Callie groaned and rolled over, hitting the top of her alarm so it turned off. She knew she had to get up for work, but after the long conversations with her wife last night, she was exhausted. Just yesterday, Nick had broke the news to them, and Arizona was struggling with what to think.
"Mm" Arizona mumbled.
"Good morning baby" Callie had whispered, not opening her eyes.
"Morning..." Arizona scooted closer to Callie. "You look so beautiful" The blonde admired her wife, who looked peaceful, and absolutely stunning.
Callie blushed, "Thank you."
Arizona smiled, kissing her wife's shoulder, just staring at the woman.
"Did you ever figure out what happened with Summer yesterday?" Callie still had her eyes closed.
"Oh... oh god, yeah. We need to go in and see her teacher." Arizona said, remembering her conversation with her daughter and getting angry again.
"What happened?"
Arizona sighed. "I guess they were learning about genes... and the teacher was telling the kids they should look like both of their parents..."
Callie's eyes opened and scanned Arizona's face, which was filled with anger.
"So Summer said she only looked like you..."
Callie bit her cheek.
"And some kid said that meant her mother cheated. And the teacher said absolutely nothing."
"What?!" Callie sat up, now also angry. "I'm gonna drive them into school today."
"Summer was a mess" Arizona said sadly.
"We moved so this exact thing wouldn't happen, and now it's happening again?!"
"Cal, we should probably go together.."
"Yeah, so you come with me. We're going this morning. Summer isn't going to have to put up with that. Making comments to us is much much different than telling my daughter her mothers cheated on each other." Callie got out of bed.
"I know it is, it's not right." Arizona completely agreed with her wife, and she hated that her children had to experience backlash for something they couldn't control.
"I'll ask my mom to watch the kids while we take the older kids to school." Callie said, already changing into her clothes.
Arizona had nodded, just watching her wife for a while as she got ready for the day.
Callie put on her jewelry once she was fully dressed, Arizona's eyes still on her. She just smiled at the woman when she looked in the mirror and saw she was being watched. No matter how annoyed she was about anything else, Arizona could always make her smile. "I love you" She spoke in a much more calm voice than a few minutes ago.
"I love you too" Arizona said immediately.
Callie turned around and picked up her phone. "Do you wanna call my mom? I'll go start getting the kids up."
Arizona nodded, sitting up in the bed a little and fixing her sleep tank top- which was all messed up. She took Callie's phone to call her mother in law- even though she could have done it on hers.
Callie left the room to wake up the children.
"Hey, Lucia... Good morning" Arizona said when her mother-in-law answered.
"Oh! Good morning sweetheart! Is the baby coming?" She asked excitedly.
Arizona laughed. "No, not yet."
"Hopefully soon!"
"I hope so. Uh, we actually need to switch up plans a little this morning. Cal and I are gonna drop the kids off at school. We need to talk with Summer's teacher. Would it be okay if you still came by to watch the twins and Olivia, though?"
"Of course my dear. Should I still come when I usually do?"
"Yeah, that would be great. Thank you so much." Arizona smiled, beyond grateful that Callie's mother was so willing to help.
"Anything you need. Have you been talking to your mother?" Lucia asked. She usually stayed away from talking about Arizona's parents, but the woman was still curious.
"Uh, yeah... I talked to her last night." Arizona recalled their conversation.
"Oh, that's nice!" Lucia knew Arizona wanted to be close with her mother again, so she was genuinely happy for her.
"Yeah... Alright, I gotta get out of bed and help Calliope with the kids" She laughed.
Lucia laughed as well. "I'll let you get to that and I'll see you soon sweetheart."
"Thank you so much again, We'll see you in a few" Arizona hung up and slowly got out of bed. The woman got dressed before going to find her wife and see who was awake.
"I love when you take us to school!" Max had cheered in the back seat. The couples three oldest children were in the back of the car Callie always took to work, and Arizona was in the passenger seat.
Both mother's had smiled. "We love taking you to school, bud" Arizona answered. She found it adorable that the young boy was so excited to have his moms drive him into school.
"Does Mama have work today?" Jackson asked curiously. He knew his mother usually couldn't drive them because she had work.
"Yeah, I do! Mommy and I need to talk to someone at school, so I'm going in a little late today" Callie responded.
Summer had stayed rather quiet, probably still slightly upset about yesterday. Arizona and Callie were determined to make sure their little girl never had to worry about that again. Or, at least for a while. Sadly, the couple knew there were ignorant people, and as much as they tried, they would never be able to fully shield their children from the hateful comments.
Callie hummed along to the radio, one hand linked in Arizonas as she drove. The blonde had smiled, happy to be spending the morning with her wife and oldest children, despite the bad circumstances that brought them together.
"Anddd here we are" Callie said when she parked the car. "You guys have everything you need?" She unbuckled, turning to look at her children.
"Yeah" They all nodded in approval.
Callie smiled. "I love you guys, have a good day!" She leaned over and kissed each of their heads.
Jackson went to open the car door but Arizona spoke up.
"Hey, hey. Come here" She held out her hands, unable to turn around fully like Callie could because of her baby belly. One by one, she took the children's faces in her hands and kissed their heads. "I love you, enjoy your day" She said to each of the boys before it was Summers turn. "Hey, today will be better. You remember to tell that kid what you said you would." The young girl started to smile. "I love you honey" Arizona kissed her head.
With exchanges of 'I love you's the children headed into school.
Callie looked at Arizona. "Are you ready?"
"I guess. Are you?"
"I guess" Callie repeated. "Let's go yell at some homophobes!" Callie sarcastically cheered.
Arizona couldn't help but laugh. "Let's do it."
Three Years Ago...
Arizona had smiled as she stood outside the door of her two oldest children's school. Her two youngest children were excitedly waiting for their siblings to come out, like they did every day. Arizona had Olivia on her hip and Max was running around her, getting his energy from the car ride out. The mother smiled when her oldest son walked out.
"Hey!! How was your day?" She hugged the boy and took his backpack for him.
"It was good. I won Tag in gym!" The boy said proudly.
"Woah! Congratulations!" The mother said happily as Summer walked over to them. "And how was your day?" She asked the girl.
"It was good." The young brunette held up a yellow piece of paper to her mother. "The teacher said we gotta fix this."
"What? Your mother said she filled that out last night..." Arizona took the paper. She read it over- it was asking for contact information for parents and then back up. It had all of the information correct. "What do we have to fix?"
"She said my parents have to be on there."
"Did you tell her that we are? Look..." Arizona pointed to the paper to let Summer see. "That's me, and that's Mama. You know that... and then Grandma is down here."
"I told her that you were, but she said my dad had to be on there."
Arizona scoffed.
"I told her I don't have one and she said to bring it to my Mom to fix it."
"Jesus" Arizona had mumbled. "Let me go talk to her." The blonde walked toward the school building, opening one of the doors and making sure her three oldest children got inside before she carried her youngest child inside.
The two youngest children got excited looking at a new place, and Jackson had showed Max different things as the family travelled down the hallway.
"This is my classroom" Summer said to her mother.
"Alright, I need you guys to stay out here. Jackson, take your bag, honey." Arizona handed the boy his backpack. "Stay here, okay?" She looked at her three oldest, deciding against leaving her two year old with her siblings in the hallway since it was a recipe for disaster. The woman made sure her children were alright before knocking on the door, Olivia looking around curiously on her hip as the blonde held onto the yellow paper.
"Come on in" The teacher responded, looking up from her papers. The woman had no clue who Arizona was.
"Hi, I'm Arizona, I just wanted to talk to you about this paper..." Arizona showed the woman the paper.
"Dear, I'm so sorry, I can't talk to nanny's about this kind of information. I can give you an email to give to Summer's mother" The woman got a pen.
"I am Summer's mother." Arizona tried to keep her cool.
"What? Summer Torres?" The teacher eyed the woman- who looked nothing like Summer.
"Yes. I'm Arizona Torres, her mother."
"Oh! I'm so sorry about that.." The teacher stood up from her chair. "So you had a question about the yellow paper?"
"No, not a question. It's just that you told my daughter her parents needed to be on here, and we both are." Arizona showed the woman the paper again.
"Oh, really? I didn't see a father on there, the line was crossed out?" The teacher pointed to the line that said father and was crossed out, Callie's name being written over it. Arizona nodded.
"Well, my wife crossed out the father to put her name there, she's Summer's mother." Arizona explained.
"What? You just said you're Summer's mother." The woman obviously didn't consider the fact that two women could have children, and sadly Arizona wasn't surprised.
"Summer has two mothers. Me, Arizona, and my wife, Calliope." Arizona stated briefly.
"Well, which one of you is her Mother?"
"Both of us are." It was taking everything in Arizona not to explode on this woman. The teacher just looked confused. "I don't know how you want me to explain that Summer has two mothers, but if you won't accept this paper, I'm going to have to set up a meeting with the principal."
"Well, I'll just need to go to the office and check some legal files-"
"Did you do that for every other child who has straight parents- or is it just because I have a wife rather than a husband?" Arizona snapped.
"I- Ma'am-"
"That's what I thought." Arizona placed the yellow paper on the teachers desk. "Here is my daughters emergency contact information, you can go check if it's legally correct, and I hope you feel like an idiot when you realize some children have gay parents." Arizona walked toward the door. "Have a nice day." She opened the door and left, closing it behind her.
She knew she probably shouldn't have snapped at her daughters teacher, but she couldn't help it. It made the mother beyond angry to see how her children got treated differently because they had two mothers.
"Cmon, guys. Let's head home" Arizona said, smiling when she saw her children had listened and were still close to the classroom.
Back to Current...
The couple walked hand in hand into the school building. Arizona had been thinking about how many teachers this had happened with before, which just made her mad.
When the couple went into the office, a secretary greeted them. They remembered this woman, and she probably remembered them. "Hi, how can I help you ladies?"
"We're Summer Torres' parents.." Callie started.
The woman nodded.
"We would like to speak to her teacher if that's possible?" Callie continued.
"Alright... what about?"
"There was an... issue... in class yesterday" Arizona piped in.
"Oh, let me give her a call. You can have a seat if you'd like."
Callie nodded and led Arizona to one of the chairs. "You should sit, babe" She whispered.
"Cal, I'm fine" Arizona encouraged. She really didn't mind standing.
"Just sit" Callie said, leaning against the wall next to the chair. She smiled when her wife sat down, and they waited for their daughters teacher to come in. The couple knew they couldn't just attack the woman- as much as they wanted to. But they just wanted to explain that yesterday had upset their daughter and her wording could have been more inclusive. Plus, another student should not be getting away with speaking like that about another students parents.
"Hi, You said Summer's parents were here?" The teacher smiled at the secretary.
"Yeah, right over there." The woman nodded toward the couple, and Arizona stood up, with Callie's not needed but very much appreciated help.
The teacher ignored Arizona, smiling at Callie and shaking her hand. "You must be Summer's mother. She didn't lie when she said she looks exactly like you. We can wait for your husband if you'd like, where's he go?" The woman looked around. There was no one else in the office.
"Actually... my uh... my wife" Callie pointed to Arizona. "Is right here, and we're ready when you are."
The teacher looked in the direction of Callie's hands, seeing the woman she hadn't really paid much attention to. "Oh, it's... nice to meet you" She hesitantly held out her hand.
"You as well." Arizona firmly shook the teachers hand, trying not to let her annoyance show.
They followed the lady back to a room that was probably used as a conference room. "So, what brings you guys here?" The woman asked.
The couple exchanged a look. "We actually... We wanted to talk to you about something that was said in class yesterday..." Arizona started.
"Summer came home really upset yesterday. She told us you were learning about genes," Callie looked at Arizona for approval. The blonde nodded. "And a comment was made about uh... having to look like both your parents."
"Summer told us that another student said that meant that her parents cheated on each other." Arizona added on.
"Oh... I-" The teacher didn't know what to say. She had heard her student say that, and hadn't thought anything of it until now.
"We understand that you probably aren't aware of each students situation, and trust us, these kinds of things have happened a lot over the years..." Callie wanted to make sure the teacher knew they weren't trying to attack her.
"No, I completely understand. I'm so sorry." The woman said quickly.
"Summer was just upset, we wanted to explain so next time maybe you could..." Arizona tried to find the right words.
"Be more inclusive, of course. I'm so sorry about this." The teacher stressed her apology. This was surprising to the couple, they almost never got apologies.
"Thank you for understanding" Callie spoke up.
"Thank you for coming in to talk to me. I would hate to make one of my students upset. Summer is a great kid, she's smart, and kind. She is a great member of my classroom. I wouldn't want her feelings hurt."
"Well, that was easier than I imagined." Callie said with a sigh as the couple walked to their car, holding hands.
"Way easier. I like that teacher. We should try and see if Jackson can get her too." Arizona agreed. The woman was very kind, surprisingly, and apologized many times for the trouble.
Callie nodded, "We should. Are you hungry?"
"Don't you gotta get to work?"
"I can get you breakfast on the way home" Callie had said.
"I mean, that would be nice" Arizona said with a smile.
Callie laughed. "Alright, get in the car."
The couple had got in the car, happy smiles on their faces.
Callie started driving, and Arizona looked at her wife. "You know what's gonna be cool about not being pregnant?"
Callie glanced at her wife, "what?"
"I'll be able to have a beer."
Callie scoffed.
"I can't wait." Arizona said, laughing.
Callie laughed as well, she knew her wife was half joking. The young woman never had a dependence on alcohol, but she enjoyed it, like many other people. Although, Callie knew that if Arizona wasn't pregnant right now, she probably would've turned to alcohol through these issues with her parents.
Twelve Years Ago...
Callie bit her cheek as she stood against a wall. She was at a college party, she hated going to these things, and they rarely went, but sometimes Arizona really wanted to, and Callie would never let her go by herself.
When Arizona went to college parties, she got drunk. Callie wanted to make sure her fiancée was safe. Arizona was a few weeks from graduation, which meant they were a few months from their wedding. The couple usually wouldn't spent a Wednesday night at a college party, but Arizona's parents had been causing trouble all week in regard to the wedding, Arizona needed to let lose.
The blonde stumbled over to her wife with a new drink in her hand. "Hey, Calliope," Arizona smiled, by now, she had forgotten about her parents horrible words.
"Hi, baby. You probably shouldn't drink that." Callie lifted the plastic cup from her fiancé's hand with ease.
"What?! Why not?" The blonde had whined. She leaned against Callie.
Callie knew that when Arizona got even a little tipsy, she kind of forgot what personal space was. The brunette didn't mind, she would rather Arizona be touchy with her than mean. "Because, you're sooo drunk, baby. We should get home."
"Cal, I'm not drunk" Arizona mumbled.
"Then why can't you stand up straight?"
Arizona sighed in defeat, "Can we cuddle at home?" The woman asked, taking Callie's free hand- the one that wasn't holding Arizona's drink- and intertwined their fingers.
"Sure..." Callie sighed as she led her fiancée out of the house, dumping the drink in the lawn.
"Hey! That was mine!" Arizona argued.
"You can have some water" Callie said as she led Arizona to their car.
"Where are we going, Calliope?" Callie bit her cheek, again reminded of why she always went to parties with Arizona.
"I'm taking you home, get in the car baby."
"Ooh, okay. What are we gonna do?" Arizona got in the car and so did Callie.
"Can you put on your seat belt?" Callie reached back to grab a water she had brought, assuming this would happen. "You said you wanted to cuddle, so I guess that's what we're doing." Callie passed the woman the water after opening it. "Drink."
Arizona took a sip. "Can we kiss?"
Callie shook her head in amusement. "Maybe" She teased.
"You don't wanna kiss me?" Arizona got upset.
Callie stopped at a stop sign. "Of course I wanna kiss you, baby." She gave her fiancée a genuine smile before she started driving again.
Arizona had smiled again. The car ride remained silent until Callie pulled into their parking spot at their apartment complex. "Calliope."
"Yeah?" Callie got out of the car, going to help Arizona.
"No, I don't need help" The blonde said slowly.
Callie nodded but stayed as close as possible, knowing she would need help.
Arizona stood up. "Woah."
"Yeah, that's what I thought." Callie said as Arizona leaned against her. "Cmon, let's get you inside."
Callie helped her fiancée inside and spent the next couple of hours trying to sober her up. She knew Arizona just needed time, but she still pumped the woman full of water and food.
"Calliope, can't you come sit with me?" Arizona had said softly. She held her arms out from her spot on their couch. She was curled up with a blanket and a bottle of water. Callie had been doing other things, somewhat ignoring the woman, but all Arizona wanted was Callie.
The brunette walked over to her fiancée. "Do you feel okay?" She stood in front of Arizona, running her hands through her blonde hair.
"Sit" Arizona lifted up the blanket. Callie took no time in sitting down and getting underneath the blanket.
Arizona's hands wrapped around her fiancé's waist. "Do you really think my dad won't walk me down the aisle?"
Callie's face softened. Arizona was sad. Callie knew the blonde had been drinking to forget, but in the midst of avoiding the drunk woman, she forgot that Arizona was truly hurt about the way her father had been treating her. "Baby..."
"What are we gonna do? It'll ruin the whole wedding. I'll just be... by myself." Arizona was speaking thoughtfully, Callie could tell a lot of the alcohol had worn off and her fiancée was feeling all her emotions but heightened due to the remains of her night of drinking.
"My dad could walk you..."
"Callie, that's not what's supposed to happen."
Callie brushed some of Arizona's hair out of her face. "Arizona, it's our wedding. Whatever we want to happen can happen."
"A girl's father is supposed to walk her down the aisle."
"We could skip the walking down the aisle with our fathers... what if we just walk together?"
"That ruins it. Plus, you and your dad shouldn't miss out because my dad hates me." Arizona mumbled. The blonde wanted Callie to have that special moment with her dad, whether Arizona also had it or not.
"Zona..." Callie didn't want Arizona to feel like their wedding was ruined over one bump in the road, but she could tell the woman was beyond upset.
"Callie, you're not missing out on that." Arizona insisted.
"What about you, though?"
The blonde shrugged. The couple sat in silence as Callie thought about a fix, Arizona just getting more upset.
"What if Nick walks you?" Callie suggested after some thought.
"He doesn't even know if he can come."
"So? We could still ask him."
"I guess so..."
Callie sighed. She hated how Daniel treated Arizona and wished more than anything that he could just accept their relationship.
Back to Current...
Callie and Arizona were sitting on the couch in their bedroom, cuddled up close. Both women had a tiring day and were behind grateful for their quiet time together.
"I think you should go see him yourself... before you have the baby. You can just talk with him, you know? Maybe having all the kids overwhelmed him." Callie said quietly as she rubbed Arizona's baby belly. The blonde had noticed Callie's hands being on her stomach whenever they sat together. Arizona didn't mind, she thought it was sweet.
"Or maybe he just hates me" Arizona responded. She didn't sound upset- she didn't really know what to feel.
"Honey" Callie frowned.
"How could my mom wait this long to tell me he's sick? And then she couldn't even tell me herself."
"Well, you kinda ignored her calls..."
"Callie who's side are you on?!" The blonde snapped.
"Woah, I'm sorry baby..." Callie held her hands up in defense.
"Sorry it's just... This whole thing is annoying."
"I know, we will get through it though. We can start by having you go see him. You can go on Saturday, I'll watch the kids." Callie didn't want to let Arizona drive, but she knew the woman would be okay. The brunette didn't want to let her nightmares get the best of her.
"What if they're busy or don't wanna see me? What if he goes crazy and yells at me again?" Arizona knew she should go, but part of her didn't want to.
"Babe, I'm sure your mom will figure it out. She wouldn't have told you he was sick if she didn't want you to see him."
"I guess" Arizona mumbled. The blonde sighed softly. "I'll text her tomorrow."
"Mm good. I want you to see him, and I know you want to too." Callie squeezed her wife gently.
The couple sat there, whispering to each other and just being close until they got tired.