AN: Thank you for your super support… and the great engagement regarding this fic. Some of you even had a couple of tears falling while reading last chapter; that's truly commitment, you guys. Awesome!
(Maybe you should get a couple of Kleenex while reading this chapter as well. Just a friendly suggestion…)

"Dr. Robbins!"

I'm at work. I'm Dr. Robbins, I'm not mom or Mommy. I'm not Arizona the girlfriend. I'm not Honey, Baby or anything remotely like that. I'm just Dr. Robbins here. And it's okay. It's as it should be. I love my job; it's what keeps me on my toes, it's what makes my brain function, and it's what makes my heart sing. I love all it contains; the labouring moms, the babies, the thrills, the saves and the minutes right after a successful surgery. I love it all. I'm Dr. Robbins and I'm awesome. But right now I'd rather be at home. With my own baby. She's finally home. And I'm stuck here at the hospital. I know that's just how life goes. I need to work and she needs to see me work because that's good for her view on strong women and bla bla bla. It sucks right now, though. I'm sure Sofia doesn't care about feminism and independence this moment, I'm pretty sure she'd rather curl up on the couch with me and P. Shoot, I did it again. That little cute brat's constant nicknaming of my girlfriend is totally rubbing off on me. Anyway, I'm very confident about Sofia wanting to snuggle with both Eliza and I instead of being stuck in day-care on her last day before attending her new school.

Eliza's working this night, too. I'm working, Penny's working and Callie's working at Seattle Pres. My heart broke when I saw the disappointed look on my daughter's face when I told her about tonight. She'd been looking forward to a piano-session with Eliza while I made homemade pizza. Her face dropped as did my heart when she disappointingly uttered "So there's no perfect p's tonight?". Sofia's come to call pizza, piano and Pocahontas her perfect p's, something I'm totally on board with. But I had to break her tiny little heart along with my own.

So now she's in day-care... sleeping, waiting on one of us to get off of work and take her home. I feel like such a bad mother... not being able to be with her or having arranged my schedule better with Eliza's, so that one of us would be off to be at home with her. But once again being in a relationship with a surgeon just like myself makes for difficult times.

Glancing at the clock on the wall, it's a little over 10pm. Eliza's shift just started a couple hours ago, mine's ending in less than an hour. Closing the woman on the table meticulously, I take a deep breath.

"Dr. Robbins!" I look up catching the face of Alex Karev.

"What is it, Karev?" I ask as I resume my work.

"You done yet?"

"Don't you think I'd be at home with my daughter if I were done?" I snap, sceptically shaking my head. "Sorry, I'm just-"

"I can close, if you want, Robbins?" he suggests. I look at him and give him a look of confusion. "You should get down to the day-care."

"Why?" I stop what I'm doing, silently pleading for him to answer me.

"It's Sofia."

That's all he needs to say. The woman on the table is stable and the surgery went great, only a couple of complications but I got them under control. But now something's up with my daughter... I need to get out of here. Right. Now!

"Alex...?" I plead, searching for his reassurance.

"Go. I got it!"

And I'm gone.

Reaching the day-care in record time, I push open the doors. I thought my heart broke earlier today but the sight before me surely breaks it anew. I feel the pricking of tears in my eyes, but I push through. Sofia doesn't need to see me like this. She's currently sobbing in the arms of one of the day-care nurses, her hand squeezing her stuffed animal tight.

"Ssshhh. Look, Sofia. Your mom's here," the day-care nurse says, stroking my daughter's hair.

Sofia immediately bolts out of the woman's arms, throwing herself at me. I lift her up and into my arms, hugging her tight to my chest. I can feel her little heart beating... thank God... as she presses herself into my embrace. She tangles her legs around my waist, burying her head in the crook of my neck as well. I soothe her as I stroke her hair, combing my fingers carefully through it.

"What's wrong, sweetheart? What's wrong?" I whisper, swallowing the lump in my throat. Sofia doesn't say anything; she just clings to my body as if I was going to disappear if she didn't.

The day-care nurse approaches us, a sad smile on her face. "Hi, Dr. Robbins," I give her a nod. "She just had a nightmare," she tells me.

But there's no such thing as just a nightmare. I know, I KNOW. I've had them myself, I have them still. The ones where I'm still in the forest, where my leg's being eaten by wolfs, where I can't get out. The ones where I die and never get to see Sofia again. And lately the fear of never seeing Eliza again has broken me in my nightmares as well. Either I lose both of my legs so I can't get home to them or I simply just die out there, eaten by wolfs just like Lexie. I still get them from time to time. So no one's telling me that it's just a nightmare. There's no such thing as just nightmares. They can be so overpowering and vivid, they can almost kill your spirit. This woman clearly hasn't experienced those nightmares herself, and I'm actually very pleased for her. No one should ever have those kind of nightmares. No one. And especially not my daughter.

"I'll just take her home, thank you," I say softly while kissing the top of Sofia's head. Sofia tightens her grip around me, the stuffed animal hanging loosely behind my back. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Dr. Robbins," the day-care nurse says, giving my shoulder a squeeze and then stroking Sofia's back. "Take care."

The weight of Sofia in my arms slows my speed, my prosthetic chafing a little. I push through, my daughter's needs coming before my own right now… and always. When we get to the car, I carefully open the door with one hand and go about placing her in the back seat. She won't let me go, though. Desperately clinging to me, her legs tightening around my back as if she was a little monkey.

"Baby... sweetheart. You've got to let go, honey," I whisper into her ear. "You need to get into the car, Sof."

"Nnngh," is all I get, Sofia's head still nuzzled into the crook of my neck.

"Look at me, honey," I tell her softly. "Sofia, please."

Sofia appears from her hiding place, her eyes puffed due to all the sobbing. "Mommy," she hiccups.

"What is it, honey?"

"I had a bad dream," her bottom lip trembling.

I'm not sure I'm prepared to listen to my daughter's bad dream. Not because I don't want to hear it but I'm not sure my heart can take it. It's not about me, though. It's always about her, always. "What about?" I give her a reassuring look, placing a small kiss on her forehead.

"I don't want you to die," Sofia states, her eyes once again filling with tears.

So, remember when I thought my heart broke two times today? I was wrong, boy was I wrong. My heart completely broke by the sound of my little girl's need. Sofia's words hitting me straight in the chest, echoing my biggest fear. Her eyes once again fill with tears, the cute bottom lip trembling. I shake my head lightly, making sure my daughter sees me and hears me.

"Sofia. I'll do my very best to not die, okay? I love you too much to die, you hear me?"

"Don't leave me, Mommy," Sofia looks at me, tears streaming down her face. "I dreamt you died. A car-car hit you. And you lost the oth-other leg. And I was so sad. And Mama was sad. And Eliza was really s-sad. And I-I-I didn't like it," she stammers through her sobbing.

"Sssshh, sweetheart," I soothe my daughter.

I don't know what to say to make her feel better. I don't know how to express my love for this little person. It's so indescribable. And for her to be so heartbroken about a dream where I died, it's just…too much. But it isn't her fault. Not at all. It's love. It's caused by love. To love a lot is to be scared a lot. That's just something we'll have to accept. I've done so ever since Sofia came into my life; constantly being overwhelmed by love for another person, constantly being scared that said person isn't safe or might injure herself. It's such a powerful feeling, it's such a mortifying feeling… there's actually a person you'd sacrifice your own life for if you had to. If her life depended on your own death, you'd do sacrifice yourself. You'd immediately give up your own life for her to keep living. And you wouldn't hesitate one second, you'd just do it!

"I'm not dead. I'm right here. My good leg, too. Okay?" I give her a sad smile. Sofia smiles back, a slight pout still on her face, though. "Okay? Right. Here."

"Okay, Mommy," she sighs, giving me another hug. I hold her tight, my hand at the back of her head, needing to be as close to my daughter as possible.

"Let's get home, okay?"

Sofia nods into my neck and then places herself into the car as I let her go. She buckles up, her tiny hands shaking a bit. I carefully close the door only to climb into the driver's seat, desperately needing to get my daughter home. I look into the rear-view mirror, catching the look of my daughter. She looks beautiful even though she's got puffy eyes and her nose is running. Drying her nose off in her sleeve, she does a playful shrug. I just give her a big dimpled smile, letting her know that I'm letting that one slide because it's late and we've both had quite the night. I situate my seatbelt and drive off into the night, going straight home... home.

Sofia's laying in our bed... in my side of the bed to be more accurate. She's sleeping soundly, her stuffed animal tucked under her chin, her legs sprawled out from under the covers. I smile at the picture before me; spitting image of my ex-wife. She's always been quite impossible whenever she wanted to sleep in mine and Callie's bed, always taking up so much space we hardly had any room. And with Callie being the same, yeah... I didn't get much space or sleep whenever we were three in the bed. So as cosy as it might have been, we had to stop it. But right now... this night I don't want her to sleep anywhere else than right here next to me. Eliza won't be home until next morning, so it's no problem. I'll just bury myself in Eliza's pillow, being surrounded by her scent as my daughter sleeps next to me.

Before climbing in bed next to her, I quickly grab my phone. I need to have some kind of contact with my girlfriend... my love, my better half... the woman I'm still pondering on how to make my wife. I know it's solely my decision… but it's not just me I've got to think about. Sofia's got some say in it, too. Or well, at some point she has. It's very important for me to know that Sofia likes Eliza... loves her even. I'm not doubting my daughter and my girlfriend being totally enamoured by each other... it's just that, well... it's a big deal asking someone to marry you. And I really want to do this right. I really need to do this right. And it's only going to be right if Sofia is blessing my decision to marry Eliza. I know it's not a responsibility a child should have to have, and she won't even know she's got it. I just need a little bit of confirmation, really... before I'm on my knees asking Eliza Minnick to be my wife. I'm going to do it right. She deserves it. Heck, I deserve it.

Eliza's already been texting me. Her pretty name showing on my screen. I sigh a breath of relief, this day has surely worn me out.

Hi love. I heard about your day-care drama. Hope everything is okay. Please let me know. I'm in surgery, but fill me in. I love you - E

My heart is once again whole. My daughter's sleeping like a baby here at home with me and my girlfriend loves me... and I'm not dead. It's a good day after all.

Quickly typing me reply, I look at Sofia who stirs a little.

Everything is fine now. Someone's taking up my side of our bed, though. Can't wait to have you home tomorrow. I love you - A

You can use my side, then :) Sleep tight. I'll see you before you know it. Love, love, love - E

I love you! - A

It takes all of me not to type those four words right here, right now. It takes all I've got not to succumb to the feeling of really needing her to say yes. I really need her to be mine... on paper as well. Because the thought of me dying before I've gotten the chance to be her wife, before I've got that woman's name engraved in a ring around my finger... it alone tears me apart. I know I've got to ask her soon... if not I know I'm going to burst. By pure love, but still. I need to get this right.

Climbing into bed, I scoot closer to my daughter as I pull the covers up over her legs. I press a light kiss to her cheek, removing some of her hair from her face.

"I love you," I whisper.

If I were to die tonight, I'd at least have confessed my love to the two most important people in my life. They'd know that my heart belongs to them… even when I'm gone. It's their heart forever.

The next day comes all to sudden. It's Sofia's first day of school. She's sitting at her spot around the dining table, eating her cereals. I braided her hair all Elsa-style, the braid resting at her left shoulder. She's just so beautiful.

"Mommy?" she asks while chewing.

"Sofia... chew, then speak," I raise my eyebrow as I bite down on my toast.

Sofia chews eagerly and then takes a sip of her orange juice. "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course, sweetheart," smiling, I nod.

"You love Eliza, right?"

I'm a little taken back by the sudden question. Maybe she needs a lot of questions answered because of her nightmare last night, I don't know.

"I do," I give her a confident smile. "Very much, actually."

"That's good," she grins, taking another swig of her juice.

"Why do you ask?"

"It's just... I'd like to know, is all," my daughter tells me all casual.

"O-kay," I drag, I take another bite of my toast.

"Are you gonna marry her?" Sofia asks suddenly, a big smile plastered to her face… and what was that? A hint of hope? I don't quite know.

The bite of toast gets caught in my throat causing me to cough loudly. I didn't see that one coming. When did my daughter become so nosy? When did she care about my love life? She's really growing up, I guess. I keep coughing, taking a sip of my coffee to try and ease the ache in my throat.

"Mommy..."

I give my daughter a glare as I try to breathe.

"Chew, then speak," she grins at me.

This child is definitely the best child one could ever have. And she's mine! And she's not going anywhere. And without even knowing it, I think she just gave me my blessing.

AN2: Don't worry, you guys. It will happen… just not yet. You gotta stay tuned!

Thank you for reading… you know what to do next :)