Arizona
Sofia and I are having a lazy Sunday morning, sitting on opposite ends of the couch, each reading a book with a blanket draped over us. I love these moments of quiet contentedness with her.
"Mom?" Sofia's inquisitive voice breaks the silence.
"Yes, honey?" I reply, bringing my head out of my book and smiling at my daughter.
"Is Amelia your girlfriend?" She asks, curiously.
"Uh... yes, she is," I say, taken aback. There's no point in lying to her, she's going to find out eventually, anyway. "Who told you that?"
"Mama," she says, quietly. Of course Callie told her. She's acting like a child herself these days. Sofia's features drop as she ducks her head down.
"Hey, that looks like a sad face," I say, scooting next to her and taking a little hand in mine. "You love Amelia!"
"I know," she says, tears filling her eyes.
"Then this is good news, right?" I try. Sofia's bottom lip starts to wobble and she throws herself into my arms as she starts to sob. "Oh... hey, hey. Shhhh," I say, holding her tightly and running a hand through her hair. Why has this made her so sad?
"I don't want to move again," she mumbles into my shirt.
"What?" I ask, my brow furrowing. I keep my daughter in our embrace but lean back a little so I can see her face.
"When Penny got a new job, Mama made us move to New York," she explains. "Then, they just argued all the time," she reveals. "I don't want to move and I don't want you to argue with Amelia," she says with sad, wide eyes. "And, I...I d-don't want Amelia to-to leave me." Her last sentence brings new cries of sorrow and shatters my heart into a million pieces.
"Hey, look at me," I say gently, using my fingers to lift her chin. "Have you ever seen Amelia and I argue?" I ask. She shakes her head and wipes away some tears. "That's because we make each other really happy," I say with a genuine smile. "Now, I'm not saying we'll never argue... All grown ups argue," I warn her. I don't want her to worry if she ever witnesses a quarrel between us. "But, when we do argue, we'll always try and remember how happy we make each other when we're not mad. And, if it ever gets to a point where we don't want to be each other's girlfriends anymore... that doesn't mean she's not going to see you," I reassure her. I know it's true. In the past six months of us dating, Amelia has grown so attached to Sofia, treating her no different to the way she treats Zola. "I love Amelia, and she loves me... but, she especially loves you, Little Goose."
"She does?" She asks, with a hopeful gleam in her eye.
"She really does," I confirm with a smile. "So, you don't have to worry, okay?" I say, pulling her back into a hug. I hear her release a deep sigh and the tears finally stop. She keeps her arms wrapped around my neck and rests her head on my collar bone. I kiss her forehead and stay quiet as she gathers her emotions.
"Mom?" She says, suddenly.
"Yes, sweetheart?"
"I miss Penny," she confesses.
The statement stirs all kinds of conflicting feelings in the pit of my stomach. To me, Penny has been terrible. She fought to take my daughter away from me and, years later, supported the man who attacked me. But, despite everything, she's been wonderful to Sofia. She cared for her and accepted her immediately. She knew about all of her favourite things and comforted her when she was upset. For that, I can't hate her.
"I know, honey," I reply, quietly.
...
Amelia
When I walk into Arizona's house, I'm not greeted by my girlfriend, but the little person who embodies all her characteristics. She launches herself at me, wrapping her scrawny, little arms around my waist and squeezing me tightly.
"Hey, Sof," I say, taken by surprise. "Did you miss me?" I ask, confused by the sudden display of affection.
"Can we go play in the backyard?" She asks, ignoring my question.
"Of course, sweetie," I say with a smile. "You get your coat on while I say 'hi' to your mom."
As Sofia rushes off, I walk through to the kitchen in search of Arizona. Sure enough, there she is, facing the counters and making coffee for us. I walk up behind her and wrap my arms around her waist, kissing her cheek from behind.
"Hi, beautiful," I whisper, before placing another kiss on her shoulder.
"Mmm, hi," she leans back into me, before turning in my arms and pressing her lips against mine. "I missed you," she says, pulling me into an embrace.
"I saw you yesterday morning," I laugh, pulling back but keeping her securely in my arms.
"I know, but I hate sleeping without you," she admits, her hands settling on my biceps.
"Me, too," I whisper, leaning my forehead against hers.
"Amelia, can we go now?" Sofia's voice catches me by surprise and I jump away from her mother, hoping she hasn't noticed the romantic exchange. "Mom, can you come, too?"
"Okay, sweetie. You go outside, and we'll be there in two minutes, okay?" Arizona says, quickly. Sofia hurries out the door and rushes to her trampoline. I watch her out of the kitchen window for a few seconds, smiling widely at her crazy jumping.
"Is... she okay?" I ask, smirking at the odd behaviour. "She's been after my attention since I stepped foot through the door."
"Callie told her about us," she explains. Oh... Oh, shit.
"She did?" I ask, my brow furrowing. "How do you feel about that?"
"A little annoyed," she sighs out with a shrug of her shoulders. "Obviously, I wanted to be the one to tell her, but what's done is done."
"How did she take it?" I ask, nervously.
"She was scared," Arizona sighs out.
"Scared?"
"She doesn't want you to leave her," she says, looking at me with worry etched across her face.
"What?" I frown in confusion.
"The way Penny left..." Oh. I guess that makes sense. Poor Sofia.
"God... I-I wouldn't," I say, honestly. The thought alone breaks my heart. "Even... even if something happened with us... I wouldn't... I couldn't..."
"I know... I know," she replies softly, cupping my cheek.
"Not that I'm planning on going anywhere!" I say, pulling her body back into mine.
"I know that, too," she smiles at me.
"Can I take her to school tomorrow?" I ask with quiet desperation. "Spend a little one on one time with her?"
"Yeah, of course you can!" She says. Then she looks at me quizzically for a few moments. "Amelia?" She whispers.
"Mmm?" I reply, caught up in her magical eyes.
"Thank you..." Why is she thanking me? "For being amazing with her," she elaborates, as though she's read my mind. "And, with me," she half-jokes.
"Eh... neither of you are that much trouble... most of the time," I scrunch my nose up and I'm rewarded with the sight of those gorgeous dimples and sparkling eyes. I simply must kiss her every time she looks like this. I take her face in my hands and plant one on her, before leaning out of the embrace and taking both of her hands, dragging her forwards. "Come on... Let's get out there before she comes back in and drags us out."
...
Never will I ever grow tired of waking up next to a naked Arizona Robbins. We've shifted out of each other's arms in the night and she has her back turned to me, sheets clinging to her chest then dropping to cover her ass. It's the kind of back you can't help but run your lips along. And, that's exactly what I do... leaving a trail of kisses past her every perfect freckle and beauty mark. As I kiss her neck, she begins to stir, gentle whimpers escaping her throat. My hand snakes under the sheet and starts to massage her breast. She inhales sharply, as her nipple hardens under my touch.
"Good morning," I whisper in her ear.
"Good morning," she responds, huskily. She turns on her back to look at me, eyes full of desire. I lean in and kiss her passionately. Without breaking the kiss, I get rid of the sheets, and climb on top of her.
"MOOOOM," Sofia's shout from down the hallway interrupts my morning plans.
"Fuck... fuck!" Arizona scrambles for the sheets, holding them up to her chest and sits bolt upright, trying calm her breathing. "Yes, honey?"
"Can we have pancakes?" She asks, innocently. Arizona gives me a look as if to say, 'Is this kid for real?', making me burst into laughter.
"Yep... we can have pancakes," she shouts back, trying to disguise the agitation in her voice. "Just... just go get dressed for school and I'll be down in a minute."
"Thanks, mom!" She replies, blissfully unaware. With a sigh, the beautiful blonde flops back onto the pillows and looks at me apologetically.
"Raincheck?" She asks, hopefully.
"Hmm... You owe me, Robbins," I joke, kissing her quickly, before we both start searching for clothes.
...
"Good morning, Little Miss," I say, cheerily as I enter the kitchen. Sofia smiles at me with her cheeks full of chocolate chip pancakes. "Did you save me any?" I ask. She shakes her head and giggles cheekily. She is the cutest kid.
"Relax, yours are here," Arizona says, rolling her eyes dramatically at me before sending a wink my way.
"Thanks," I shoot my best smile Arizona's way before tucking into the best pancakes in town. "Wanna come to school with me today, kiddo?"
"Yes!" The little person shouts enthusiastically. "Can we listen to your dancing tunes on the way?"
"'Dancing tunes'?" Arizona smirks at me.
"Secret dancing tunes, Sofia!" I say through a fake grimace. Sofia laughs and I turn to Arizona to explain. "There for her, not me."
"Liar," Arizona shoots me down quickly, same smirk lingering on her face.
"Hey, Amelia Shepherd does not dance!" I insist.
"Yes, you do!" Sofia rats me out. "You dance all the time in the car!"
"This I have to see-"
"Oh, look at the time," I interrupt Arizona, hastily. "We're gonna be late, Sof. Go and get your school bag, quickly!"
Sofia jumps down from the table and exchanges goodbye kisses and cuddles with her mom before rushing to get her school supplies. Then, Arizona turns to me with a smug grin.
"So, you going to show me those dance moves later, or...?"
"If you're lucky," I reply, kissing her quickly and hoping the subject doesn't come up again!
...
Sofia and I have been busting out some serious moves to Beyoncé and Lady Gaga on the drive over to her school. At the first lull in music, I start the 'serious conversation' part of our journey.
"Hey, so... I heard you got some pretty big news a few days ago..." I say, easing into the topic.
"The news about you and mom?" She confirms.
"Yeah... How you feeling about that?" I ask, gently.
"Well, I was really sad... and a bit worried..." She says, honestly. "But, then I spoke to mom about it and now I'm really happy," she finishes with a sweet smile that melts my heart.
"What made you so worried, Sof?" I ask, cautiously.
"I just don't want you to leave," she says, frankly. "Mom is really happy when you're with us. And, I'm really happy, too."
"Well, I have absolutely zero plans of leaving you or your mother, okay?" I say, holding her little hand. "You're both pretty special humans, you know?" She grasps my hand tightly in both of hers and looks to me with wide eyes.
"I love you, Amelia," she says with a soft smile.
My eyes immediately fill with tears. For the past five years, I've watched this little girl grow from a tiny three year old into a bright and enthusiastic second grader, but never did I think I could have this kind of connection with a child that wasn't my own. I really wasn't lying when I said her and her mother were special humans.
"I love you, too, little one."
