AN: I would just like to clarify that this story is written on my own and that I don't really have a beta, just a couple people who read over what I have written. So, if the story has gone in a direction that some readers aren't enjoying, that is no one's fault but my own. I do have a master plan in my head, and it is also written down in outline form. It is not influenced by anyone other than me. Anyway, just needed to address a couple guest reviews that I have received!

AN2: On a lighter note, I would like to thank all of you who continue to read and review this story! Your reviews always make me smile, and I am grateful to each and every one of you for sticking with me week after week. So, without further ado, let's see how Callie and Arizona make it out of their latest mess. Thanks again!

Twenty-One

Callie stood in the living room, staring at the door that she'd just forced Lauren to leave through. Her chest and ribs ached with over exertion, her heart breaking at the thought of the fact that Arizona still did not trust her. Momentarily standing still as her mind raced, she shook her head as tears began to well in her eyes. She felt terrible. He body hurt both physically and emotionally; she just couldn't believe that Arizona would ever think that she would make such a hasty or callous decision about the twins without so much as consulting her first.

Finally crossing the room toward the bedroom, she paused, unsure of what she should do next. She wanted to be with Arizona - desperately needed her in ways she'd never before felt - but she couldn't continue to live like this, with the fear that Arizona simply did not respect or trust her.

Maybe they had moved too quickly. Maybe they'd been longing for this relationship to work for so long that when the window of opportunity finally presented itself, they jumped right through without a second glance. Maybe they'd given into their wants and desires too rapidly when they both needed time to heal from their previous marriages. At this point in time, Callie wasn't really sure of the answer, but what she was sure of was the fact that she needed some time. Time away. Time to think. Time to re-evaluate the relationship she was currently involved in.

So, with a heavy heart, she turned the doorknob leading into the bedroom, tears dripping down her cheeks when she saw Arizona sitting dejectedly on the side of the bed.

Arizona immediately jumped up when she saw Callie enter, quickly crossing the room to stand in front of her. "How could you do this, Calliope? How could you let that woman into our home and actually have a conversation with her?"

Callie shook her head, quickly wiping the tears from her face. "She was drunk and nearly beating the door down, Arizona," the Latina informed with a sigh. "She was about to pass out on our doorstep, and then she started puking. What would you have me do? Huh? Just let her yack all over our living room?"

"She shouldn't have been in our living room, Callie! That's the point!" Arizona angrily spat.

The brunette rolled her eyes. "She was banging on the door and wouldn't have stopped had I not let her in. I shouldn't have done it, but at the time - at three in the morning - I really wasn't sure of what else to do," Callie contended, stepping away from her angry fiancé to grab a duffle bag from under their bed. Setting in atop the disheveled duvet, she then turned around to begin rifling through her dresser drawers.

Arizona stared at her, shock evident on her exhausted looking features. "Wh-what are you doing?" she asked, her voice cracking in irritation and in fear.

Callie grabbed a shirt and a pair of comfortable pants, socks and underwear before shoving them into the bag. "I think I need some space. I'm going to go stay with Mark and Addison for a while."

"What?" Arizona incredulously asked. "Why?"

Zipping up her bag, Callie paused before turning to face her fiancé. "You don't trust me, Arizona. You don't respect anything I do, and I. . .I just need some time to think."

"I do, Callie," the now tearful blonde was quick to interrupt. "I trust you and respect you. I-I-I. . ."

Callie shook her head. "No. You really don't. You've made that very clear to me."

"Yes, Callie. I do. More than anything."

Tilting her head to the side, the brunette nearly faltered at the sight of her confused and upset fiancé. "You don't, Arizona. You always think the worst of me. You assumed that I would just make a very important decision about your children. . ."

"Our children, Calliope."

Callie once again shook her head, her heart breaking. "No," she whispered, a lone tear making its way down her cheek to gather on her lips. "They're yours, Arizona. Not mine not even Lauren's. You made that very clear when you said that decisions regarding the twins weren't mine to make," she spoke, her words despondent and full of pain. "So, I'm going to go. I need to decide what I want to do. Because, I can't live like this, Arizona. I can't spend every day in fear that you don't trust me or that I'll make a wrong decision regarding the twins."

Arizona stood speechless as she watched Callie pull a hooded sweatshirt from the closet, stepping forward to help when she heard her fiancé wince when she attempted to pull the garment over her head. "Let me help you," she softly insisted.

Callie stepped back, straightening her clothing on her own. "I got it. Thank you."

"Please, Callie. I'm sorry. I was so shocked to see Lauren here, and then the things she said. . ."

"I know," Callie simply replied as she backed out of the bedroom and into the living room.

"Then, please. Please, don't leave."

Callie shook her head, reaching for her keys to the new SUV their fathers had chosen for her.

"You can't drive, Calliope," Arizona insisted from her position in the middle of the living room floor.

"It's less than ten miles, Arizona. I'll be fine."

And with that, Callie disappeared out the front door leaving a heartbroken and shocked Arizona to crumble in on herself, tears streaming down her face as she sat sobbing on the couch.

Throwing open the front door of the home he shared with his wife, Mark sighed when he saw the sobbing mess of a woman standing on his doorstep. "What the Hell happened?" he asked, ushering Callie into the foyer.

"I-I-I I'm not even sure," Callie cried, dropping her bag and purse in the middle of the floor as she followed her best friend into the kitchen. "I. . .shit. . .fucking Lauren. . ." she stammered, choked sobs resonating around the room.

"What about Lauren?" Mark asked, filling the coffee pot with water.

Callie shook her head, grabbing several napkins from the holder on the island to wipe at her face and blow her nose. "She came to the apartment. God, I hate her. She's such a conniving little. . .ugh. . .fuck!"

"Shhh," Mark insisted as he helped his best friend onto one of the high stools surrounding the counter. "Addison just got home from an emergency call and is sleeping."

Callie sheepishly regarded her friend as she blew her nose. "What the Hell am I even doing, Mark? I came here and just moved right in on some other woman's wife. I-I-I asked her to marry me and promised to raise her children with her. Wh-what the Hell? Who does that?"

Mark pushed the hair back from his best friend's face. "You do that, Callie. You see what you want, and you go for it."

The brunette shook her head upon hearing the man's words. "But look where that has gotten me. Living in a relationship with a woman who doesn't trust me."

Mark was confused. "What do you mean she doesn't trust you?" he asked, pulling two large mugs from a high cabinet.

"Lauren was at the apartment. She was drunk, and I let her in. . ."

Mark raised his eyebrows at his friend's kindness.

"Not my smartest move. I get it," she hissed, regarding the look on his face. "But she scared me, Mark. She said she was going to get a lawyer and that she has rights. She asked that I talk to Arizona about her having some kind of visitation with the twins."

"And?"

Callie rolled her eyes. "I agreed that I would talk to Arizona. But, that's all I said. And then that stupid bitch turned around and told Arizona I said she should have joint custody. But what's worse, is that Arizona believed her!"

Mark shook his head as he added cream and sugar to Callie's mug, adding nothing to his own. Glancing from the still brewing pot to the woman seated across the island from him, he sighed. "Okay, I'm just going to play devil's advocate here. . ."

"Don't you dare, Mark Sloan. Don't you dare tell me that I was wrong."

Mark couldn't help but laugh at his friend. "I'm not saying you're wrong, Cal. . .but I do think maybe you should cut Arizona a little slack."

Callie scoffed at the thought; she'd cut Arizona a little slack time and time again.

"Just hear me out," Mark insisted, finally pouring two cups of Joe and handing one to his brunette best friend. "So, it's three thirty in the morning, and you're aroused from sleep by the sound of your ex-wife and your soon to be wife arguing in your living room. You go out to see what's going on, and you hear from said ex that your new wife thinks it would be a good idea to share custody of the babies who are currently growing inside your body."

"That's not what I said. I didn't agree with Lauren. I. . ."

Mark's reproachful look caused Callie to pause, allowing him to continue. "So, you're tired, you're hormonal, your fiancé - the love of your life - was just in a car accident that required lifesaving surgery and a three week stay in the hospital. You're stressed. You're anxious. You've had one too many run-ins with the she devil, and. . ."

Callie huffed, holding up her hand for him to stop talking. "I get it, okay. Lauren is a bitch, and because of her, Arizona doesn't trust easily. Fine. I get it, but what do I do, Mark? How do I make Arizona trust me? How do I get her to understand that I would never hurt her like Lauren did?"

Mark sipped from his mug, his eyes never leaving the confused brunette. "Well for starters, I'd say you should never pack a bag and go running off in the middle of the night."

Hopping up onto the examination table, Arizona roughly pulled up her scrub top before pushing her pants down below her belly. "Can we please get this over with? I'm not sure why you insist on doing this so often. The twins are fine. I'm fine. Don't I seem fine?"

"You seem intense," Addison informed, squeezing a generous amount of ultrasound gel onto Arizona's belly.

Arizona huffed, though her eyes softened when the image of her unborn babies appeared on the monitor. "God, they are a beautiful sight," she cooed, reaching up with her index finger to trace the face of one baby after the other as tears brimmed in her cerulean eyes.

Addison smirked at Arizona's sudden change of heart. "You're at twenty-five weeks now, and everything looks great. If you promise to behave, I'll change your appointments back to every four weeks instead of two."

"Yeah. Fine. Whatever," Arizona hissed as she wiped at her belly with a paper towel before once again covering it with her shirt.

Addison sat back, shocked by the blonde's blasé attitude concerning the health of her children. Resting her hand on her thigh, the red head paused until she looked in her direction. "This lovely attitude of yours wouldn't have anything to do with the fact that there was a hot brunette sleeping on my sofa when I left my house earlier, would it?"

Arizona sheepishly regarded her friend, though her eyes quickly lit with concern. "She. . .Callie was on the couch? She just had surgery to repair a collapsed lung, Addison. Couldn't you have at least offered her a bed? You live in a freakin' mansion that has five bedrooms! I'm sure you could have done better than the couch!"

The red head looked momentarily offended, though that quickly passed. "I told Mark the same thing, but he said she fell asleep there, and he didn't want to bother her."

Arizona sighed as she rubbed her fingertips against her temples in an attempt to fend off the massive headache she could feel building behind her eyes. Both women sat in silence for several long moments before the blonde sighed. "I think I really messed things up this time, Addie. I'm not sure Callie will ever speak to me again."

Addison shook her head. "I highly doubt that," she insisted, patting Arizona's thigh. "Mark told me what happened."

Arizona rolled her eyes at terrible gossip her best friend could be. "I screwed up big time last night, but I. . .I love her with my whole heart, Addison. I trust her more than anyone I've ever met, even though I didn't show that at all last night. It's just. . .Lauren scares the shit out of me. There's no limit to the things she will do to make me miserable, and last night, I just assumed the worst. Out of Lauren, but unfortunately out of Calliope, too."

Taking Arizona's hand, Addison helped her off the examination table. "Callie knows you love her. You just have to prove to her that you trust her. . .and you definitely have to stop comparing her to Lauren."

Arizona sighed as she pushed her arms into the sleeves of her lab coat, and like a shot, her head snapped up, her eyes twinkling. "I know exactly what I need to do."

Callie lay on Mark and Addison's sofa, flipping through the channels and finding nothing but terrible day time television on the TV. She knew she should get up and go home or drive to the hospital to find Arizona, but she just couldn't bring herself to move. She was drained. She was exhausted. She was still a little pissed.

Stopping on a marathon of American Bake Off, she aimlessly stared at the screen as four contenders fought to create the most amazing looking cake anyone had ever seen. "That's disgusting," she spoke to herself in the quiet of the empty house. "Who the hell wants to eat that after you've been playing in the icing? Completely unsanitary. Did you wash your hands before you started sculpting that shit? That's just gross," she spoke again into the vacant room. "Wonder if they use sterile technique?"

Finally realizing that she was indeed talking to herself, Callie pressed the power button on the remote control before tossing it onto the coffee table in front of her. Slowly swinging her legs over the side of the couch, she gingerly sat up.

She was going stir crazy. She needed to be at work. She needed to be cutting on someone, but every time she moved, pain shot through her ribcage at a sometimes paralyzing degree. She definitely needed something to do, but most of all, she needed to see Arizona. She needed to talk to her. She needed to be honest with her and tell her just how much her accusations really hurt.

Slowly standing from the sofa, she turned to straighten the cushions and just as she was about to make her way up the stairs and into one of the spare bathroom's to take a steaming hot shower, a ringing of the doorbell halted her. Making her way through the foyer and to the door, she hesitantly opened it.

"Okay, so picture this. I was at work today, and Addison was doing another ultrasound to check on the twins, and they looked great, but I started crying. . ."

A slight smile lit Callie's features as she listened to her fiancé's rambled speech as she held the door open between them.

"So, Addison asked me if it was because of you, and I said that I messed up big time with my fiancé. Like really messed up with her. And so she said that she knows that my fiancé loves me, but that I need to prove to her that I really trust her. . ."

Callie's face fell at the mention of trust. It had become blatantly obvious in the wee hours of that morning that Arizona certainly did not trust her.

"And then I was getting ready to leave my appointment, and it hit me. I knew exactly what I needed to do," Arizona finished off with a smile, her eyes raking up and down Callie's form. "You look really pretty," she added as an afterthought.

Brown eyes looked up and down her own body; she personally didn't look or feel pretty at all in a pair of pink plaid pajama pants and an oversized lime green Seattle Seahawks hooded sweatshirt. Skeptically regarding the blonde standing on the front porch, Callie then watched as she pulled a large manila envelope from the messenger bag that was draped across her body.

"This is for you," Arizona insisted, passing along the envelope.

Callie hesitantly took the offering from ivory hands, her fingers fiddling with the adhesive flap before slowly tearing it open. Pulling the papers from within, she gasped when she read the words written across the top of the form.

PETITION FOR SECOND PARENT ADOPTION

"Arizona, I. . ."

"Just hear me out, Callie. I know that I have issues. . .especially regarding trust and even more so regarding Lauren. I feel like she ruined me. . .like she stripped me down and scooped all the good right out of me, but with you, I feel whole again. I feel like I can do anything in the world, and I really need you to believe me when I tell you that."

Callie glanced up from the form, her fingers tracing over the word parent as she did. "You hurt me, Arizona, and I know that you didn't do it intentionally, but it still. . .hurt."

Sensing that Callie's guard was down, Arizona quickly stepped through the door, gently shutting it behind her. "I know that, Calliope, but I need you to know that I do trust you. With me. With our babies. And, I need you to believe me when I tell you that," she insisted, curiously watching as several emotions seemed to play out on her fiancé's face. "I'm hoping that by giving you these documents that my actions will speak louder than my words and that you'll forgive me. Because I love you so much, Calliope, and I'll never be able to forgive myself for hurting you."

Tears welled in Callie's eyes as she considered the gravity of the papers she held in her hands. They had certainly talked about her adopting the twins once they were born, but this was a whole new step. She now actually held the proof that Arizona was all in and that she really wanted to be a family in her grasp.

Arizona's eyes never left Callie's face as she watched her take in all of the information; she could literally see and hear the wheels turning in her pretty little head. "Oh, and there's one more thing," the blonde quickly added, once again reaching into her bag. Pulling out a beautiful red rose, she offered it to the Latina who now wore a lopsided grin on her face. "I got you this. . .too."

Callie's crooked smile quickly turned into a megawatt one as she accepted the proffered flower, its pedals more stunningly perfect than that of any other rose she had ever seen. Dipping her nose into the top for a quick sniff, she quickly pulled back from it when the sensation of cool medal touched the tip of nose. Glancing down into the top of the flower, shocked brown eyes quickly flicked back up to a smiling Arizona.

The blonde took the flower from a now trembling caramel hand, deft fingers digging into it to produce a stunning diamond engagement ring.

"Arizona. . ."

Holding up her index finger to halt the brunette's speech, she slowly crouched down on one knee. "I know you already asked, and I already said yes, but as I was leaving my lawyer's office this morning with the adoption papers, I realized that every girl deserves a proposal and a. . .ring," she insisted, setting the rose aside to hold the platinum and diamond engagement ring that was similar to her own, but uniquely Callie's style at the same time, up for her fiancé's inspection. "I love you with all my heart, Calliope. We've been friends for years, but beyond that, my love for you has grown more and more with each passing day. You are the most beautiful and caring person I've ever met. You're amazing," she began before trailing off to gather her nerves. "You've been there for me through the bad times, but we've also shared more good times than I can even count."

Callie wiped at the tears that threatened to fall down her face before gradually lowering herself onto her own knees so that she was face to face with the beautiful blonde who no matter what - no matter what kind of disagreement they may have had - held the key to her heart.

"I know that sometimes I'm a hot mess, but you. . .you keep me grounded. You're the other half that makes me whole and always have been. I love and respect your fire, your devotion and faithfulness to the things you hold most dear, and you make me want to be better. You make me want to try harder to be that way myself," Arizona admitted with a smirk on her face as she witnessed all of Callie's defenses slowly melting away before her eyes. "A love like ours has never happened to me before, Calliope. I've never been in the presence of someone who shares my dreams; someone who has made my dreams her own. And those are just a few of the reasons I'm hoping you still want to spend the rest of your life with me and our babies."

A choked cry slipped from Callie's lips, interrupting Arizona's heartfelt speech, but when the room fell quiet once again, the blonde continued. "Calliope, I want to love you forever. Will you grant me the honor of doing that? Will you marry me?"

Callie sniffed, wiping at her nose with the back of a shaking hand, and with a smile bright enough to light the entire western seaboard, she nodded her head. "Yes, Arizona," she whispered, laughing as the blonde quickly slipped the beautifully sparkling engagement ring onto her left ring finger.

"And do you believe me when I tell you that these babies are not just mine, but yours, as well? That I trust you with my life and theirs and that I want more than anything for you to adopt them and make them your own?"

Callie tilted her head to the side, her heart swelling with pride and more love than she had ever before felt. "Yes, I believe you," she quietly replied.

Taking both of Callie's hands into her own, Arizona pulled them to rest over her heart before leaning in to seal the deal with a proper and less than chaste kiss. "I love you," she then spoke against moist plump lips.

Callie smiled into their kiss before sucking Arizona's bottom lip into her mouth. "I love you, too," she replied with a smile.

Leaning back after several long moments, Arizona attempted to stand, her knees aching from kneeling for too long on Mark and Addison's hardwood floor. "This whole down on one knee business is for the birds," she joked, her ever growing baby belly making her ascent extremely difficult.

Callie tried to stand as well, her ribs aching as she did so. "Sorry, sweetie. I'm not much help."

Arizona laughed as they both struggled to get up off the floor. "Look at us. We're quite a pair."

The brunette laughed as she grabbed onto the arm of a chair to help raise herself into standing. "Yep. We're a match made in heaven."

Six hours later, Callie sat on the couch in the living room of her own apartment, her feet propped up on the coffee table as she scanned the information on the iPad that rested on her lap. With her brow furrowed as she worried her bottom lip between her teeth, she squinted her eyes as she read the words on the screen.

Arizona had returned to work after they each managed to extract themselves from Mark and Addison's floor, dropping Callie off at their apartment on her way back to the hospital. So, with a ton of time on her hands, the Latina began to do some research which led her to her current position, reading through document after document on her tablet. Soon though, the jingle of keys in the door alerted Callie to the arrival of her fiancé, but she didn't look in that direction, choosing instead to finish up the article she was currently reading.

Arizona shrugged out of her jacket before depositing her keys and bag on a small table near the door, smiling as she made her way toward the love of her life who was currently engrossed in some kind of reading on her iPad. Stepping up behind the couch, she leaned forward, wrapping her arms around Callie's neck, kissing her cheek before resting her chin on her shoulder. "What are you looking at?" she questioned as she too glanced down at the brightly lit screen.

Callie shrugged, never once turning away from what she was doing. "I've been reading. About adoption and non-biological parent rights. Supreme Court rulings, donor insemination, same sex co-parenting and parenting contracts. Legal marriage versus commitment ceremonies. . ."

"Who needs Google when they have you," Arizona teased, patting Callie's shoulder before making her way around the sofa to take a seat next to her fiancé.

The brunette only smiled slightly as her fingers flew across the keyboard attached to her iPad.

Arizona watched as Callie found another article to read, sighing when she became engrossed in what she saw. "You okay?" she finally asked when the other woman continued to sit in silence.

Finally dragging her eyes from the screen, worried brown eyes met questioning blue. "I'm worried. I'm afraid Lauren may actually have some rights to the twins. She inseminated you, Arizona, a-a-and at the time the babies were conceived, you both wanted to have a baby together, so she. . .she might automatically have the parental authority to make decisions about them."

Arizona searched Callie's face, seeing the sheer panic written across her ever feature and removing the iPad from her lap, she set it to the side. "I spoke with my lawyer today. She said that because Lauren and I never agreed to or signed any type of contract listing her as a co-parent, then she doesn't really have a case. She could try to seek some form of custody, but she will most likely lose."

Callie shook her head, swallowing hard. "But she wanted them, Arizona. Just as much as you did. How can you. . .how can we possibly deny her the right to see them?" she asked, her voice rising in volume and pitch with every word she spoke. "What if it was you, and Lauren was carrying the babies when you two separated? Wouldn't you want to see them? Wouldn't you do everything in your power to be a part of the babies' lives?"

The blonde sighed; she had never really thought about it like that. "Of course I would, Callie, but the difference is, I'm not the one who left our relationship. I'm not the one who cheated on my wife and chose to leave. It's just. . .different."

"What if it's not different though? What if she takes you to court and gets some kind of visitation or-or-or God forbid, joint custody? What then?"

Arizona's rubbed her hand over her forehead before letting out a ragged breath. "I don't know, Calliope," she softly admitted with a shake of her head. "We have no control over what Lauren does, but if she does try something, we'll deal with it then. We'll get the best lawyers money can buy, and we'll make sure nothing bad happens to our kids," she earnestly insisted before gathering Callie into her arms. "There's no sense in driving ourselves crazy worrying about it right now, though. Okay?"

Callie returned her fiancé's embrace, the feeling of being held by the woman she loved helping to calm her racing mind and flailing nerves. Finally bulling back, she nodded her head before she agreed. "Okay."

AN3: Thanks so much for reading, and I look forward to reading your reviews. If you have questions about the story, please log in instead of reviewing as a guest so that I can properly respond to you. Thanks again! You guys are the best!