Later on the next day, after finishing their shifts, Meredith decided to talk to Amelia about her reflection on the marriage subject.
"I hate to say that, but you're right" - Meredith said to Amelia, while they were heading out of the hospital.
"Well, I'm not surprised, but what am I right about this time?" - Amelia asked, laughing.
"I should ask Arizona to marry me. She just moved in and I am already feeling that it's not enough. I mean, why should she be just my girlfriend, when she could be my wife? Am I crazy?" - Meredith asked and Amelia could tell her sister was scared.
"Of course you're not crazy, Mer. You are in love, that's it. Well, that's a bit crazy, but it's a good crazy. Have you thought about how you're going to propose?" - Amelia asked her.
"No. I mean, I spent the entire night thinking about it, but all of my ideas seemed so lame!" - Meredith confessed.
"Have you talked to kids yet?" - Amelia asked.
"Not yet. I should do that soon, right? I mean, should I ask them or just inform? God, I never thought this would be so hard!" - Meredith sighed.
"I think you should share your thoughts with them, not that you have to give up if they seem uneasy with the news, but I think if they feel like you're asking their opinion and consent, they will feel like they are truly part of that. I think it's important, especially to Zola, she can be a little jealousy of you" - Amelia suggested.
They were waiting for Maggie at the parking lot. Arizona would be at the hospital for the night shift. Maggie soon arrived and joined Meredith's car.
"Why do you have this look?" - Maggie asked them.
"What look?" - Meredith asked.
"This look. This 'I'm planning something' look" - Maggie pointed - "Amelia, you know the look, right?"
"Mer, you can't hide the look" - Amelia laughed.
"I don't know what you're talking about! I don't have the look!" - Meredith stated.
"I can't believe you're not telling me!" - Maggie exclaimed!
"Ok, ok, I was going to tell you, but that doesn't mean I have any look, ok? I was thinking about proposing to Arizona, but I can't figure it out a good way to do it." - Meredith confessed.
"Oh my God! Are you serious? Is she serious, Amelia? Oh, that's so sweet!" - Maggie said, sounding emotional.
"She's serious. But she doesn't know how to propose, do you have any suggestions Mags?" - Amelia asked her.
"Do you want something big or something low profile?" - Maggie asked Meredith.
"Nothing big for God's sake, I can't handle big. I just wanted something that could reflect what she is to me, her importance in my life, you know?" - Meredith explained.
"Why don't you make something with the kids? Like involving them on the proposal?" - Maggie suggested.
"That is actually a great idea, Mer. Nothing would mean more like 'family and commitment' to you guys than the kids!" - Amelia exclaimed.
"But how do I do that? Like, ask them to propose to her? Isn't that a little bit weird?" - Meredith asked, confused.
They kept talking about ideas until they get home. Alex was home with the kids since he had the day off and offered to stay with them since he was missing those little monsters.
Meredith was in bed thinking about Maggie's idea. She was more and more sure that marrying Arizona would be the best decision of her life, and she needed to come up with a good plan, something that could show her how much Arizona was loved. Then, just like a surgeon's brain could work under the pressure of saving someone's life, Meredith found a way to do it.
The next day Meredith was off and she went to buy the engagement ring. She didn't know much about jewelry, or Arizona's taste, just that she liked small and delicate things. She wouldn't buy a flashy ring or something that didn't look like Arizona would wear, but she wanted it to be something special. She thought about asking Amelia and Maggie to go with her, but she realized that she needed to do that on her own. Nobody knew Arizona better than her.
After leaving many jewelry stores not liking anything, Meredith was starting to lose hope, until she decided to try the last one. An old man greeted her and asked what she was looking for, imagining that it would probably be something for herself. Meredith froze, trying to come up with an answer that wouldn't shock the man, but at the same time, she felt terrible by lying about the matter of being in a gay relationship.
The man noticed that she seemed a little uncomfortable with the question, even though Meredith haven't said a word.
"Is it for your girlfriend?" - the man asked her, smiling.
"Yes, it is, actually. I want to propose tonight." - Meredith answered the man, with a huge smile on her face.
"Well, she must be a very special girl for you then. Let me show you my favorite one" - he picked up a box hidden in a drawer on his wooden desk.- "I don't know what kind of ring you're looking for, this one isn't a big flashy ring, but I was saving it for a couple that I could sense that would share real love, you seemed the right one to me. Take a look"
"Oh my God, it's gorgeous. It's so delicate but outstanding. Why do you think I am the right person for it?" - Meredith was intrigued.
"Well, I fell in love with the love of my life, years ago. I bought her a beautiful ring, that looked like this one. But I had to leave to the army, and by the time I went back, she married someone else. I've moved on, married again, I had beautiful kids. But that girl, she was special to me. So, when I decided to work with jewelry, taking over my family's business, I had a long conversation with an old friend, who happened to be a jewelry designer. I've described how was the ring, and asked him if he could do a similar one. He did and I just couldn't sell it, it wasn't just a piece of jewelry, it wasn't just business. I wanted to see someone with bright shiny eyes talking about the love. You did it. You entered in here with sparkles on your eyes, looking for something that fulfills your expectations. I know that it's also a matter of liking it or not. But if you do, it's yours." - the man gently explained to Meredith, who was with teary eyes.
"That's a beautiful story. I've been married before; I had a beautiful ring and a beautiful marriage, but we didn't have a wedding. We had 3 kids together, but he died a few years ago. Since the beginning, he was the right one despite all difficulties. But when he was gone, I just gave up falling in love, I thought I didn't deserve another great love; like I've already had my chance, you know? And then, just like that, this amazing woman appeared in my life. To be honest, she was in my life already; I just didn't realize that she could be mine." – Meredith told the man, that couldn't stop smiling about it.
"And how do you see her? How is she, through your eyes?" – The old man asked her.
"She's amazing. She looks like an angel, and I don't even believe in them. But she has a perfect blonde hair that falls on her face every morning, the most beautiful blue eyes I've ever seen my life. I mean, it looks like they've combined all the blue from the ocean and the sky and put on her eyes. They're deep but gentle. And she has those dimples every time she smiles. Doesn't need to be a huge smile, and they already pop in. She's caring; she doesn't need much to be happy. She's loving and funny. She's ridiculous smart but she doesn't seem to know that sometimes and she can easily be my kids' favorite person by now." – Meredith could go on and on about Arizona, she kept smiling like she was telling a beautiful story, and the most amazing part of it is that was her own love story.
"Young lady, you better marry this girl fast, or someone else will." – the man joked and they both laughed out loud – "I believe this ring can represent everything you just said. It's simple, doesn't need many props to stand out and shine; it has a gorgeous diamond, but nothing that would steal away the attention of her so-said heavenly eyes; it's not a large, heavy ring, but it seems to be as light as your love. And that's a rarity on these days. You take a second look, and take as much time as you need to see if that's the one" – the man suggested.
Meredith kept staring at the ring, trying to imagine it in Arizona's hand. It was just perfect. She didn't waste any more time and bought it. Together with it, she also bought the rings for the wedding, even though she knew that Arizona could still say no to this. But Meredith was confident, and she was in love.
When she arrived home, she gathered the kids to tell them about it.
"Kids, I want to talk to you about something really important to me, ok?" – Meredith said, hearing a unison 'ok' from them and continued – "Well, you know that Arizona and mommy are dating for a long time now, right? And now that she moved in, I think I want to make it even more special for all of us, like a big family. I want to ask her to marry me, and I need to know if you're ok with that" – Meredith said, having Zola and Bailey really focused on her, while Ellis was just playing with some random toy, not quite understanding much of that.
"But she will be our mom too?" – Zola asked and before Meredith could answer it, Bailey stepped in.
"She's already our mom Zo" – Bailey said.
"She's not, we can't have two moms" – Zola said.
"Of course we can, Sofia has two moms!" – Bailey was now getting louder.
"Hey, hey kids. Easy. Ok, first, Zo, it is possible to have two moms, or two dads, or just one of them. There are lots of types of family and we all need to embrace this diversity. But you don't need to call her mom if you don't want to, she's being married to me won't change anything, except that we will be officially committed by the law. And second, if you change your mind, or if you have doubts about her being your mom too, you can always talk to me and her, she's a great listener and she will be very happy to be part of this. Bailey thinks she's his mother too, and that's ok. But you don't have to do anything you don't want to, ok Zozo? And none of that will erase or change anything about your dad." – Meredith explained to them.
"Ok, mom." – Zola answered.
"When it's the wedding, mom?"- Bailey asked her.
"I don't know, honey. I haven't proposed yet, so that's the second part of our talk, I need your help to do that. Do you want to help me?" – Meredith asks them, more specifically to Bailey.
"Yes!" – Bailey and Zola answered and soon Ellis shouted a loud 'yes' like her siblings, just a few seconds later.
Meredith explained her plan to them who kept giggling and giving her ideas. After a while, Meredith called Amelia and Maggie to tell them, who were excited about it, just like the kids.
She will be out of surgery in 20 mins, I guess. Call her in half an hour. – Maggie texted Meredith with the information she just saw on the board.
After setting up things with kids, she put Ellis down since she was sleepy and already had her dinner. It was time. She picked up her phone and called Arizona.
A: Hey, babe, I was about to call you right now, just left the OR.
M: Oh, it's good that I had lucky then. Are you heading home?
A: Yes, in ten minutes or so, why? Want me to grab some dinner on the way home?
M: Actually, I was going to ask you to pick up some things from the hospital. Bailey fell down and opened his forehead and I don't have any surgical supplies at home.
A: Oh my God, is he ok? What happened? Don't you wanna bring him in?
M: No, he's fine. It's a small cut, he tripped on his own shoes. I just need vicryl to suture him, I've put a patch taping it, but it's fine, he didn't even cry.
A: Ok, what do you need? Suture, needles? Anesthesia?
M: I have needles, just vicryl, and some anesthetic, please.
A: Ok, I'm on my way.
M: Thank you! Drive safe!
Just like a hurricane, Arizona left the hospital and both Maggie and Amelia were watching hidden as she was talking to Meredith. The plan seemed to work out fine, she was worried and in a hurry.
Arizona parked her car just behind Meredith's and picked up a bag with all the surgical supplies for the suture. She opened the door and found Bailey sitting on the couch with a large patch on his forehead, by himself.
"Oh, sweetie, what happened? Are you ok?" – Arizona asked the boy and announced herself to Meredith – "Mer, I'm home!"
Meredith ran to her, trying not to burst out in laughter and ruin her plan. So she kissed Arizona quickly on the lips and asked:
"Can you give him the stitches? Here's the needle, I'm just going to check on Ellis quickly"
"Yes, let me just wash my hand, can you glove me?" – Arizona asked her.
"Sure, let's go. Bailey, honey, we'll be right back. Be good, ok?" – Meredith asked him and gave the boy a little wink since he knew it was all a lie.
After washing her hands and Meredith put the gloves on her, Arizona went back to the living room to start the procedure. Out of her sight, Meredith was standing behind her to watch the scene, as Zola was hiding on the stairs so she could film everything.
"Ok, honey, let me take this patch out, I'm going to give you a little magic liquid that will keep the pain away from you so I can give you some stitches, ok? But if you want to, you can squeeze my arm!" – Arizona said to him.
"Ok, mommy. Do you promise I will be ok?" – Bailey asked her, making a sad face. He was a great actor and Meredith was giving him thumbs up from behind Arizona.
"I promise, sweetheart. Now, let's do this!" – Arizona said and gently started to pull the patch out.
When she removed it completely, it was written on the boy's forehead: Will you marry my mom?
Arizona was confused for a few seconds, almost like she was having a hallucination. Bailey was smiling in the cutest way possible, and having fun in seeing Arizona's confused look.
"What is this?"- She asked him and immediately looked back to see Meredith smiling – "Mer, what is this?" – She asked again.
"Well, I think you need to answer him, it's his question." – Meredith said, noticing Arizona's eyes starting to fill with tears.
"Will you marry my mom?"- Bailey asked her, with his cute voice and giggles.
"I will. I will, of course, I will. You two scared me!" – Arizona said laughing and crying at the same time.
"Yes!" – the boy exclaimed and Arizona stood up to kiss Meredith.
"Will you marry me, Arizona?" – Meredith asked her in hear ear, hugging her.
"Don't you ever do this to me again, I drove like a lunatic worried about him!" – Arizona asked her, still crying and laughing.
"I don't intend to propose to you again unless you're saying no!" – Meredith joked.
"Of course I will marry you. I love you so much! And I still can't believe you've talked Bailey into this!" – Arizona pointed.
"He had excellent ideas and so did Zola, who is still filming everything from the stairs" – Meredith said, pointing out to Zola who went down laughing.
"It worked!" – Zola exclaimed.
"It did, sweetie! Thank you for your help. You guys are the best!" – Meredith said hugging her kids.