Chapter summary: Arizona takes the twins to the zoo and a surprise visitor shows up. Arizona finally makes up her mind.
Disclaimer: All television shows, movies, books, and other copyrighted material referred to in this work, and the characters, settings, and events thereof, are the properties of their respective owners. As this work is an interpretation of the original material and not for-profit, it constitutes fair use. Reference to real persons, places, or events are made in a fictional context, and are not intended to be libelous, defamatory, or in any way factual.
Hi everybody! Another delay in the updates caused by a one-shot that I will be posting very soon and by a very nasty arm injury which prevented me from typing with more than one finger, not really speeding up the writing process. But…here's the chapter you've all been waiting for! I think. I was watching Animal Planet so blame them for my obsession with zoo's and cute animals. Just read and you'll know what I'm talking about…
Arizona was watching the twins closely. They were getting ready to go to the zoo for a day of fun and Tom and Josh Jr. had been whispering suspiciously all morning.
"Boys are you ready?"
The two blonde rug rats came running from their room, wearing identical shirts and backpacks.
"What have I told you about dressing the same?"
"But we have our caps with us!"
"And I reeeaaaallly really really wanna wear this shirt!" Josh begged, champing with impatience. "Can we go now?"
Arizona looked at them sternly for a moment but she dropped the act pretty soon. "Okay. But you have to promise me you won't do the swap identity thing because I'll ask the caretakers to put you in the cage with the lions!"
"Cool!" Tom was glowing. Not the reaction she was going for.
"Chop chop, let's go! Caps on!" she clapped her hands.
As if on cue, they conjured two caps, Josh a green one and Tom a red one. Swinging a big bag full over food and other things over her shoulder, Arizona wiggled the group out of the door and off to the zoo for a fun day with her favorite nephews.
She wanted to get away from the hospital, away from a house without Callie in it. It just felt wrong. Callie's words were etched in her mind.
"My whole life is about kissing you." It was all Arizona had wanted to hear.
But it wasn't at all what she expected. She was fully prepared for Callie to leave, to take the out and never look back. She was already getting used to the idea that Callie would move on. This sudden change of plans threw her off guard and she wasn't quite sure how to handle it. She had misjudged the situation again. So before her stupid mouth had caught up with her brain Callie had left and Arizona hadn't said a word.
"I love you! Kiss me! Come back to me! I can't live without you! I'm starving without you! How do I make popcorn without you?"
Nope. Nothing. Not a word. She just stared as Callie retreated.
"We can wait a bit longer…"
"Are you sure you said the right place?"
"Of course! I said the snakes!"
They had arrived in the zoo and went straight for the snakes, much to Arizona's dismay. She'd rather chew off her own foot than be within 3 feet range of a snake. So while the kids ran into the reptile cave to ogle over all different kinds of scary animals, Arizona took a seat on a bench far, far away from deadly creatures. She was reading the zoo map, trying to figure out where the furry animals were. Seals, for example. A note at the entrance read that a few new baby animals were born, among others a baby seal and she was looking forward to petting every single one of them. Instead, she was shivering outside a reptile cave. Great.
"Tom! Josh! Come here! Can't we like…pet something?"
The boys appeared from the cave and were scanning the area like they were looking for someone, still talking to each other conspiringly. Arizona was starting to lose her nerve if the secret mumbling didn't end soon.
"Why are you being so secretive all the time?" she asked irritated. The boys turned a bit red and looked at each other trying to silently bicker over who'd go first. Arizona was still trying to stare the answer out of them but got distracted when the boys ran away. She stood up to chase them but froze when she saw who they were running to.
"Hi guys! You're like Mario and Luigi with those caps!" Callie gathered the boys in her arms lowering herself to the ground.
"Callie?" Arizona asked in surprise. Callie slowly rose to her feet again, her face falling the moment she saw Arizona's confused expression.
"I knew it. You didn't ask her at all did you?" Callie asked the twins with a hint of anger in her voice. Not much, but enough for the boys to know they had been naughty. Arizona was still staring at her. "They called me yesterday and asked me if I wanted to come to the zoo with you. I asked them if you knew and they said it was your idea" Callie explained. Arizona just kept staring, something she seemed to be very good at lately whenever Callie was speaking to her.
Callie turned red. "And now I feel like an idiot for thinking you wanted me here…"
Arizona's mind was racing. She was so overwhelmed by the whole situation that it took her while to take it all in. She could imagine how Callie must feel right now. Laying her heart on the line like that and not receiving an answer and now she came to a freakin' zoo with false hope.
Although…it wasn't really false was it? True, the twins were the masterminds behind this scheme but Arizona couldn't deny how her heart did a happy dance the second she recognized Callie standing near the reptile cave. When she saw Callie saying goodbye to the kids and turning around she panicked.
"Don't go!" she exclaimed a little desperate.
"It's fine Arizona, I'll go. I have some things to do anyway; I'll leave you to it. Have fun" Callie answered. She tried to sound strong but sadness and disappointment was written all over her face.
'Shit shit shit Arizona, think!'
"You bought your ticket anyway, might as well stay right?" 'Really?' Apparently Callie thought so too because she just frowned and started walking away again.
But Arizona knew better than to let her walk again this time. "Calliope stay. Please. It would mean the world to the kids if you came with us."
'And to me' she added in her mind.
Callie stood there for a while. The twins were bouncing up and down in anticipation. She really didn't have anywhere else to be. She had cancelled her plans with a friend to come here, excited that Arizona had invited her. Which she didn't after all. But Arizona sounded genuine just now. And those kids were just too adorable to ignore, especially in their matching outfits. Spending a little more time with Arizona didn't hurt either…
"Okay, I'll stay. But I want to go to the dolphin show then!" Callie smiled.
"YAYYY!" Tom and Josh yelled, jumping between Callie and Arizona, who were exchanging a polite smile and some awkward looks.
Both Callie and Arizona had to admit that they were enjoying each others company and things flowed more easily then they had imagined when they started this day. They were being dragged around the zoo by the boys, who seemed to have found a new kind of enthusiasm after Callie had joined them. First they went in the reptile cave with Callie. Arizona kept a safe distance. She was talking to a raccoon to keep herself busy until the others emerged from the scary cave again. His big dark eyes reminded her of Callie's in a way. Seriously, if the whole surgeon wouldn't have worked out, she was sure animal whispering would be her second calling. 'Eat your heart out Cristina Yang', that raccoon was sooo talking back to her. Not that she understood: that's the only part of the job she still had to learn.
After the cave they visited the camels. One of them spit on Josh so they soon moved on to the magnificent giraffes. When they saw the lemurs next, Tom started screeching "it's King Julien!" Sure enough, Madagascar was his favorite movie. They doubled over in laughter when Callie started singing and dancing with them to King Julien's song.
"I like to move it move it… I like to…move it!" they sang, both boys shaking their butts while Callie sang with them. Arizona was observing them with amusement. She wished she could capture this moment forever but before she could take out her camera, Tom pulled her in with both arms and started dancing with her. While Callie was doing the beat, Arizona took turn twirling Tom and Josh around. They attracted quite a crowd, even the lemurs were looking at them. Or at least, that's what Arizona's sixth sense thought.
When the boys were out of breath they decided to move on to the next animals. The twins were high on adrenaline now and Callie and Arizona could barely keep up.
"Can we do the furry animals now?" Arizona pleaded. She really wanted to see fluffy baby animals.
"Alright, let's go to the seals then" Callie said, taking Arizona by the hand without thinking and pulling her towards the Antarctic Area. Arizona looked down at their joined hands. She was still surprised at how well their hands fit together. She let herself be led willingly, her other hand holding on to Josh who was holding Toms hand.
Once inside the Antarctic Area, Arizona ran off, yelling something in the lines of "there he is!" Callie and the boys found her at the seal basin, her nose pressed against the glass. Swimming by was the cutest creature they had ever seen. A little seal, barely two feet long with little black eyes squinted at them.
Callie wasn't looking at the seal though. Her eyes were focused on the petite blonde who was practically glowing with excitement at the sight of the baby seal. She could easily picture Arizona as a five year old right now, like an Arizona Disney Baby.
"He is soooooo cute! Can we touch him?" Tom asked.
"I don't think so honey, but we can go up to see him on dry land, maybe we'll get a closer look" Arizona responded. They took the stairs up and took a seat near the railing of the basin. It was feeding time so didn't have to wait long to see the little seal up close. They clapped their hands as he caught a fish out of mid air, splashing Callie soaking wet.
"Hey!" Callie yelled quasi offended, but the others just laughed at her.
"Smile!" Arizona said before capturing a drenched Callie on camera. But before she could tease Callie any more, the seal repeated his trick and this time, the water landed fully on Arizona.
"HA!" Callie pointed at her. The boys were howling with laughter.
"You think that's funny huh? Give your sweet auntie a hug!" Arizona grinned mischievously and gathered both boys in her arms before they could run off. She made sure to rub as much water on them as possible, making them giggle and wiggle in her arms.
"Noooooooo! I'm sorry! I won't laugh anymore!" Tom tried to surrender but his aunt's strong arms held him in a death grip. She made Josh cry out when she wetted him extra by ruffling his hair with her wet sleeve.
"Not the hair! The gel!"
"Ewww!" Arizona withdrew her hair quickly and started flapping them around. "This is why I don't date men!" she cursed. Know one seemed to hear her slip so she covered it quickly by starting a tickle death on Josh who was hiccupping from all the laughing.
"St-HIC-Stooop!-HIC!"
Callie was taking pictures all the time. When Josh nearly choked on his own tongue they decided to take a break and eat something. Arizona took out the blanket and the sandwiches and prepared a small picnic square in the grass. The four of them sat down, Callie and Arizona like two drenched kittens, dripping all over the blanket and the food. Callie took off her scarf and handed it to Arizona.
"Here, to dry your hair a bit"
Arizona accepted the scarf gratefully and started drying her hair. She was instantly hit by the intoxicating scent that was so uniquely Calliope Torres. The whole scarf was covered with Callie. Arizona couldn't resist inhaling deeply before returning it. "Thanks" she muttered shyly, hoping Callie hadn't noticed. She handed the boys their sandwiches and offered Callie one, too.
Callie hesitated. "No thanks, you didn't exactly count on me I suppose…"
"It's okay, take one" Arizona pressed.
"Nah…I don't really like sandwiches" Callie joked. Arizona placed the sandwiches back with a 'ok-suit-it-yourself' look. Callie immediately regretted her actions but she already felt like she was enough of a burden as it was, let alone eat their lunch.
They continued eating, making small talk and focusing on the boys to avoid any more awkward moments. They gathered up the mess they made and got ready for the second round.
They sat in a row, Tom and Josh in the middle, watching the dolphin show with open mouths. Callie always had a thing for dolphins. They were fierce and kind at the same time. Back in Miami, she had worked at Sea Life a few summers as the dolphin trainer's assistant. She developed a close bond with the animals there and often swam with them. It was therapeutic in a strange kind of way. She loved seeing the dolphins react to the trainers here. Some of them were real show offs, one jumping higher than the other and making impossible flips. She looked to her left and was pleased to see that Arizona and the boys were enjoying it just as much as she was. Arizona had a huge smile on her face all through the show and Tom and Josh were on the tips of their chairs with their mouths open and eyes the size of saucers. When the show was over, Callie told them to follow her. They walked to the railing and waited as Callie talked to one of the trainers. She walked back to the rest with a triumphant smile on her face.
"I have a surprise for you, but we have to wait until everyone's gone" she said.
"But I want to go to the lions!" Josh champed again.
"I promise you, you'll like this surprise" Callie grinned. Arizona narrowed her eyes, trying to figure out what Callie was up to.
"Okay you can come now!" one of the trainers yelled to them when the arena was empty. He opened the gate to the basin, onto the dolphin's island.
"No way!" Tom said.
"Way!" Callie smiled and pushed them through the gate.
When they were all in, Callie walked over to the edge. "Wait here" she said while rolling up her pants and sitting down on the platform. She slowly lowered her bare legs into the water.
"Calliope what are you doing?" Arizona asked.
"You'll see" Callie responded distractedly, scanning the water. She started moving her feet in the water and splashed some water around with her hands. Within seconds, they saw a dolphin emerge from the depths of the basin, swimming towards Callie and stopping at her feet.
"Hi little fella, come here!" Callie whispered, offering her hand. The dolphin slowly swam closer, sniffing her hand.
Arizona's eyes widened. Callie wasn't scared at all; she just let the dolphin explore her hand like it was the most natural thing in the world. After a minute or so of exploring, she gasped in surprise when the dolphin started purring and rubbing his head against Callie's whole arm.
"That's right. How cute are you!" Callie laughed, stroking the magnificent creature. "Tom, Josh, come closer!"
Tom was the first to approach the dolphin, albeit very slowly. Callie removed her arm and stretched it out, pointing at Tom but never taking her eyes off the dolphin. "Look, that's Tom! Is it okay if he touches you?" she asked. The dolphin's eyes followed the direction her arm was pointing and started flapping excitedly when he noticed the nervous boy behind Callie.
"It's okay Tom! He likes you" Callie assured him and took Toms hand, leading him to sit next to her. "Try touching his nose. Make sure he can see your hand at first, that way you won't scare him" she explained. Tom did as she said and soon, the dolphin was sliding against his legs, gratefully accepting the stroking hand on his back.
"Josh, come! This is awesome!" Tom yelled. Spurred on by his brother's braveness, Josh too joined them and followed the instructions Callie gave him.
Finally, Arizona joined them too, taking a place behind Tom and placing him between her legs. "This is amazing" she whispered in awe as the dolphin purred against her hand.
"Watch this" Callie whispered, not wanting to break the spell. She brought both hands forward, taking the dolphins head in her hands. Sliding her cheek against his, she whispered something inaudible before waving her hand in a complicated gesture and sending him off.
The dolphin disappeared in the water.
They sat for a while, holding their breaths in anticipation. Callie looked sideways to Arizona who was sitting right next to her, her head resting on Tom's and her other arm around Josh. They were all fixated on the water, creating such a pretty picture it made Callie's breath hitch in her throat. She jumped a little when Josh suddenly yelled.
"LOOK!" he pointed forward and Callie smiled broadly as she saw three dolphins emerge from the water with a fast speed, breaking through the surface and doing a somersault simultaneously before landing in the water again. Everyone started clapping and laughing. Not even five seconds after the first jump, they emerged again, this time from different directions, creating a pattern in the air. The dolphin who they had 'talked to' showed off, jumping in the air and waving at them with one flipper. The boys waved back excitedly, their eyes sparkling.
After a few more jumps, the dolphins approached the foursome. "Remember what I said guys" Callie warned them, sticking out her own hand to let the dolphins get accustomed to her. A trainer handed them a bucket of fish. Callie took one and offered it to the dolphin, who rose out of the water only balancing on his tail and clapping his flippers together. They all laughed as Callie threw him the fish and he caught it, falling backwards and emerging right after. Arizona took a fish too and repeated the trick. When the bucket was empty, they stood up. Arizona and Tom stayed a second longer, not wanting to leave the sweet animals. Two of them had already left.
The other dolphin dove in the water. Just when Arizona was about to get up, he rose again and leaped forward, planting a big wet kiss on Arizona's cheek before diving back in and joining the others.
"I'm in love! Can I take him home?" Arizona asked, exaggerating a desperate sigh. Everyone laughed again as the boys pulled their crazy aunt up, who was soaking wet for the second time that day. They thanked the trainers and walked to the exit, Arizona wiping her wet face with her equally wet sleeve.
"He has good taste" Callie whispered in her ear and winked before running past her to chase the boys. Arizona's face broke out in a silly grin while she made a mental note to question the brunette about her dolphin whispering skills later.
The rest of the afternoon they spent visiting all the baby animals and just goofing around. Arizona had stroked a baby lion, only protected by a big glove that he occasionally bit in, but she insisted on petting him. The lion dog was putty in her hands. They decided to end the day on the playground near the exit and enjoy an ice cream.
Tom and Josh were climbing the big wooden tree hut that was also occupied by real monkeys. Callie and Arizona were sitting on a bench, contentedly eating their ice cream and relaxing. Arizona looked at Callie and gave her a lopsided smile.
"Today was fun" she stated matter-of-factly.
Callie smiled and gazed across the playground. "It was" she sighed. She could still feel Arizona's eyes on her.
Arizona opened her mouth a few times, but closed it at the last moment. Finally she spoke. "That dolphin thing was amazing Calliope. You really made the boys' day."
Callie turned her head and met the blonde's insecure gaze. "That was amazing yes, but that's not what made their day" she smiled softly. A questioning look covered Arizona's features but no more words were spoken.
"We should go" Arizona broke the silence and called the boys over. They came running, their tongues hanging out of their mouths and their blonde bangs plastered to their foreheads.
"Race to the car!"
"Yeahh!" Tom bounced up and down.
"I don't know guys, you've grown so big and I'm so old!" Arizona joked.
"Not true! Race to the car!" Josh was already trying to mount his aunt, almost pulling her jacket off in the process.
"Ok, ok…" she smiled apologetically at Callie. "It's a game Joshua and I used to play with the kids. We're their horses and whoever wins gets to stay up late" she explained.
Callie nodded her head understandingly. "Ok Tom, hop on!" she said, bending over to help Tom crawl on top of her.
"Readyyyy…..GO!" Arizona yelled, taking off before the sign.
"That's not fair!" Callie yelled after her, desperately trying to keep up with Tom clinging on to her, spurring her on to go faster.
"We never played fair!" Arizona yelled back, Josh bouncing up and down on her back one hand in the air. The way to the parking lot was much longer than they remembered and the two horses were soon out of breath. Arizona notices a patch of grass along the path and decided to fall onto it dramatically.
"Noooooo horsey!" Josh Jr. called out, fanning Arizona to wake her up. Suddenly, Arizona opened her eyes and pulled the little boy onto her, punishing him with another tickling death.
Callie slowed her walk when they rounded the corner soon after and found Arizona and Josh romping around in the grass. Arizona was laughing wholeheartedly, the sound being music to Callie's ears. She grinned and let Tom off so he could join the frolicking pair.
'Thís is what made their day' she thought, admiring a carefree Arizona who, at that moment, was enjoying life and enjoying the kids, not thinking about the tragedy that had hit their family. The twins had their crazy aunt back.
Callie watched the threesome fool around a few more minutes before they all left for the cars. Upon reaching Arizona's car, they fell silent.
"Ehm- my car is parked over there, so I'll say goodbye to you here" Callie said. She kneeled down to accept a hug from both boys.
"Thank you so much for coming Callie!"
"Dolphins are my favorite animals!" Tom said.
"Mine too" Callie smiled. "I'll see you soon okay" she ruffled their hair and looked up at Arizona, hoping that it was okay to say that. Arizona just smiled down at them them with an endeared look on her face.
"I'll see you at work" Callie smiled awkwardly at Arizona.
"Yeah, right" Arizona answered a little bewildered. She watched Callie walk away for a few more moments before stepping into the car herself to join the twins in a song and driving home, happier then she has felt in a long time.
Callie threw her keys onto the kitchen counter and plopped down on the couch with the pizza she bought on her way home. Cristina looked up from the journal she was reading.
"You smell like a horse" Cristina sniffed.
"You talk to turtles" Callie retorted, offering Cristina a slice of pizza while chewing on hers.
Cristina chose to ignore that. "How was your day with Blondie and her sidekicks?"
"Amazing."
"So…did she answer you yet?"
Callie sighed. "Nope. And I have no idea what I'm doing."
"Hmm. Sucks to be you" Cristina said before devouring her slice.
"Not really" Callie smiled inwardly, looking back on a great day. She was still unsure about Arizona and her feelings, but at least she got to spend a whole day with two amazing kids.
A few days later, Alex was securing Sophie in a wheelchair in her room. She was being discharged today and Alex was sad to see her leave. The two had grown close over the last few weeks and she was a fun kid. They had talked about her going off to college soon and her parents being overprotective.
"I'm ready"
"Ready for what?"
"For everything! You know, taking care of myself, being on my own…for sex. For love."
Alex frowned. He checked her chart one last time, ready to get in authorized by Dr. Robbins as he started to push the wheelchair out of the room.
"I've never even been kissed" Sophie continued. "Wait" she stopped the wheelchair with her hands and turned it around to face him.
Arizona was walking up to Sophie's room to discharge her. She wanted to make an entrance but was stopped dead in her tracks when she heard Alex and Sophie talk in lowered voices.
"Alex? Would you kiss me?" she heard Sophie say. Her mouth opened in shock and she was about to step in and prevent Alex from doing something that would most likely end his career when she heard the young doctor speak.
"Wh—what?" she heard him giggle nervously. She decided to wait and see how this played out.
"I know you're my doctor and I'm your patient and it's against the rules but…I would never tell anyone" she heard Sophie's voice.
A long silence followed. Arizona peeked around the corner just in time to see Alex lowering his head and inching his face closer to the girls'. She was ready to step in when Alex started speaking.
"For a kiss to be really good, you want it to mean something. You want it to be with someone you can't get out of your head, so that when your lips finally touch, you feel it everywhere."
Arizona leaned in a little closer to catch every word. "A kiss so hot, so deep, you never wanna come up for air. You can't cheat your first kiss. Trust me, you don't want to" Alex continued. Arizona smiled to herself.
"Because when you find that right person, that first kiss…is everything."
Arizona turned away and leaned against the wall, her head thrown back against it as she let out a soft sigh. She stood there for a minute, letting the truth of those words sink in completely.
She knew he was right. She knew she was wrong.
She knew what to do. She ran to the stairwell and took the steps three at a time. Her mind was set on one thing and one thing only.
"Mark, could you watch them for a sec?" Arizona asked him as she left him with the twins who she had just picked up from daycare.
Without waiting for an answer she made her way to the nurse's station, freezing when she saw the one person she was looking for focused on an article, sucking on the back of a pen and deep in thought. Arizona stood observing her for a while, her palms sweaty and her breathing becoming labored. Callie hadn't noticed her yet.
Arizona started moving towards the station, not taking her eyes off of the brunette. There weren't a lot of people in the hallways. It was almost dinner time so except for a few charting surgeons and nurses it was fairly quiet. Arizona was about twenty feet away from the station when Callie noticed someone approaching her from the corner of her eye. She looked to see who it was.
Her pen dropped from her mouth as she saw the determination in the blue eyes that were fixated on hers without blinking.
"Arizona?" she asked, looking around to see if anyone else found the blonde's behavior a bit odd, but no one seemed to notice.
"Ari-?" she tilted her head to the side trying to figure out what was going on in that pretty little head but the blonde just looked into her eyes.
Callie held her breath as Arizona came to a halt mere five inches from her. She gulped audibly when Arizona brought her hand up, stroking the tanned cheek with her thumb and wiping some loose strands from her face.
Callie's initial reaction was to close her eyes and feel the warmth radiating from the woman standing in front of her, but her eyes widened at the sight of deep blue eyes slightly darkened and studying every inch of her face, as if it was the first time they were this close.
Arizona felt a sharp intake of breath when she inches her face closer to Callie's, their noses touching. Her eyes were still staring into the soulful big brown ones, so close now she was afraid she'd lose herself in them if she didn't break eye contact soon.
She let her eyes flutter shut and gently pulled the brunette in with the hand placed on the side of her face, her lips merely grazing the others. She felt Callie close her eyes too, her lashes sliding against her cheek.
Arizona felt like her lungs were about to collapse. She desperately needed to keep breathing but instead, she held her breath as she felt Callie's tickle her lips. She moved her face slightly, exploring Callie's lips with her own but not taking them yet.
Callie felt as if she was about to lose her mind. The one moment she was reading some medical journal, the next Arizona Robbins was driving her crazy, building up to a kiss that took them both right back to their first real kiss. Not the one in the bathroom. The one they shared after their first official date.
So she closed her eyes and waited for that amazing memory to return. She felt soft pink lips explore hers, rubbing against them, hot breath leaving a burning trail.
She wanted to take things further but before she could do anything, Arizona parted her lips slightly and took her lips in hers, applying some pressure to deepen the kiss. Callie's mind spun and she felt as if she was about to faint. The only thing keeping her upright being a strong hand on her hip and the other one in her neck, tugging her closer as she felt those same lips pull back slightly and sucking softly on her upper lip.
Before they could deepen the kiss, Arizona pulled back, breathing heavily. She rested her forehead against Callie's, whose eyes were still closed.
"It's everything…" Arizona whispered, barely audible as she swallowed back the lump in her throat.
"What?" Callie whispered back, not wanting to open her eyes just yet. Arizona giggled softly.
"Nothing."
They just stood there for a while, oblivious to the modest crowd that had gathered around them in a not so subtle way.
"I can give you one of my famous speeches. But there's not much to say. I love you. I need you and I was stupid to ever think otherwise." She stroked Callie's cheek, forcing her to open her eyes. Finally, their eyes met. Brown eyes were filled with relief, joy, but mostly: love. Arizona smiled.
"And if you let me, I'd like to kiss you for the rest of my life too" she whispered against full lips. She awaited Callie's response anxiously, not wanting to pull back. She tried to read the Latina's expression but her eyes had closed again.
So they stood there in silence for what felt like a lifetime.
Until Callie's eyes shot open and a broad grin spread across her face. Without saying a word, she closed the gap between them once more and took the blonde's lips between hers, encircling her arms around the small surgeon and pulling her in close.
They stood there kissing as the doctors and nurses started cheering. Mark, who had caught up with Arizona, stood a few feet away with the twins in tow. He shook his head and clapped with the rest. "They're becoming SGMWH's very own curiosity" he laughed to himself.
"I told you! I get your Mario Kart now!" Josh said to Tom, making his way over to his aunt. "But they only kissed! That doesn't mean she's her girlfriend!" Tom defended himself.
"Face it, I won!" Josh stuck out his tongue. Arizona and Callie were staring at him open mouthed.
"What? We're seven. Not stupid" Josh Jr. giggled. "Can we go home now? I want to play the game I won from Tom!"
Arizona smiled up at Callie. "Yes, let's go home" she said, hoping Callie would catch the meaning behind her words.
"Home" Callie smiled back.