about my finances, baby." Eliza said, pecking Arizona's cheek. "And, nothing's too expensive when it comes to you."

The blonde simply smiled and continued opening her presents. The third present were two sets pajamas, one green and one burgundy; her favorite colors. Eliza had this weird thing where she HAD to wear real pajamas or she felt like her life wasn't together. Of course, the top had to match the bottom, otherwise hell would break lose. Arizona slept with old sweatpants and t-shirts. It frustrated Eliza a little bit.

"Now you'll sleep like a decent adult human being." The brunette said, teasing her girlfriend.

"Thank you very much. I promise not to use my old Hopkins t-shirts to bed anymore." She said laughing as Eliza made a victory dance. Her girlfriend was too cute for her own good sometimes. She then grabbed another of the presents. It was a bottle of Lancôme's Trésor In Love perfume. Her favorite. She was just about to buy a new bottle since she was running very low on hers. She thanked Eliza and proceeded to open the next one. Another small-ish thoughtful gift. It was a blue and white stripped make up bag with golden zippers and it was full of some of her favorite products.

"And now. The last one." Eliza said winking and handing Arizona the last gift. "It's not really gift. It's something I wanted to show you. I mean, it's mine and it will forever be mine."

"And you just wrapped it for the wow factor?" the blonde asked squinting her eyes.

"Exactly." Eliza said smiling while Arizona opened the present. It was a very light box.

Arizona unwrapped the present then opened the cardboard box it was in. There it was, the beanie baby horse that Arizona had given Eliza when they were teenagers for their first Valentine's day as a couple. "It's Dakota! You kept him all of these years." The blonde said as a tear rolled down her eye.

"Of course. How could I ever throw him away? I love that little sucker." Eliza said laughing. "When you gave me the scrapbook I made you I knew that I had to show you this, but I was waiting for a special moment. Like right now."

"I love you so much." Arizona said wrapping her arms around her girlfriend in a very tight embrace.

"Me too. And Dakota loves you too, he's finally with his two mommies again." she chuckled. "Remember how we called him our lovechild and said he was our firstborn?"

"Of course. How could I forget?" Arizona said before grabbing the stuffed horse and raising it to her face. "I'm sorry for not being there all of these years and not passing child support to your other mommy, Dakota. It's not like I wanted to bail on you or something, it was just complicated." She explained.

"You're so silly." Eliza said, amused.

I know. But now, it's my turn for gifts Lizzie." She said as she handed her girlfriend three packages. "Open that one last." She said pointing at a small box.

"Okay." She opened her first present. It was a shoe box from Nike. She opened it and inside she found a pair of Nike's Air Max 2017 running shoes. They were black, with the logo in gray. Simple and beautiful. She loved them. "Talk about expensive shoes!" Eliza said, throwing the wrapping paper at her girlfriend.

"Shut up, your beat mine." She said, throwing the paper back at her. "I know how much you love to exercise and also that you have been looking for new running shoes. I also went through your browsing history and saw you read a lot of articles on running shoes and which ones are the best. Amelia helped me pick the color. She said I should get them in black, like your soul."

"Amelia is a smart woman." Eliza said smiling. "I love them. Thank you." She leaned in a pecked her. She then grabbed the following box. It seemed like a jewelry box. She opened it and this time it was her turned to be shocked out of her mind. She recognized the red suede box immediately. It was something from Cartier. "Arizona…"

"Open it, please."

Eliza's hands where almost shaking. Arizona had outdone herself for sure. She opened the box and inside she found a beautiful gold bracelet. It came with a little golden screwdriver and it had four diamonds. "Phoenix…this…"

"No, I don't wanna hear it. Like you said, don't worry about my finances and nothing is too much when it comes to you." The blonde said as she took the box from Eliza's hands and grabbed her right hand. "I know bracelets usually go on the left hand but that one is your dominant hand and you're a surgeon so, right it is." She then took the mini screwdriver and began unscrewing the bracelet.

"You know why I bought you this bracelet? Well, unlike any other bracelet, this one is designed to be opened only with this teeny tiny screwdriver which represents being committed, locked with someone, I guess. It's a symbol of love, commitment and fidelity. Which is what I have with you, what we have. I will always be committed and faithful to you." She continued as she put the bracelet around Eliza's wrist and began screwing it back. "Also, you can't purchase one of these for yourself. I mean, I guess you could but you shouldn't because it had to be given to you by someone who loves you and I love you. So, so, so much. More than anything. And I wanted you to have a tangible thing to remind you of it daily. You're not supposed to take it off but I guess they'll be moments where you'll have to or simply want to, so don't lose the screwdriver."

Eliza had to wipe away her tears. "And I bought you a pair of silly boots!" she said laughing.

"Silly boots that I LOVE." Arizona said, leaning in to press her forehead against Eliza's "I want you to have this bracelet as a constant reminder of my love, which will be everlasting and infinite."

"You're so cheesy, Phoenix."

"I know. It's about to get even more cheesy." She said laughing and grabbing the smaller box. Eliza opened it and inside she saw a key.

"A key?"

"A key. To my house. Our house, hopefully. I know we've only been officially together for two months but I don't want to wait anymore. We've waited for 20 years already so…Eliza I love you. I have no doubt in my mind that you're the love of my life; so, I wanted to ask you something. Lizzie, will you please move in with me?"

Eliza smiled so widely that she thought her cheeks were going to break. This was for sure the best Christmas of her life. She basically jumped into Arizona and kissed her all over her beautiful face. "Yes, of course I will!" she said looking straight into her eyes. "We've waited long enough."

"See? I told you one day we would live together in a big city. It's not San Francisco or Vancouver but it's alright." The blonde said, caressing her girlfriend's cheek.

"It's perfect. Anywhere would be perfect as long as I'm with you." She said, leaning in for another kiss.

"Merry Christmas, Lizzie."

"Merry Christmas, Phoenix."