A/N: Thanks for the continued support. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: Grey's Anatomy and its characters are owned by ABC and not me.
…
Alex and Arizona had a very peaceful first night at home. They were both able to get more sleep in one night than they had in a week. It was nice to be able to sleep and not be woken up throughout the night by nurses, doctors and beeping machines. A good night's rest was exactly what they needed. Alex needed to be on top of his game for when the Robbins family arrived and getting more than four hours of sleep a night was a great start.
In the morning Alex had Arizona settled on the couch for the day after she refused to stay in bed. He created a fort of pillows and blankets on the couch to help keep her comfortable. She also had the remotes for every possible source of entertainment in the living room – the sound system, the television, and the video game systems. Along with her iPad, laptop and even some case files, Alex was sure that they would be able to keep Arizona busy until at least lunchtime. Or at least he hoped.
"Aleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeex," Arizona called from the couch. This was only the sixth time she had called for him that morning.
Alex ran into the living room looking frazzled with yellow rubber gloves on his hands, "What? What can I get for you?"
Arizona giggled when he walked into the living room. One of the most entertaining things she had found to do that morning was to randomly shout Alex's name and watch him come running. He would drop everything that he was doing and come to make sure that she was okay. It was endearing and a side of Alex Karev that she knew she would be the only one to ever see. If only his coworkers could see his nurturing and caring side they wouldn't think that he was the asshole that they claimed he was.
"Arizona, one of these times you're actually going to need something and I'm not going to come running because you're the 'girl who cried wolf.' So don't blame me if you pee your pants because it'll be all your fault."
"But I do need something," Arizona protested. "I need you. I'm bored."
Alex grumbled under his breath as he sat on the coffee table across from Arizona, "I'm busy, babe. Your parents are going to be here in a few hours and this place is still a mess."
"They'll understand," Arizona reached out for his hand but he refused to let her take it. "We've had a lot going on these past few weeks."
"Ha," Alex laughed. "Right. Your dad is a perfectionist. Your bedroom had to be inspection ready your whole life. Even in college he expected your dorm to be perfect when he'd randomly visit. And this house is not inspection ready."
"But I need you," Arizona whined and pouted on the couch. "How can you say no to your crippled, not to mention pregnant, girlfriend?"
"Arizona," Alex sighed as he stripped off his dishwashing gloves and sat next to her on the couch. The pouting lower lip combined with her still healing facial abrasions had done him in and he had to cave in. "You can't play that card for the next eight months or I'm never going to get anything done."
Arizona grinned as she got what she wanted – some quality snuggle time on the couch. "I won't play it all the time, promise." Arizona batted her eyelashes at the obviously smitten man. "Now how about you entertain me," Arizona suggested as she leaned into Alex's body and let her mouth graze his neck.
"Whoa!" Alex protested and pulled away from Arizona's embrace. "That… that can't happen." He was horny and he knew Arizona was too but they couldn't do anything to fix that due to her injuries. They couldn't do anything to fix that for a very long time. He would rather not put himself in a situation that would only end with him being in pain.
Arizona wasn't going to give up and she pulled Alex back into her body. "My lips aren't broken. Kissing won't hurt me," she told him as she brought his lips to hers. Ever since the accident the most they had done physically were a few long deep kisses but most of the time all she got from Alex were pecks and she needed more. She needed to feel as close as possible to him – or at least as close as she could given her injuries.
"Only kissing," Alex captured her lips as he gently pushed and maneuvered Arizona so that she was lying down on her back.
After a few minutes of making out like teenagers, Alex dared to slip his hands under her t-shirt. He knew he was playing with fire but he couldn't help it. Alex found Arizona's boobs to be magnets for his hands. Many years ago Alex told Arizona that she had good boobs but he never imagined that he would ever get to know them as intimately as he did. He gradually worked his hands upward until he was met with the swell of her breasts. He stopped just before touching them, intent not to break his own rule about only kissing. Groping was more than just kissing and he couldn't cross that line.
Arizona sighed when she felt her boyfriend reach under her shirt. She had longed for his touch ever since she had woken up from her coma. Part of her had been scared that Alex was repulsed by her body after the accident. She had scars all over her body from her surgeries. Every day her fears were validated when Alex would help Arizona bathe and she noticed that his eyes never looked further south than her neck. Just by his touching the bare skin on her stomach set her entire body on fire until he suddenly stopped.
"Alex," Arizona murmured against his lips. "Touch me."
Alex ignored her request and instead focused on kissing her. He hoped to distract her with the skill of his tongue.
"Touch me," Arizona implored again when they broke for air.
Alex again ignored her and went back to work, massaging her tongue with his until he felt her tears on his face. Alex stopped what he was doing and rested his forehead against hers. Arizona refused to open her eyes and look at him.
"What's wrong?' he asked. He had no idea where the tears had come from. Crying women were his downfall. He couldn't stand to see a woman in tears especially his woman. He needed to know how to fix the tears.
Arizona shook her head against his and kept her eyes closed shut as tears crept out from the corners of her eyes.
"Please tell me what's wrong. I can't stand to see you cry."
"You think I'm ugly– with all of my scars," she breathed out quickly, embarrassed by her fears.
"You're the most beautiful person in the world. How could you honestly believe that I think that you're ugly?" Alex gently grabbed Arizona's face in his hands. He hoped that his touch would get her to finally look at him.
"You won't touch me," Arizona finally opened her eyes. "You don't look at me when you help me bathe.
"Oh I look at you when I have you naked," Alex smirked as he massaged her cheeks with his thumbs. "You just aren't paying enough attention." Alex snaked a hand back up Arizona's shirt and rested his hand over her breast, "And I haven't touched you because I don't know if I would be able to stop. And I have to stop," Alex leaned in to kiss her again stopping right before their lips met, "But if you want me to touch you – I will."
Arizona moaned when Alex finally grabbed her breasts. It wasn't as much that it felt good as it was about the fact that knowing that he still found her sexually attractive. Alex spent the next half hour letting her know just how attractive he found her even if they couldn't go further than second base.
"I can't wait until we can have sex again," Alex groaned as their make out session on the couch came to an end. His body was so worked up from making out and he knew he wouldn't be able to do anything about it.
Arizona couldn't help but laugh, "Me too." They were both in the same sexually frustrated boat. Arizona had offered to help take care of Alex's needs but Alex refused; if she couldn't enjoy any pleasure than neither would he.
The distraction on the couch put Alex behind schedule but if it made Arizona happy it was worth it. Once he was satisfied that Arizona wasn't going to yell for him for at least another half hour, Alex went back to work on making sure the house was perfect for the Robbins family. He had met them several times before but this was the first time as their daughter's boyfriend and the guy that knocked her up. He knew that everything was going to be under scrutiny from the cleanliness of the kitchen to his haircut and he wasn't going to give them any reason to dislike him if he could help it.
…
Alex waited nervously at Seattle – Tacoma International Airport. The arrivals board had just changed to announce that Arizona's parents' flight had just landed. They would be walking through the gate in just a few minutes. Alex ran his hand through his hair and checked to make sure his jacket was free of lint. He hated that Arizona wasn't with him to pick up her parents but it was difficult to get her in and out of a car without major pain on Arizona's part so they decided it would be best if she stayed at home. Arizona assured him that they would still love him just as much as they did before but Alex was still nervous. He needed for them to like him. He intended on spending the rest of his life with their daughter and if they didn't approve of him then that could make his future much more difficult. They were already going to be upset with him for not getting in touch with them about the accident so everything that he could control had to be perfect.
Alex's hands went sweaty as soon as he saw them walking out of the arrivals area. Daniel did not look happy and Barbara looked like she hadn't slept since she heard about Arizona's accident.
"Barbara, Daniel," Alex greeted them as they walked toward him. "It's good to see you guys."
Barbara instantly wrapped her arms around him in a hug, "Hi, Alex."
When Barbara finally let go of Alex, he reached out to shake Daniel's hand only to be left hanging.
Daniel crossed his hands over his chest, "How is she doing?" Daniel wasn't in the mood for pleasantries. He still saw Alex as the enemy. Not only was Alex sleeping with his only daughter but he also kept the knowledge of her accident from him.
"Going crazy being stuck on bed rest," Alex answered. When he noticed that his attempt at levity did not crack a smile from Daniel he added, "But she's doing really well with her recovery."
The long wait for luggage and drive back to the house was filled with lots of questions from Arizona's parents. Alex did his best to answer them honestly. They were the same questions that Arizona had already answered before but they needed to hear the answers again. They needed to be reassured that their daughter was going to be okay. Alex knew that they wouldn't really feel like Arizona was okay until they saw her in person. The only thing that he didn't tell her parents about was the baby. Arizona wanted to wait to tell them. She wanted to wait until they weren't as angry with her. It was happy news. Not news to be shared when they were yelling at her.
As soon as Alex's Jeep came to a stop in the garage, Barbara ran out of the car and into the house. She needed to see her baby. Alex and Daniel followed, carrying the luggage. By the time they made it into the house, Barbara was hugging Arizona tightly on the couch and they were both in tears.
"Mom, I promise I'm fine," Alex could hear Arizona reassuring her mother that she was okay as he walked past the living room and up the stairs to put their bags in the guest room.
When Alex was back downstairs it was the same scene with her father. Alex wanted to give them some time alone so he set about making dinner for everyone. When they first moved in together Arizona was pleasantly surprised to find out that Alex was very good in the kitchen. He attributed it to the fact that in his youth it was his responsibility to make sure that his siblings were fed. If he didn't cook for them, they didn't eat. And they didn't always have much to work with in terms of supplies so he had to get creative. It was his most creative meals that always had Arizona skeptical but they usually ended up being the best.
Alex had just pulled the salmon out of the pan when he heard his pager go off. While he wasn't happy about being paged in, he was grateful that Arizona's parents were around to help while he was gone.
Alex walked into the living room holding up his pager, "I gotta go to the hospital."
"Really?" Arizona questioned. "I thought you were off until Monday."
"I'm on call all weekend. Hopefully I won't be long," Alex frowned when he saw the disappointment in Arizona's eyes. "But dinner is ready. So I hope you all enjoy it."
Alex stood around awkwardly as he debated if he should kiss Arizona goodbye or not. Normally he didn't care about public displays of affection in front of parents but Arizona's father wasn't exactly thrilled with him in light of the recent events. Also, they'd never seen her be affectionate with a man and he wasn't sure how they'd react to that. As if they could sense his uneasiness, Barbara and Daniel got up and went to the kitchen to get dinner leaving him alone with Arizona on the couch.
"Don't leave me alone with them," Arizona whispered after she was sure her parents were out of the room. She knew that as soon as he left they would really lay into her about not informing them about the accident. The Robbins were private people and even though Alex was Arizona's live-in boyfriend, Arizona knew that her parents were holding back on their real emotions until they had her alone.
Alex leaned down to kiss Arizona goodbye. He wished he could stay but he couldn't ignore a page. "I'll be back soon hopefully. Page me if you need anything."
Alex made his way back to the kitchen where Barbara was filling a plate for Arizona, "Is there anything we need to do while you're gone, dear?"
Alex rattled off a list of helpful information, "My pager and cell phone numbers are on the fridge. If you need anything just give me a call. The keys to Arizona's car are in the bowl by the entryway. Her car has GPS that will point you wherever you need to go if you need anything. Arizona knows what she isn't allowed to do but you know she's going to try to push the limits. Basically just don't let her get off the couch. If she needs to go to the bathroom, she can hobble pretty well on her own with her crutches if she has help getting off the couch. She'll probably sleep on the couch since she's tired of being in a bed after the hospital. But yeah, hopefully I won't be too long."
"We'll be fine," Daniel huffed. He didn't like being told how to take care of his own daughter. In his eyes Alex was trying to replace him and he was not a fan of that. Daniel was used to being the only man in his daughter's life and the idea that he had to now share that spot with Alex aggravated him. She was his little girl. She was his responsibility to take care of; Daniel didn't like admitting that Alex was taking over his job in his daughter's life.
The Robbins family spent the rest of the night catching up. Arizona was right and as soon as the dinner plates were cleared away her parents let her know just how disappointed they were in her for keeping such major news from them. Disappointment was worse than anger in the Robbins household. Arizona spent her whole life trying to make her parents proud so hearing her father say he was disappointed in her made her heart hurt. After a long lecture from Daniel and promises to inform him of any and all future injuries including stubbed toes, he finally let go of his anger toward Arizona about the accident. After a few hours with her parents Arizona was noticeably tired. She didn't want to make her dad carry her upstairs so she settled on the couch while her parents went upstairs to the guest room.
It was early morning by the time Alex got home from the hospital. The emergency at the hospital was bigger than he originally thought it was going to be and he didn't make it home as quickly as he would have liked. Alex was caught off guard when he walked into the kitchen and Daniel was already up for the day.
"Good morning," Daniel greeted as he sipped on his coffee.
"Good morning," Alex replied. "You're up early," he noticed, trying to make conversation with his girlfriend's father.
Daniel shrugged, "Time change. My body's internal clock says it is already eight o'clock."
Alex had forgotten about the three hour time difference, "Right."
"Care to join me for a cup?"
Alex really wanted to go take a nap but he could tell that it wasn't really a question with The Colonel. He wasn't being asked to have a cup of coffee with him, he was being told. Alex pulled another mug out of the cabinet and filled it to the brim.
"I want to talk to you about my daughter," Daniel started speaking before Alex had even taken his first sip of coffee.
"Yes, sir," Alex answered respectfully. He realized that he was about to get the talk from his girlfriend's father and he didn't want to give him any more reasons to dislike him.
"Arizona's the baby of the family. She's always been a daddy's girl. Which is why Barb and I were so upset to find out that our baby girl had nearly died and, yes we were in the middle of the Mediterranean, but we still should have been told." Daniel looked directly into Alex's eyes, "You should have found a way to tell us even if it meant flying out to tell us yourself. When you have your own children maybe you'll understand this."
Alex nodded. He'd only known he was going to be a father for less than a month but he still knew he would do anything in the world to protect his baby. "Yes sir, it was a mistake. A huge mistake. I should have found a way to let you guys know. I'm sorry for that."
"Let's not let that happen again," Daniel said. He had planned on really laying into Alex about his failure but he realized that would solve nothing. Alex knew that he made a mistake and apologized for it. Daniel knew that he needed to let it go. Making a big deal of it would only upset Arizona and he knew she needed to be relaxing and not worrying about her parents getting along with her boyfriend.
"It won't. I promise."
"Good because my daughter seems to care for you a lot and I wouldn't have to hurt you," Daniel smiled when Alex choked on his coffee as he heard the subtle threat. "Now I'm sure you could use some sleep after working all night. We'll keep Arizona suitably entertained for awhile."
"Good luck with that," Alex laughed. He knew how hard it was to entertain her and he knew that she would be just as big of a pain in the ass for her parents as she was for him.
Alex stopped by the couch on his way upstairs. Arizona was still sleeping peacefully. He didn't want to disturb her so he left her with a kiss on the forehead before going to upstairs to their bed. When Alex woke up a few hours later he could hear Arizona playfully arguing with her father as they played a game on the Nintendo. It sounded like the Robbins' family visit might not be so awful after all.
…
Alex was playing with the collar on his sweater. He felt like it was suffocating him. He rolled his neck in hopes that would make him feel better. It did. For a second. Then his arms started to itch under the heavy wool. After rubbing his arms up and down in an attempt to relieve the itching, he finally gave up and pulled the sweater over his head and threw it on the ground.
"What is his deal?" Cristina asked Callie and Meredith who were sitting in the lounge watching Alex freak out.
Meredith shook her head in disbelief as Alex continued to have a fight with his clothing, this time unbuttoning the collar on the shirt he had underneath the sweater. "Hey! What'd that sweater ever do to you?'
"Nothing," Alex harrumphed and picked it up off the floor and put it back on. It wasn't the sweater's fault that he was nervous.
"So what's with the sweater and button-up? Is it formal night at the Karev house?" Cristina asked curiously. The only sweater she'd ever seen him wear had a hood and a kangaroo pocket in the front. He was looking way too dressed up for his normal self.
"Dinner out with Arizona's parents," Alex explained.
"She's supposed to be on bed rest," Callie reminded him. Arizona might have been discharged from the hospital but she was still her patient and Callie didn't want to have to operate on her ever again.
"I tried that argument but she even agreed to use the wheelchair, which she hates, so she must really want to have this dinner."
"I'd want a jailbreak too if I was being cooped up for so long," Meredith added.
Alex's cell phone rang in his pocket. He pulled it out and answered it. "Hey, what's up?"
The girls saw no reason not to eavesdrop on his conversation. If he wanted to keep it private then he would need to leave the room.
The girls only got one side of the conversation but they could tell he was talking to Arizona.
"Yes…okay…tonight?...do we have to?...fine…yes, I'm leaving now…love you too," Alex ended the call and pulled at the collar of his sweater again. He was feeling claustrophobic all over again.
"Don't take whatever it is out on that sweater," Meredith chided him.
Alex dropped his hand and huffed. "Fine. I've got to go. Later."
The women chorused their goodbyes.
"Dude, he is so whipped," Cristina acknowledged as soon as the door to the lounge closed.
"You guys haven't spent time with the Robbins. He has every reason to be terrified of them. Her dad is a very intimidating man," Callie shivered after thinking about the first time she met Arizona's father. Daniel interrogated her for over an hour about every thing she had done in her life from the time she graduated high school until the present. He never seemed happy with any answers. He wanted only the best for his daughter and he made that clear.
"It's still weird right? Alex and Arizona together? And having a baby?" Meredith asked her friends. "I can't get over it. Alex actually seems happy. This has to be really weird right, Callie?"
"So weird," Callie agreed. "I don't know that I'll believe it until I have to see it every day when Arizona comes back to work."
…
Alex took his time driving to the house to pick everyone up for dinner. Arizona wanted to tell her parents about the baby at dinner that night. They had been in town for a few days and everything was going well so she figured it was time to spill the beans or else that would be another thing for them to be mad at her for. Alex was very nervous about how they were going to take the news. He knew that Barbara would probably be shocked but thrilled. Daniel was a different story. He was hard to read. Alex knew how protective he was of his daughter and knowing that Alex had gotten his daughter pregnant probably wasn't going to go over well. Everyone had been getting along swimmingly so far and Alex feared that would all blow up once they learned about the baby.
Once he got home and everyone was loaded into the car, they headed out to their favorite steakhouse for dinner. Alex wanted to do everything possible to put Daniel in a good mood and knowing that he was a steak and potatoes guy, he hoped that would help. Alex should have known that Arizona would renig on her promises to use her wheelchair. She started bargaining to use her crutches as soon as they got in the car. They argued most of the way to the restaurant with Arizona eventually getting her way even with all three of the other occupants in the car insisting that she use the wheelchair. Apparently no one was immune to her use of blue eyes and dimples even the people that gave them to her.
Throughout dinner Alex could sense Arizona's nerves as well. She picked at her food which was unusual for her at that restaurant. She blamed it on the medicines she was still taking but Alex knew that it was because of the nervous energy in her stomach. He really knew she was nervous when the check came and she still hadn't broached the topic.
"I thought we were telling them," Alex whispered as he helped Arizona into the front seat of the car.
"We will once we get home. I don't think a public place was such a great idea," Arizona whispered back.
Alex sighed and nodded. He would do whatever Arizona wanted but he was hoping to get the news out in a public place. Daniel wouldn't dare do anything to hurt him in public as there would be too many witnesses.
When they got back to the house, Barbara tried to insist that Arizona go straight to bed after such an outing but Arizona refused instead opting to settle on the couch again. Once everyone was sitting down, Arizona squeezed Alex's hand. It was time to spill the beans.
"Okay, so Mom and Dad, there's just one last thing about the accident that I might have not told you about yet," Arizona started to tell her parents before her father cut her off.
"What do you mean you haven't told us everything? You promised, Arizona," Daniel scolded her like she was a child. "Alex, you promised too."
"This isn't anything bad, Dad. I just wanted to give you guys some time to calm down after everything before I told you guys this." Arizona paused and looked at Alex who gave her a reassuring head nod. She summoned her courage to tell them. "It turns out that I'm pregnant. You're going to be grandparents in like seven months." Arizona noticed the hitch in her parents' breathing. She continued, hoping that they would realize how amazing this really was. "And it's a miracle really that the baby's okay after the accident. So this is good news. Really good news."
Alex and Arizona looked at the elder Robbins' and waited for a response. It took several seconds but it finally came.
"You're what?" Daniel shouted.
"And there it is," Arizona whispered under her breath before speaking louder. "Having a baby, Dad. Your grandchild," she added hoping that would help him to calm down a little. She knew her father's reaction would probably not be the happiest. He hated his little girl growing up. He hated it when she got her drivers license, graduated high school, and every other life milestone.
Arizona looked from her father to her mother. Barbara was sitting on the couch with her hands covering her mouth. She was clearly in shock. Arizona thought she could see tears in her eyes but she wasn't sure.
"Mom, can you say something?" Arizona prodded her mother to speak.
Barbara lowered her hands from her mouth, "I'm just really surprised, sweetie."
Arizona laughed at her mother's comment. The pregnancy being a surprise was an understatement. "You told me you wanted grandchildren at Christmas so I'm just giving you what you asked for."
Barbara just laughed and suddenly launched herself off of the couch and into her daughter's arms for a hug. Alex just sat next to Arizona awkwardly as the two embraced. He didn't know what he was supposed to do or say in this situation. Surprisingly, even with the number of girls he had slept with, this was the first girl he had gotten pregnant and had to do the whole tell the family talk.
"And I'm to assume that Alex is the father?" Daniel asked as he watched his wife and daughter hug.
"Daaaaaad," Arizona groaned and glared at him over her mother's shoulder as her mom continued to have her in a death grip. Her father always said what was on his mind no matter how inappropriate it was.
"Yes," Alex spoke over Arizona. He knew he needed to remain strong and confident in front of Daniel even if he was nervous about his reaction.
Barbara immediately separated herself from Arizona and pulled Alex in for a hug as well. "This is great news. Congratulations to you both."
Once Barbara let go of Alex she went right back to her daughter and started bombarding her with questions about the due date, ultrasound pictures, nursery colors and anything else baby related that came to her mind.
Daniel knew that once Barbara started talking baby things there would be no other discussion happening in the living room. So he got up went to the kitchen and grabbed two beers.
"Alex, care to join me for a drink outside?" Daniel asked as he handed him a bottle.
Just like when Daniel asked him to have coffee the other day, Alex knew that this was not an invitation; it was a demand. Arizona and Barbara barely even noticed when the two men left the living room and went out onto the deck.
For the first time that night Alex was happy with his sweater. It was wool and it was a brisk early spring night in Seattle so it was perfect for keeping him warm while dealing with the ice cold man standing next to him. Alex stood awkwardly as Daniel stared at him for several minutes.
"I need to be able to trust you with my daughter and my grandchild," Daniel said sternly before taking a drink from his beer. Daniel had always thought highly of Alex until he failed to inform him that his daughter's life was in danger. Arizona was critically injured under his watch. Daniel knew that Alex didn't cause the accident but still – he was the one that was supposed to be taking care of her. Alex had lost a lot of standing in Daniel's eyes over the last week and he needed to work hard to get it back if Daniel was going to trust Alex again.
Alex felt like he was being put on the spot but he knew where Daniel was coming from. Over the past few weeks Alex had quickly learned just how much parents care for their children as he had his own on the way. Alex knew that Daneil just wanted to make sure his daughter was taken care of, so Alex just spoke to him from the heart. "I love your daughter. I know that I'm not the person you thought Arizona would end up with – even ignoring the fact that I'm a guy. I'm not a parent's dream for their child. Most people think I'm a jerk because I speak my mind and don't sugarcoat things. But I grew watching my drug addict father beat the crap out of my mother until I got big enough that I could protect her from him. And then I was kicked around so many foster homes that it made me wish I was back home being beaten up every day because that was better that what happened in the foster homes. So I learned to put up these walls to protect myself from being hurt like that ever again and I don't let people past those walls. My attitude is just a way to keep people out. It's my defense mechanism. But a few years ago, I had this surgery with this know-it-all new peds department head, and she told me that she thought that I could be the future of the hospital. She saw something in me and she believed in me. No one has ever believed in me like Arizona does. And somehow along the way she went from being my boss to being my friend to my best friend to my girlfriend and some day she will be my wife. I'd ask her to marry me today but I know she's not on the same page yet. She's still dealing with this major life change of even liking a man so I know she's not ready to marry me yet… but she's getting there. And one day soon, I will ask her to marry me and she is going to say yes. And this baby… our baby is going to be so incredibly loved. It already is. I didn't know it was possible to love someone so much that I haven't even met yet. My family with your daughter will be the best thing that I will ever do with my life. I am going to spend the rest of my life loving your daughter and your grandchildren and doing everything I possibly can to protect them. So while you might not trust me today, you will. Because I'm not going anywhere."
Alex took a long, deep breath after he stopped speaking. He wasn't even sure what he had said. He was pretty sure he gave a damn good speech. He had been on the receiving end of many of Arizona's speeches so he knew that he had to have picked up something from her along the way. He just hoped he had made sense because he just spoke as things came into his head and sometimes his mind wasn't the clearest place to be. And he needed Daniel to know how important Arizona was to him.
Daniel listened carefully to everything that Alex had told him. Most of it was news to him. He didn't know about Alex's childhood. He did know about his smart mouth but overlooked that as he took it as Alex just being brutally honest and Daniel appreciated honesty in any form. Overall, Daniel was impressed with the young man standing in front of him. He didn't expect Alex to stand up to him so firmly. He had expected him to cave and beg for his approval. In his military career Daniel was used to having to break men down to build them back up again. But it sounded like Arizona had already done that with Alex. From what he knew about Arizona and Alex's relationship it sounded like they found each other when they were both very broken and then they built each other back up together. Even though he personally thought it was too soon to be talking about marriage, Daniel approved of Alex as a future son-in-law and he knew that Alex would take care of his family.
Daniel was still staring at Alex when Barbara's voice carried out onto the deck. "Dan?" she called after her husband. "Danny? Where did you guys go? Come look at the pictures of your grandbaby."
Daniel knew they needed to get back inside. He paused as he walked by Alex and turned so that they were looking at each other. Alex stopped breathing when Daniel stopped right in front of him and stared him down. Arizona had told Alex enough stories about Daniel's Marine Corps' skills to know how easily Daniel could hurt him. He might be older but he was still a Marine. Alex was certain he was a goner when Daniel stopped with only inches separating them.
Daniel stared directly into Alex's eyes, "You make sure you let me know before you plan on asking her to marry you."
Alex's voice was shaky, "Yes, sir."
"And don't forget that I've been to war and I know how to kill," Daniel warned as he walked into the house.
Alex stood stunned out on the deck. He couldn't believe that that is all that Daniel had to say after his speech. In the short time he had known the Robbins family, he knew that Daniel wasn't a many of few words. He was a man of many words. He had taught Arizona her speechifying ways. So Alex was confused when Daniel only gave him a two sentence response. He figured Daniel must have approved of at least some of the things he had to say because Daniel didn't tell him that he couldn't marry his daughter. Alex was sure that if Daniel disapproved, he certainly would have said so. They both shared the brutally honest trait. The warning about killing Alex wasn't anything new to him. Daniel liked to remind everyone about his military service and Alex knew that was his way of telling him to take care of his daughter.
"Alex," Arizona called out from the house when her dad returned but her boyfriend was still missing. "Where are you?"
Alex broke out of his daze on the deck and went inside. He was happy that Arizona was right where he left her on the couch. She had a dazzling smile on her face as she showed her parents the latest ultrasound pictures. At twelve weeks the baby actually started looking less like a blob and more like a baby with a discernable head and limbs. Arizona looked so happy and excited as she pointed out different things to her parents in the pictures. Arizona looked up from the pictures to find Alex staring at her from the entrance to the living room. She needed him closer to share this moment with her family. Arizona beckoned him closer with her finger and Alex couldn't refuse. He joined her on the couch and linked their fingers together again. He leaned over to see what picture the grandparents were looking at and smiled as he saw his unborn child; those pictures always put a smile on his face. Arizona and Barbara dominated the conversation the rest of the night as they talked everything baby with Alex only speaking up when a question was directed at him or he had a strong opinion on the subject. Alex was content to sit and hold Arizona's hand as she went baby crazy with her mother. It was moments like this that he feared he might never get when he sat by her bedside in the hospital.
…