Title: Frontlines
Author: captstarbuck
Rating: T
Pairing: Callie/Arizona
Disclaimers: 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. (I don't own any of the characters from Grey's Anatomy.
Summary: My take on Callie and Arizona in NYC at the time the pandemic hit
Editor/Beta: pensco_927
Author's Note: I first conceived this story over the summer, during my many lunchtime walks. At the time, here in New York, COVID seemed to be trending downward and there was hope that we were over the worst of it. When I plotted out the epilogue, it was done with the hopeful assumption that COVID would be under control and that we'd have a vaccine by the summer of 2021. I'm now not so sure about where we'll be when it actually gets to next year. I try to be accurate in my writing where possible, but jumping ahead to next year (2021) may make that difficult. However, since this is fiction, I will just proceed with the assumption that they'll all be safe and COVID-free.
Autnor's Note 1: Thanks to you all for letting me know your preference. Since a slight majority voted for a chapter now and the final chapter later, I've decided to post this chapter. For those of you who wanted one big chapter, you might want to skip this posting and then read the final two together. I know I said there would only be one more chapter, but this epilogue seems to be writing itself.
Frontlines
Epilogue – Living the Dream
Part 3 of 4
Friday, August 6, 2021, 8:30 AM
Arizona slowly woke up, stretching bare arms above her head. She groaned slightly as she felt a few twinges in her joints.
"You okay?" a slightly raspy voice asked from beside her.
"Yeah, just a little sore from last night."
Callie chuckled as she slipped an arm around Arizona's waist. "Not as young as we used to be, huh?"
"Bite your tongue," Arizona answered. "We aren't old. We just haven't had such energetic moments lately." She grinned. "Or loud," she added as she leaned over to give Callie a good morning kiss. "Engagement sex is awesome."
Callie snuggled up to the blonde. "We didn't have much of an opportunity for it the last time we were engaged."
"No, we didn't. Between your recovery and having a newborn at home and planning a wedding, we were lucky to even get a good night's sleep."
Callie began to place kisses along Arizona's neck. "I'll tell you what else will be different this time around."
"What's that?" Arizona struggled to ask as Callie's lips trailing down distracted her.
"If you think engagement is awesome, wait until we get honeymoon sex."
"We're going to have a honeymoon?" Arizona exclaimed.
"Uh huh," Callie replied, her fingertips ghosting along Arizona's torso.
"Really?" Arizona placed her hand over Callie's, stilling the motion. "When? Where?"
Callie frowned at having her intentions for morning sex temporarily halted, but knew she should tell Arizona of her plans. She didn't dare spring any more last minute surprises on her.
"Well, you know that we used the company plane to fly everybody in from Seattle, right?" Arizona nodded. "On Sunday, we're joining them on the flight back to Seattle, along with Cristina. On Monday, you and I are flying to Hawaii to spend a few days at the Maui Torres Resort."
"Hawaii? Really? We're going to have a real honeymoon this time?"
The first time they were married, they'd only had two nights away. Neither could take the time off from work, especially after they'd missed so much with Callie's surgeries, Sofia and maternity leave.
"Mmhmmm," Callie replied, a broad smile on her face. "We'll stay there until Friday, fly back to Seattle, and then you and I and Cristina will fly back to New York on Saturday."
"What about the kids? Won't your parents need the plane?"
"Do you really want to play twenty questions this morning?" Callie teased. She knew Arizona had one of those type A personalities and wouldn't give it a rest until she had all the details. "Fine, my parents and Eddie and Mariana are staying at our house so they can spend more time with everyone. Aria and Marco have business in the city and will be staying at the Archfield-New York. Everything's covered."
"You've thought of everything," Arizona complimented Callie.
"I can plan, too, you know. You're not the only one who's skilled at organizing."
"Then I need to reward you for being so thorough and organized," Arizona said, a sexy smile on her face.
"I like the sound of that," Callie agreed as she rolled over on top of Arizona. As she lowered her head to kiss the blonde, she glanced at the clock on the nightstand. "Shit!" she swore. "No, no, no, no, no, no," she moaned, pulling away from Arizona.
"What's wrong? Why did you stop?"
"We've got to get up. We've still got to shower and eat and get to City Hall."
"Seriously?" Arizona huffed.
"Well, we could save some time if we shower together," Callie suggested, hopping out of bed and grabbing Arizona's crutches for her.
"I like the way you think, Calliope," Arizona said, taking the crutches and following after her naked fiancée.
With a little time to spare, the two women stopped by the reserved room to get some breakfast. Carlos and Daniel had arranged for there to always be fresh fruit, snacks and drinks available for the group. The couple each grabbed a large cup of coffee, both of them internally thanking the hotel for having extra large cups handy. Arizona took the last donut and Callie picked up one of the remaining scones left over from breakfast.
"Where did everyone go?" Arizona asked Lucia and Barbara.
"The girls went shopping with Aria and Meredith, and the rest went to a park. I think Meredith said Cristina was still sleeping."
"I imagine Cristina is probably exhausted from traveling," Arizona commented.
"Tequila," Callie coughed.
"Flying from Switzerland then flying up here, I would be tired too," Arizona continued, shooting a glare at Callie.
"Hangover," Callie said under her breath.
'Callie," Arizona scolded in her best 'mom' voice.
"Whatever." Callie refilled her coffee cup. "Is there a car available or should we call a cab or Uber?" she asked her mother.
"It's only a fifteen minute walk but Richard left his rental for you to use. You'll just have to be back in time for when we all go to Ben & Jerry's." She handed Callie the keys. "You'd best get going or you're going to be late."
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An hour later, Callie and Arizona were almost giddy as they walked out of the Burlington City Hall with their marriage license secured in Callie's purse. Hand in hand they walked down the streets, their joy written all over their faces. Even strangers on the street couldn't help but smile at the happiness that seemed to roll off the couple.
"What's next?" Arizona asked, swinging their locked hands as if she were a teenager. "Dress shopping?"
"We have an appointment with a jeweler." Callie smiled and tugged on Arizona's hand, pulling her closer so she could give her a kiss on the cheek. "Can't get married without rings."
The smile on Arizona's face was all the reassurance Callie needed to know she had made the right decision.
"Callie, can I ask you a question?" as they continued down the street.
"Is something wrong?" Callie immediately became worried.
"No. I'm just curious if anyone is standing up with you at the wedding. Maybe Addison?"
"Well, actually, Aria is. Since I can finally get married with my whole family here, I asked Aria." She squeezed Arizona's hand, knowing Arizona was probably thinking about her brother. "I hope that's okay, honey."
"Of course it is, Callie."
"You should think about who you want to stand up with you."
"I'll give it some thought."
After walking a few more minutes in silence, Callie opened the door to an upscale jewelry store.
"May I help you?" an older gentleman asked.
"Yes. I'm Dr. Torres. We have an appointment."
"Oh, yes, Dr. Torres. I'm Michael Henderson. We spoke on the phone," he introduced himself as he held out his hand.
Callie shook his hand, then turned to Arizona. "This is my fiancée, Dr. Robbins."
"Two doctors, most impressive," he said as he led them to a small room. "Can I get you two ladies anything before I bring out the rings? Coffee? Water?"
"Coffee, please," they answered.
Once they had their coffees, Michael brought out a small tray of assorted wedding bands. Some were very elegant, with many diamonds, and some were much simpler.
"I've got a range of bands. If you don't see anything you like, I've got more."
"They're all just stunning," Arizona said as she scrutinized every single one.
"Do you see anything you like?" Callie asked.
"I think I like those three the best," the blonde commented as she pointed out her choices. "What do you think?"
"They're all very nice," Callie said.
"You don't like them?"
"I was thinking more along the lines of those," she answered, gesturing toward a row of bands that all had several diamonds.
"I think I'd like something simple, yet tasteful. Elegant." She picked up a gold band that had both white gold and 14 carat gold blended with a small diamond like pattern.
"That is pretty," Callie agreed. "And it would be more practical for work." She gestured to Michael. "Do you have these available?"
"Probably, but I need to get your sizes."
After getting their ring sizes, he placed the tray of rings back in the case, and went to the back of the store.
"Are you sure you don't want something with diamonds?" Callie asked.
"I have my diamond," Arizona replied, waving her hand in front of Callie. "I don't need fancy or expensive, Calliope."
"You're in luck. We do have them available," Michael said, sitting down in front of the two women as he took out the rings. "Let's see how they fit."
As they tried on the rings, both women kept stealing glances at one another, knowing that they would be slipping them on the next day.
"How do they feel?"
"Great. Perfect fit."
"And the band looks fabulous with your engagement ring," he complimented Arizona.
Arizona held her hand up to see for herself. "It does," she nodded.
"Would you like to take them with you now, or pick them up tomorrow?"
"We'll have someone pick them up," Callie said, reaching into her wallet and taking out her Platinum Amex card.
Once the purchase was made and paperwork completed, they headed out of the store.
"You've thought of everything, Calliope."
"Now let's see if we can find you a dress and still have time to grab a quick lunch."
"You did say you brought some of my dresses with you?" Callie nodded. "Which ones?"
"The white one with blue flowers with three quarter sleeves, the sleeveless turquoise one, and that lilac one with the short sleeves."
"What did you bring?"
"Oh, my mom, Aria and I went shopping last week, but I brought a couple of ones from my closet, too."
After going in and out of several small shops, Arizona finally found a white summery dress that had a multi-colored flowers. She finally decided on it after Callie assured her that it wouldn't clash with her dress. A quick lunch at an outside café and they were back to the hotel in time to join the others for their trip to Ben and Jerry's.
There were a few semi-chaotic moments as car seats, booster seats and long-legged adults were organized into the appropriate vehicles for the thirty-minute drive to Ben and Jerry's. About half-way into the trip, Rickey spotted a sign and shouted out to his mothers.
"ROBBINS Wildlife Management Area! Is that ours?" he asked wide-eyed.
"No, I don't think so," Arizona answered. "Dad, do you know if we're related to it?"
"I don't rightly know," he said from the front seat. "Maybe a distant relative. I think some branch of the family settled up in New England back in the 1800s. I'll have to check our genealogy when we get home."
"That's so cool," Ricky continued. "Can we stop and take a picture on the way back?"
"We'll see. It depends on how much time we have," Callie replied, not promising anything.
Arizona couldn't help but smile at Ricky's use of 'ours'. Him self-identifying as a Robbins pleased her to no end, and she was sure her parents felt the same. She recalled explaining how she got her first name to him and how impressed he was, even if he didn't quite understand what Pearl Harbor was. Just hearing that her grandfather was a Marine and had saved nineteen men was enough for him. He'd puffed with pride knowing that he carried the Robbins name along with the Torres surname.
The rest of the ride was in silence as the three boys marveled at the trees and mountains. They hadn't paid much attention on the drive to Vermont as they had been engrossed in a movie most of the time. With no distractions this time, they were taking in the sights. Ricky had spent all but a year of his short life in New York City. Yes, he was in the suburbs now with tree lined lots and open spaces, but it wasn't anything like what he was seeing. Henry was the same, having first lived in Loa Angeles and a year in the suburbs as well. Eddie had traveled more, but even then, rural Vermont was a new and different experience for him, too.
By the time their SUV was parked, Carlos was already inside making the final arrangements for their tour. Arizona and Callie were both curious to see how Sofia would act now that she had friends and family with her. Maybe hanging around them would be more important to her than being with a bunch of adults.
Their concerns were quickly put to rest when Sofia immediately came up to Nicole.
"Are you ready, Dr. Nic?" Sofia asked, taking Nicole's hand and putting it on her shoulder.
"Lead the way, kid."
Arizona and Callie were proud and happy to see the Sofia hadn't forgotten her ice cream promise to the older doctor. Ice cream had always been 'their thing' and today was no different.
The group was ushered into the Cow Over The Moon Theater where they watched a short film about how Ben and Jerry's originated and became the business it was now. From there, the group trooped over to the mezzanine where they were able to watch how the ice cream was made. Their tour guide, Marcy, gave them a brief explanation of the whole ice cream process.
"Our next stop is the FlavoRoom where you'll get to sample some of the flavors of the day."
"You won't have to tell us the flavors," Sofia bragged. "Dr. Nic knows them all. She can tell you what flavor it is just by tasting."
Sofia had been telling the other kids about Nicole's 'super power' at lunch and they were skeptical. With Sofia's pronouncement to everyone, including the Ben and Jerry's employees, they now ooh'd and aah'd, and the adults were intrigued. Everyone, except of course, the Robbins and Torres families. They'd already seen Nicole's ice cream expertise in action.
"This I gotta see," Cristina said, elbowing her way to the front.
After successfully identifying four samples to applause, Nicole stepped aside, a smug self-satisfied smile on her face.
"Okay, I admit, that was impressive, but it's only a few kinds," Cristina said. "Even I could probably guess those four."
"Perhaps you can stump her in the Scoop Shop," Marcy suggested.
"Yeah, let's all pick different flavors and see if Dr. Nic can guess them all," Zola said.
"Little person," Nicole said, turning in the direction of Zola's voice, "I don't guess."
They followed Marcy to the Scoop Shop. Each member of the group selected their flavor of ice cream by pointing at it. One by one, they offered Nicole a sample from their dish. Twenty-seven times they did this, and twenty-seven times Nicole correctly named the flavor.
"Okay, now I'm really impressed," Cristina said as she ate from her dish of Coffee Coffee BuzzBuzzBuzz.
"I should've bet with you," Callie said. "She's never wrong, and we've been trying to stump her for over two years."
"I suppose you're going to have an ice cream cake at the wedding?" Cristina asked.
"No, we're having a real cake, but there will be ice cream, too." As Cristina opened her mouth to ask another question, Callie cut her off with a smile. "And, yes, Yang, there will be tequila."
"I knew you wouldn't let me down, Torres."
"Cristina, I still don't know how you can drink that stuff."
"I don't get it that often anymore, Cal. Not a lot of call for tequila in Switzerland."
Arizona and Nicole headed outside with the rest of the families. The blonde guided the older doctor to a bench where they could sit and rest while they finished off their ice cream.
"I don't know how you can eat more ice cream," Arizona commented. "You'd think all those samples would've filled you up."
"There's always room for ice cream."
Arizona sat quietly, sighing once.
"Okay, Robbins, out with it. We've got a few minutes to ourselves. What's the problem? Are you getting cold feet?"
"NO!" she almost shouted. "No, of course not," she said, lowering her voice. "I can't wait to marry Callie."
"Then what is clearly bugging you now?"
"Aria is standing up for Callie."
"And?"
"Well, since Callie is asking her sister to stand up for her, I thought I'd ask you to stand up with me since I think of you as an older sister, an annoying older sister."
Nicole remained silent as she ate her ice cream and pondered her response. "Okay," she finally said. "I suppose it's only fitting since I did get the two of you back together."
"Thank you."
"Wait," Nicole said suddenly, an evil yet still delighted look on her face. "Does this mean I get to give a toast?"
Arizona planted her face in the palm of her hand and shook her head from side to side. "Why do I have the feeling that I'm going to regret this decision?" she muttered.
Nicole laughed. "Oh, this is going to be fun."
Friday, August 6, 2021, 9:00 PM
Callie closed the door to their hotel room and smiled at her fiancée.
"Can I just say how happy I am that we're not getting married until the afternoon?" Arizona stated. "We can have a nice relaxing morning, maybe even sleep in late."
"Or have a late night," Callie said with a sly smile as she pulled her top over her head and tossed on the chair.
Arizona sauntered over to Callie. "Does this mean we get to have more engagement sex?" she asked.
"Absolutely. We've only got this last night as an engaged couple."
"Well, according to tradition, we're supposed to spend the night apart," Arizona teased.
"That's not going to happen," Callie sternly said. "We've spent enough time apart. I don't want to spend another night without you."
"Sweet talker."
Just as they were about to kiss, someone pounded on the door.
"Open up, Torres!" Cristina demanded as she knocked on the door again.
"Go away, Yang!" Callie answered. "We're busy."
"Put your clothes on and open the door," Nicole ordered.
"Yeah, no sex before the wedding!"
"The door's locked, right?" Arizona whispered, hoping they would go away.
"I've got a pass key, Cal," Aria said as the door knob turned.
Both Callie and Arizona darted for the door in order to flip the deadbolt lock, but they were too late. Aria opened the door and Cristina pushed her way inside. Their friends, bottles of wine and liquor, as well as snacks in their hands, filed into the room behind her.
"Geez, Cal, put your shirt on," Cristina complained as she tossed the discarded top to her friend before she flopped down onto the king-sized bed, Meredith joining her.
"Relax, Cristina. It's not like you haven't seen it before," Callie fired back before she pulled her top back on.
"Yeah, way too many times if you ask me," Cristina complained as she opened the bottle of tequila.
"Interesting," Nicole said, feeling her way over to the sofa and sitting down, Addison beside her. "Tell me more, Yang."
Bailey quickly claimed one of the chairs. April and Teddy wheeled in some extra chairs from their own rooms.
"What's going on?" Arizona asked.
"Girls' night in," Aria explained, waving a bottle of wine. "Time to celebrate without parents and kids around."
"Who's got the kids?" Callie inquired.
"Mathew, Marco, Ben, Richard and Dad walked into town to visit a pub," Aria informed them. "Barbara is watching Ruby and Allison. Mom is with the girls. I think they're all doing their nails, even Harriet. And of course, Daniel is keeping the boys in line."
"I feel kind of guilty," Teddy confessed to Arizona. "Your mom has taken care of Allison two nights now."
"Don't worry about it. My mom loves kids, especially the little ones."
"Hey, let's get this party started!" Yang called out, sitting up.
"Did you plan this?" Arizona asked Callie after hearing Cristina's enthusiasm for a celebration (rather an excuse to drink with her friends).
"Nope. I had nothing to do with this. I had other plans for us."
"No one needs much of an imagination to know what those plans were," Nicole said, shuddering at the thought. "I can honestly say I'm glad I can't see. It was bad enough hearing it when Robbins lived with me." She took a swallow from the bottle of scotch that she and Addison were sharing, trying to block the sounds from her memory.
"Yeah, be glad," Cristina remarked. "I had to hear it AND see it." Her face crinkled in distaste. "There was this time when Owen and I were watching TV and in comes these two. Next thing I know, a shirt comes flying across the room and lands in Owen's lap."
Cristina took another swig from the tequila bottle before passing it back to Meredith. She suddenly laughed. "Of course, Lexie got more of an eyeful than I ever did."
Callie and Arizona's faces both reddened as they recalled the moment Cristina was referring to.
"What was that?" April asked, already tipsy from the wine she'd been guzzling.
"Lexie was dating Mark at the time. I think it was when Sloane Sloan was living with McSteamy."
"What happened?"
"Lexie walked in on these two horn dogs while they were in the shower. Caught 'em in the act," Cristina cackled. "I don't know who was more embarrassed."
"Yang!" Callie yelled.
"Can't say I ever had the 'pleasure' of that," Nicole said dryly. "I'm sure if I had, that alone would've caused me to go blind if I wasn't already."
"You people are just nasty," Bailey muttered.
"Did you end up buying ear plugs?" Cristina asked.
"No, I just kicked Robbins out."
"You did not," Arizona protested. "Callie and I found an apartment together and I moved out. You did NOT kick me out."
"I like my version better," Nicole said with a smile. She so enjoyed getting a rise out of the blonde.
"That's not the way it happened and you know it."
"Meh, you tell it your way and I'll tell it my way."
"Wow, I haven't thought about that or Sloane Sloan in a long time," Cristina said. "When was it, a few years ago?"
"More than twelve," Meredith corrected. "Before Zola and Sofia."
"That long?" Callie asked. "Man, we're getting old," she said, suddenly morose.
The room fell silent, each of the women thinking about family and friends now gone.
"Hey, this is a wedding we're celebrating, not a funeral," April interrupted.
"I can't believe I'm saying this, but April is right," Cristina said. "Drink up, ladies. The night is still young and we've got lots of stories to share."
Arizona kissed Callie's cheek, then whispered, "we need to keep Cristina and Nicole away from each other tomorrow. There's no telling what kind of trouble they could cause. The two of them together with alcohol." Arizona shivered.
"Good thinking," Callie agreed.
Several hours later, after sharing many stories and reminiscing, the group of women decided it was time to bring the party to a close.
As Callie and Arizona watched them stagger and stumble their way to their rooms, they heard Cristina call out to Nicole and Addison.
"Look! It's the blind drunk leading the blind."
"Cristina!" Meredith exclaimed in horror.
Nicole's laughter echoed down the hall.
With a shake of her head at her friends, Arizona closed the door. She turned to Callie and said, "So, about your plans for us this evening…"
"Make sure the door is locked this time. We definitely don't want any more interruptions."