Chapter 37:

-Present Day-

Callie, sitting upright in her bed, fought to catch her breath. She felt a reassuring and warm hand on her arm. Looking over her shoulder, she noticed Arizona's unsettling look. Her partner's eyes were uncertain and made it difficult to ascertain the emotion she was feeling.

The images Callie had witnessed during her mind's excursion were jumbled and bumping into one another. They connected and collided behind her eyes and it was becoming difficult to make each one out. One image, though, was clear, vividly clear, and its striking photo like quality threatened to steal her breath away every time she focused on it.

Hannah.

She'd seen Hannah. She knew, without a doubt, that Hannah had been who she'd remembered. Hannah's voice had been the sound replaying in the back of her mind for days. Even though the voice was too mature and did not speak with a lisp, Callie somehow knew that it belonged to Hannah.

The image of Arizona's daughter had not come alone. Upon the knowledge had also come intense emotions, distant memories, and forgotten revelations. These, unfortunately, were slipping through Callie's mental fingers faster than she could contain them safely.

Arizona's eyes still begged for an explanation. Callie licked her lips, nervously, and scooted back to rest against her pillows.

"I saw her." she started, voice shaky with her recent ordeal.

"You saw who...Hannah? You were dreaming?" Arizona asked, moving so that she could face her partner.

"No...no, she was here. I mean..s-she was with me. It wasn't a dream. I-I think it was...I think it was a memory."

Blue eyes darkened and lowered as a sigh met the silence of the room.

"Callie," Arizona said, heavily, looking back up, "you don't have any memories of Hannah, honey. You never met her. It was a dream."

Arizona leaned over Callie and readjusted her pillows. Smoothing dark hair away from Callie's face, she attempted to settle her love down.

"Lie back down, baby, and let's try to get some sleep."

Before she could move away, Callie grabbed her wrists with both of her hands. Dark eyes implored an audience.

"It wasn't a dream, Arizona! I saw her. She...she called me 'CC' because she said Calliope was too hard to say. She said you wouldn't like it if I went to the 'other place'. Sh-She said you cried when she went there-"

"Stop it, Callie." Arizona rasped, harsher than she intended. Sitting back down, she looked away from Callie and sighed.

"She said she couldn't look after you anymore and was happy that I could." Callie said, choosing not to adhere to Arizona's demand. She could practically see the lump that had formed in her partner's throat. Arizona refused to look at her, but her profile was a series of hard lines that belied her true feelings.

Callie knew she wasn't making much sense. She was just trying to tell Arizona everything she could remember while the information was still fresh. She needed her wife to understand that she hadn't been alone while in her coma. Somehow, Dims had been with her. She had...she had kept her company.

Large pieces of her memory were still a mystery to her, but she still tried to recall as much as she could for Arizona.

"She was more beautiful than the pictures and videos I'd seen. She was gorgeous, Arizona. She sounded like you. Sh-she didn't sound like a five year old." Callie continued, a wistful smile playing on her lips. Arizona swallowed and bit the inside of her cheek.

"I still knew it was her, even though her voice was more adult than I'd heard it. She was healthy and whole, Arizona. I think...I-I think she was my guardian angel when I was lost. She helped me find my way back to you."

For several minutes, Arizona said nothing. She was unsure of how to handle the information Callie was giving her. Angels and heaven and visits from the other side were not things that she believed in. Her mind was too logical to believe in greater higher powers and vast utopias of an afterlife.

Those were Callie's notions. Callie was Catholic. She believed in God and heaven. She believed in angels. There was nothing that Callie had told her that led her to believe that what she had experienced was anything other than a dream.

A sweet, wonderful, and uplifting dream, but a dream nonetheless.

Her heart tugged at her insides. It wanted to believe that Callie had seen Hannah. It desired the comfort that came with the idea that, yes, Hannah was somewhere safe. She was somewhere, above, watching over her.

Her mind, always too rational for her own good, reminded her that dreams could, often times, feel unnervingly real. Callie had dreamed about Hannah. That was all.

Looking back at Callie, Arizona took in her features. An ever-present smile seemed to reach Callie's entire face. Her eyes were lighter and more full of life than Arizona had seen since her waking. Callie truly believed that she had seen Hannah; that she had spent time with her during her coma.

"Callie-"

"I saw her, Arizona. Please believe me."

Arizona faltered at her partner's words. She didn't want to upset her. She didn't want to not believe her, but she knew Callie had only dreamt of her daughter. What other explanation was there?

Taking a hold of Callie's hand, she rubbed gentle patterns atop of it and took a deep breath.

"I believe that you believe it, Calliope. I've had dreams about Hannah since she died. They felt so real, I'd swear I could still feel her next to me when I woke up. I could still hear her and smell her. But, honey, that was all they ever were. Dreams."

Callie shook her head, "Arizona, it wasn't a dream. While I was in a coma, she was with me. I was between this world and the next and she kept me here so I could come back to you and Daniella. She helped me to realize..."

Callie trailed off and a furrow formed between her brows. The information, the memories and images, that were so present, started to fade away. It was becoming harder for her to recall everything she wanted to tell Arizona. She wanted to scream and cry.

"Realize what?" Arizona asked, softly.

Shaking her head, Callie opened her mouth to speak but no words came forth. She'd had a piece of herself back and now it was gone! There was still so much Arizona needed to know!

"I-I can't remember. It's harder to...I..I can't...damn it..." she whispered as she lowered her head and allowed a single tear to fall down her cheek.

She felt Arizona wipe away the wetness from her face with her thumb. A moment later, the blonde's hand cupped her chin and brought her head up.

"It's okay, honey. You're tired and you over did things earlier."

Callie shook her head. She knew Arizona was feeling guilty over her emotional breakdown from earlier in the evening.

"No. You needed me. Don't you dare make me feel like an invalid. I did what I had to do and I'd do it again."

Arizona nodded her head once and continued to stroke the soft skin of Callie's face.

"Okay." she replied simply.

As Callie settled back down into the bed, Arizona stood up and leaned over her. Helping to get her into a comfortable position, the blonde smiled once Callie was snuggled securely under her blanket.

"Sleep, baby. I'm going to take a shower and check on Daniella."

Callie grabbed Arizona's hand before she could turn away.

"I did see her, Arizona. I know you don't believe me, but I'll prove it to you in time. She's okay, mariposa. She's safe and she's even more amazing than I ever imagined. She said she misses you."

Arizona sucked in a ragged breath and looked up at the ceiling. Even if Callie's words and information had come from a dream, hearing them, in no way, lessened their impact. The thought that Hannah missed her, that her baby girl was desiring her comfort, was too much for Arizona, especially given her current emotional state.

Smiling, sadly, and looking back down at Callie, Arizona nodded and patted her hand.

"Sleep, Callie. You'll feel better in a few hours."

With those words, she turned away and walked, quickly, to the bathroom. Callie watched her until she disappeared from view. Her mind was too chaotic to allow her to sleep. Instead of counting sheep or, otherwise, attempting to do as Arizona asked, Callie found herself making plans. Plans for herself. Plans for her recovery.

Plans for she and Arizona.

She had to regain her mobility. She had to recover her lost memories before her time in the hospital. She had to remember more about her time with Hannah.

As she looked at the window to her right, her ears were alerted to the sound of running water coming from the bathroom. Arizona needed to believe her. It was important. Somehow, she needed to convince her butterfly that her experience with Hannah had been real.

"Will you tell Mommy something for me?"

Callie replayed that question over and over again in her mind. Try as she might, she couldn't recall what it was that Hannah had asked her to relay to Arizona.

"I'll remember, Hannah. I promise, baby. I'll remember." she said into the dead of night.

-3 months ago-

Two weeks had passed since Lucy had cornered Arizona in an on-call room at the hospital with explicit sexual propositions. In that time, the two women had come to an uneasy truce. Lucy had tried, more than once, to explain her behavior in more detail, but Arizona had refused to give her the opportunity.

Callie's due date was drawing ever closer and Arizona found herself in full 'planning' mode. With only a week to go before Callie reached her sixth month, Arizona worked, painstakingly, to prepare their child's nursery. Compromises were made on a daily basis as to how they both wished to decorate. Work, Callie, and preparation(not necessarily in that order) were all Arizona focused on.

Lucy's desire to further clear the air had no place in her world. She remained civil and friendly, but completely detached where Lucy was concerned.

Callie's blood pressure was still higher than everyone liked and her headaches were still more common than occasional. Arizona didn't wish to upset her for anything in the world.

As she was looking over some of Hannah's old belongings in the downstairs bedroom, a knock at the front door caught her attention. Callie was at the hospital and Arizona wasn't expected to pick her up for another few hours.

Curious as to who could be at her house, unexpected, she stood from her spot on the floor and exited the room. Entering the foyer and walking past the staircase, she came to the door and could barely make out a distorted form on the other side of the painted glass.

Opening the door, halfway, she lowered her eyebrows when she noticed who was on her front steps.

"Mark, what are you doing here? Is Callie okay?" she asked, opening the door all the way and stepping back to allow the man entrance into her home.

Mark stepped inside and turned around to face her once she'd closed and locked the door. He placed his hands on his hips and caught her eyes.

"We need to talk." he said in a serious tone of voice.