A/N: Doing my best to keep you guys updated. I know it takes forever and it makes me frustrated too. Also every mistake is made because I haven't had enough time to do complete research. Thank you for all the lovely reviews and private messages.
Also this is a fictional story. I can't control the actual TV show and I've been getting a lot of angry reviews saying that I'm doing things too differently from Grey's Anatomy. I am aware of that and I'm sorry if it bothers you. After all it is MY story.

It was the day of surgery. Callie couldn't sleep no matter how tired she was and not even looking at Arizona sleeping could help. Elena was still fast asleep. Now at 4 months old she was very good at sleeping at night. Callie quietly entered Elena's bedroom. Her baby was sleeping peacefully and she didn't want to disturb her. So she left her room and did the only thing left for her to do. Cook. She tried to do it as quietly as possible but taking a pan from the bottom of the pile of pans wasn't as easy as she thought. She cringed at the loud sound and waited for a second to make sure Arizona and Elena were still asleep. She cracked a few eggs and scrambled them. She added some ham and cheese.

Arizona woke up to the smell of cooking and fresh homemade coffee. No coffee machine could make it smell this delicious. She blinked at the alarm clock to make sure it was showing correctly. It was only 6 o'clock in the morning and she had no idea why Callie was cooking this early. She made her way downstairs and into the kitchen. "Calliope?" she whispered, rubbing her eyes.

Callie nearly dropped her spatula at the unexpected sound. "Arizona," she gasped. "You scared me." She turned around and smiled at the sight. Arizona looked absolutely adorable in her still sleepy state and curly messy hair.

"I'm sorry," Arizona said. "Why are you cooking in such early hour?" she asked, her arms wrapping around Callie's hips.

Callie leaned her chin on top of Arizona's head as her arms curled around Arizona's shoulders. "I'm sorry if I woke you up. I just couldn't sleep." She was feeling so warm on the inside while holding Arizona so close and it made her think of how many times she has wanted to say the 'love' word but failed. She didn't want to be the first one to say it. So she bit her tongue and just stayed wrapped against Arizona.

"Is it because of the surgery?" Arizona asked softly. She felt Callie nod against her. "You don't have to worry. You and Derek have done so much research for this surgery and you're ready."

Callie let out a shuddering breath. "Yeah."

"Would morning cuddles with Ellie make you feel better?" Arizona asked with a smile. She already knew the answer. There wasn't a problem in the world that a snuggle by their little girl couldn't fix.

Callie just smiled shyly. She didn't want to say it out loud that she wanted to wake up the baby just to cuddle her. "She's sleeping," she managed to say after a while.

"She'll sleep in the hospital," Arizona chimed in. With a kiss on the cheek she went upstairs in Elena's bedroom. Elena was still asleep but she was moving her toes which usually meant she would wake up soon. Arizona adored the tiny little colorful pants but she learned not to buy too many because Elena was growing rapidly and they didn't use a lot of the clothes they bought at all. She gently picked her up and smiled when Elena only stirred a little. She definitely had Callie's sleeping habits."Wake up my little princess. Mommy is having a rough day and you need to make her feel better." She gently rocked her and then grabbed the pacifier. She moved downstairs and into the kitchen.

Callie had already placed breakfast on the dining table. "Eat," she said and took Elena in her arms. She placed a kiss on top of her head and inhaling the sweet baby smell. "I wish I could take her with me in the operating room today," Callie confessed. As she gently stroked the soft hair Elena started to wake up. Sleepy toothless grin was one of her favorite sights. Her baby girl was everything. "Hi Ellie," she whispered.

Arizona smiled at her two most important girls and sat down at the table. "Calliope you need to eat too," she said.

Callie's stomach filled with butterflies every time Arizona said her long name. She loved it when it came from her. "I will," she said and sat down, propping Elena in a sitting position on her lap. They ate their breakfast together, Elena satisfied with just sitting close to her mommies. "So unless the surgery runs long I should be off around the same time as you."

Arizona nodded. "And if it runs long we'll wait for you won't we baby boo?" She leaned over and kissed an adorable chubby cheek.

Elena giggled making both of them stop from what they were doing. "Did she just?" Callie questioned and never really finishing her sentence.

Arizona eagerly nodded. "She did." She repeated the kiss earning another sweet giggle. "Oh my god you're laughing."

Callie leaned down to kiss another cheek and Elena giggled even harder, squirming over her lap. "She's incredible," Callie stated.

"She is." Arizona couldn't get enough of her. And she knew how lucky she was that her baby has been perfectly healthy so far and that she slept peacefully through most of her nights. That might change now that they were getting ready to start Elena on solid food. "Come on let's get ready." She grabbed the now empty plates and put them in the sink.

Callie took Elena upstairs in her room and changed her from her adorable onesie. "You are such a beautiful baby aren't you?" Elena blinked at her a few times and she leaned down to drop a kiss on her forehead. Recently Arizona had started using headbands on Elena's head and Callie found it ridiculously cute but also a waste of time. Elena always ended tugging it down. Once she got the baby ready she took her in their bedroom and placed her down on the mat where Elena could play. She changed her clothes and kept glancing at Arizona doing the same. They heard Elena giggle from her play mat and both turned their eyes on her.

"What's going on little miss princess?" Arizona asked and bent down in front of her. "Are you having fun?" She tickled Elena's stomach and kissed her cheek. "Mommy and I need to get ready so don't move too much." Arizona quickly brushed her hair. She had a few basic procedures scheduled for the day and knew her hair would end up in a ponytail sometime through the day. "Are you ready?"

"No," Callie breathed out but shrugged. "Me and Derek will figure it out and if we are going to need a hand you'll be paged."

Arizona smiled. "I hope I'll get to work with you in the operating room soon," she said with a wink.

Callie laughed and picked up their little girl. "Her smile is so beautiful," Callie stated, absolutely in love. She settled Elena on her hip and picked up her purse.

"You're both beautiful," Arizona said with a smile. Her eyes met Callie's but no one said anything. Arizona was holding her own purse and baby's diaper bag. She picked up her car keys and they left the home. Callie buckled Elena in her car seat and Arizona sat on the driver's seat. "Everyone ready to go?" She checked the review mirror and saw Elena sucking on her pacifier and Callie was holding her hand. The drive to the hospital was quiet, Arizona focused on the driving and Callie going through the surgery in her head. Arizona parked the car and took a deep breath. "When's your surgery?"

Callie sighed. "At 10. Derek and I still need to go through some details and talk with the parents but after that we go in the surgery. It should take 9 hours top," she explained. She was not looking forward to standing for nine hours but if it meant saving the child's life she would do anything.

"Good. I'm off at six so me and Ellie will make some dinner and wait for you at home," Arizona said and leaned over to press a gentle kiss on Callie's lips. "And now I will walk you and Elena to the daycare before going to rounds." Callie chuckled at her and they gathered their things and Callie picked up Elena. Elena was took to daycare and placed on the soft rug on the floor where a few other babies her age already were. Elena was smiling the whole time while they were there but when Arizona and Callie slowly started walking away they could see Elena's lip quiver and tears well up in her eyes.

Callie pouted. "It breaks my heart when she's like that."

Arizona couldn't help but smile at Callie's face. She looked so beautiful and cute. "I know. But she's going to be okay and right now you have another kid to worry about." She paused in the hall and took Callie's hands in hers. "You are an unbelievably good doctor. My girlfriend's the doctor that is going to make a child tumor free today and give him his whole future back. She's that good." She saw Callie's nervous smile turn into a real one which made her smile back. "You are outstanding," she added.

Callie cupped Arizona's cheek and leaned down for a kiss not caring that they were in the middle of the hall and that people were passing by. She had Arizona and Elena and that's what all that mattered. She was going to become a surgeon again. She parted the kiss and rested their foreheads together. "I'll see you when I'm finished."

A few hours later Callie and Derek were standing in the operating room. Their gloved hands bloody, their foreheads sweaty and their patient still. The only sound was coming from the heart monitor. "How did we miss this?" Callie asked herself more than anyone else. There was another mass wrapped around the spinal cord.

"It must have grown fast," Derek mumbled. "I can cut around it but there's always going to be some of it left unless we cut the cord."

Callie shook her head. "He's too young. We'd do nothing good if we just cut it. There has to be another plan." She was fighting for this too hard even though she knew Derek was right. "Okay, let's remove the rest of it and get back to this mass later." They cut, suctioned and burned the flesh until the mass was the only part of the tumor left. She grabbed a bovie and made sure the blood vessels she was able to reach without damaging the cord were disconnected.

Derek put down the scalpel. "Callie," he said softly.

"No," Callie fought back. She knew what Derek wanted and she wasn't giving up just yet. "No," she repeated.

"We have done everything to keep the boy alive and not paralyzed. If we take this out we might compromise that. You know that." Derek's words were slow and gentle, like he was explaining to a medical student.

Callie shook her head. "This is my first surgery back. We spent weeks on this. We're not giving up. I am not giving up." She did however leaned back a little and lowered her scalpel.

"We are not giving up," Derek stated. "We can close and wait until we find a different approach. Just because we don't cut it all out today doesn't meant that you're a bad surgeon. You're gifted Torres. The parents knew what they're getting themselves into."

Callie glanced at the big clock. They have been in the operating room for five hours. If they close they would only need a skin graft and be done in twenty minutes. "No, we'll wait some more."

"The longer he stays open, the more compromised his vital organs are."

"I've got this," Callie said. She raised her scalpel again and although Derek deeply exhaled, he followed her with bovie.

Arizona was just returning from the cafeteria when she caught a glimpse of Derek in the hallway. It has only been six hours. Maybe he was giving the family and update? But then he took off his scrub cap. Arizona looked around, searching for Callie but she didn't see her. Either the surgery was a massive success or they ran into a problem and cut it short. She saw the boy's mom break down in the waiting room. The surgery was not a success. Arizona turned around and rushed down the hall to the nearest on-call room. She opened it and it was empty. So she took an elevator and searched through every single on-call room. She couldn't find Callie. She went in her office and paged Callie. And then texted. But Callie didn't reply. Arizona was worried but she knew from her own experiences that sometimes she just wanted to be left alone. So Arizona waited. And after checking her post op patients her phone signalized she got a message.

I'm sorry.

Arizona wasn't satisfied with the short text she got but wanted to hear the explanation first.

Where are you?

Arizona waited for the reply feeling anxious. She took a deep breath when her phone vibrated.

I'm breaking plaster casts

Arizona arched her eyebrows in confusion. It took her a few minutes to realize what Callie meant until she darted towards the orthopedic floor, ignoring the elevator and taking the stairs. She reached the plaster room and immediately heard the smashing sound. "Callie?"

Callie didn't flinch nor did she blink. "I," she started smashing hammer hard against the plaster, "don't want to talk about it."

"Okay," Arizona said softly. She scrunched her nose. "It smells like sweat in here." One of Callie's flawless eyebrows lifted. "Not that you're sweaty, it's just people usually wear casts for a long time and yea," Arizona stammered.

Callie laughed. "You get used to it." She placed the hammer on the table. "Want to try?"

Arizona shrugged, stepping closer. She dragged her lab coat sleeves to her elbows and grabbed the hammer. "I just smash it?" Callie only hummed in agreement. "Okay." Her first hit was careful, barely breaking the cast. The more she hit, the more pieces flew around.

Callie leaned against the wall with her arms crossed over her chest. She watched Arizona for a while. "I did something really dumb in the OR today," she said just loud enough for Arizona to hear.

Arizona stood still for a moment. "Yeah?" she breathed out. She was afraid that any wrong move would scare Callie from talking.

"He had another mass. If we were to cut it out we would injure his spinal cord. Worst case scenario kill him." Silence took over them. "He didn't die. But he's... He's not well. And his body was so tiny, Arizona." Callie felt a lump in her throat and tears burning in her eyes.

Arizona carefully turned around. "So he's alive," Arizona pointed out.

"In a coma," Callie corrected, her words just a whisper.

"Patients wake up from comas." Arizona stepped closer, her hands finding Callie's. "Kids are a lot more resilient than adults. They recover faster, survive worse. These are the tiny humans. These are children. They believe in magic. They play pretend. There is fairy dust in their IV bags. They hope, and they cross their fingers, and they make wishes. They believe."

Callie shakily nodded. "They survive worse," she quietly repeated. "I put him in coma Arizona," she said. "He could have been fine. But I just... I wanted him to be completely tumor free. And even now we still have to put him through radiation and chemo if he even wakes up."

"He will wake up," Arizona insisted. "Want me to go see him with you?"

Callie quickly shook her head. "No. Me and Derek have paperwork to do. I'll meet you at home okay."

Arizona didn't want to be too clingy so she nodded. "Okay, I'll meet you at home." She knew Callie planned on staying longer than she was needed. She leaned over and pressed a kiss on her cheek. She leaned up and locked her eyes with Callie's for a moment. Callie's were a little blurred from the tears she refused to shed but she looked determined. Arizona just smiled sadly and left Callie alone. She still had some time left before her shift would end and Arizona spent it checking on her patients, doing paperwork and bossing her students around. When the clock signalized she was able to go home she changed out of her scrubs and went in the daycare to pick up Elena. She wanted to call Callie but decided it was better to leave her alone. "Hi, princess," she said excitedly and picked Elena from her crib. She got an unhappy whine in reply. "I know, you're tired and hungry. Let's go home." She smiled at the daycare workers as she gathered Elena's things and went to the car. "I wonder how mommy will get home since we're taking the car." Elena smiled and reached out to tangle her fingers in the blonde curls. "I agree," Arizona replied with a smile and placed a kiss on her forehead. She drove them home and set Elena in her bouncing chair, which was a routine before dinner while she prepared bottle and tried to think of a dinner for her and Callie. "Should we order in baby girl?" Elena bounced and gurgled. "So Italian?" A smile from her precious baby made Arizona nod her head. She ordered Callie's favorite dish she often craved when she was pregnant and just hoped she'd be home soon.

When Callie unlocked the front door she was met with darkness. It was also very quiet. She should have known they were asleep, since she hit the bar after work and was very late. She saw plastic food containers on the counter and peeked in. It smelled so good and Callie licked her lips. She needed to make things right with Arizona first before digging in this. After a few shots of tequila and a glass of wine she was feeling a lot better. She walked upstairs and dumped her purse in the hall. She checked Elena's room first. The night light was on but the baby wasn't there. She turned around and went to the bedroom. "Arizona," she whispered. Callie smiled.

Arizona felt the bed dip and her eyes flew open, her grip on Elena sleeping on her chest tightening. She turned her head. "Callie," she said and yawned. "What's the time? Did you just get home?"

"I'm sorry," Callie replied. She leaned over and hid her face in the crook of Arizona's neck while her hand came up to rest on Elena's back over Arizona's hand. Elena's soft breaths were the only sound in the room.

"I was worried you wouldn't come home tonight," Arizona confessed, her eyes searching for Callie's.

Callie smiled sadly. "I will always come home to you." It was a promise she was willing to keep. "And I'm sorry for being so.. off today but I... I didn't want to be all emotional over a case that I knew was nearly impossible in the first place."

"You care like crazy," Arizona said. "And I love that about you. And I will continue to love that whether your surgeries are successful or not." She leaned her head over, careful not to wake up Elena and pursed her lips. Callie got the message and softly placed her lips on Arizona's. Their eyes closed and Arizona's free hand came to rest on Callie's cheek. "I love you," she breathed out, her lips brushing against Callie's with every word.

Callie's breath hitched and her heart pounded loudly against her chest. She took a deep breath, her eyes closing for a moment before opening widely. "You do?"

"I do," Arizona said, nodding softly.

Callie felt tears welling in her eyes for the second time that day but this time those were happy tears. And she felt free. "I love you too." Her lips met Arizona's and she tightened the hold on Arizona's hand on Elena's back. She was home.