Disclaimer: I do not have much knowledge about medicine. So, please don't take the medical stuff here at face value.

Chapter 13: Arizona

Two years ago

The house is in complete chaos. It's Sofia's sixth birthday today and Alex let her have cake and candy… a lot of cake and a lot of candy. Sofia has been running around the house for a long time. I told Alex not to let her go crazy on all the treats but he hit me with the 'Relax Robbins, it's her birthday, let her have fun!'

'Let her have fun?'

Thank you so much for that Alex, because of that I have to deal with a five-year-old going all out on me. Oh wait! Six-year-old! Good lord Sofia is six! Where did the time go? I remember like it was yesterday when against all odds she was born and she fought hard and survived.

And now I have to deal with the sugar rush and an even more hectic sugar crash!

All in all, the party could have gone a lot worse. Like much worse.

Sofia was crying in the morning when I told her that Callie wouldn't be coming for her birthday and then Sofia decided that she didn't want to celebrate her birthday and started spiraling out of control.

Just then, the doorbell rang and Sofia raced to the door expecting it to be Callie. Honestly, even I was hoping that it was Callie who had decided to give up on our stupid fight and was now standing on the other side of that door. But I know that Callie was in Germany trying to secure a grant for her research. No matter how much my daughter wanted, I knew that it wasn't Callie who rang the doorbell.

Before I could tell Sofia to slow down, she rushed towards the door and opened it to find the delivery guy carrying about a billion packages.

I walked towards the door and accepted the packages. The boxes had Sofia's name on them and they came from Germany. There was a letter that came along with them. Now these packages were huge and there were a lot of them, like maybe a hundred. Alright, they were probably close to ten, but they did seem like a lot.

Since it wasn't Callie, Sofia ran back into the house and up the stairs.

Good lord, she's just six but it feels like I'm dealing with a moody teenager. I took the packages in one by one and called for Sofia.

But just like a teenager, when Sofia didn't come, I closed the door and went into her room.

I saw her sitting on her bed clenching her knees as she cried. See, just like a teenager going through a phase, but I don't blame her. Our divorce was a mess and it was hard especially for her.

I approached her and sat beside her on her bed and rubbed her back.

"Momma is busy right now, but look she sent you so many presents" I tried to cheer her up.

"I don't want presents, I want Momma" she replied.

I leaned and hugged my daughter. I understood her pain.

"I know sweetie, but your friends will be coming over soon. So why don't you wipe your tears, I know you don't want them to see you crying"

Sofia looked up at me as I nodded at her trying to comfort her.

"Okay Mommy" Sofia replied before she took off running towards the bathroom.

The rest of the afternoon went by in a breeze with no more temper tantrums or bouts of anger and that is a victory in my book.

I know that Callie would have wanted to be here, but I also know that right now, she's doing some groundbreaking work. Like Harper Avery award winning stuff because of which she's been traveling all over the world to secure grants and a list of potential patients.

I miss Callie, but just like Sofia, she's stubborn and I know that she's not done with being angry at me. I know she's busy right now, stretched thin between her private practice, her research and juggling between hospitals. I understand everything that she's going through. I remember when I had taken up my new fellowship and I couldn't give Sofia a lot of time.

Between that and us trying to have another baby. It broke us.

But I can't help it, I miss her.

Sofia and I had just finished eating dinner when my phone started ringing. I had taken the day off to plan Sofia's birthday party and rearranged my schedule and put Karev in charge since Peds and Fetal surgery go hand in hand. But when Alex was here, he told me that he didn't have a lot of cases, just follow ups.

Who could it be?

Oh! It's Teddy, but why is Teddy calling me at this hour? Is she fine?

Teddy was in Germany, so we made sure we spoke to each other at least twice a month, but between two full time schedules, we'd miss most of our calls.

"Hello?" I answered my phone.

"Hey Arizona, how's it… umm going?" Teddy sounds weird. Something's definitely up.

"It's going great, are you okay? We usually don't talk at this hour"

"What? No everything is fine. I just remembered that it was Sofia's birthday, so I thought I'd call, you know to umm wish her" Teddy said.

'Now ask Arizona to hand the phone to Sofia' I heard in the background. Wait, that sounds a lot like Callie. No, that's definitely Callie.

"Hey, Arizona can you hand the phone to Sofia?" Teddy asks.

This is petty, Callie is blackmailing Teddy so that she could talk to her daughter. Does Callie really hate me so much that she would do anything to get to her daughter without talking to me?

I can feel myself getting mad, mad about missing her, mad about feeling proud of her, mad about the progress she's making, but mostly mad at keeping tabs on her and stalking her, when she clearly doesn't feel the same about me.

I was about to hang up on Teddy, but then Sofia walked towards me.

"Is that… is that Momma?" she asks timidly, too scared to get her hopes only for them to come crashing down like it did in the morning.

Sofia told me a while ago that she and Callie were playing a game called secret where she got to keep a secret for Callie. It's safe to say that Sofia sucks at playing this game and told me that she and Callie have been talking. But she made me promise not to tell Callie that she let out her secret.

Well lucky for her, Callie and I aren't talking. So, her secret is safe for me.

If I didn't love my daughter so much, I would have put an end to this. But if talking to her Momma is making her even remotely happy, then who am I to put a stop to this? Plus, Callie has been trying and I appreciate that. Despite everything that she has going on, I know for a fact that she calls or facetimes Sofia almost two to three times a week. I just wish… I just, I don't want it to be so hard for my daughter to get to her Momma.

"Teddy?"

"Yeah!"

"Just… Just tell her that she doesn't have to do this. Her daughter really misses her and if she's ready to let go of her anger, she should come meet Sofia. I wouldn't mind if she… If she visited" I said as I took a deep breath.

"Umm okay… so…"

"Yeah, hold on, I'm giving the phone to Sofia" I said as I handed my daughter the phone.

Present Day

I checked my house for the second time to make sure everything was in order. Usually Sofia puts her stuff all over the house, especially her shoes.

It's a little nerve wracking. I already met Callie, we even managed to have one decent conversation where we didn't fight with each other, where she didn't cut me off or make decisions for me. Rather it was me who assumed the worst and imposed on her.

It was funny actually.

It was always her who used to jump to conclusions and now I did that to her, but we resolved it rather quickly.

Sofia doesn't know that Callie's coming over for dinner, I thought that it would be an awesome surprise for her to find her Momma in the kitchen helping out in getting dinner ready, just like old times. I'm not sure how much Sofia remembers when she had two happy mommies who lived together and did everything together as a family, but I can only hope.

"Mommy is dinner ready?" Sofia asks as she comes down the stairs.

"Yeah, just about, why are you getting hungry?"

"No, it's a little later than when we usually have dinner"

I didn't realize how late it was until I looked at the clock. Yes, it's a little later than usual, but not terribly late. But I had to make sure everything was ready. I had dinner in the oven so it could be warm. I even got some red wine because I know Callie likes it.

"Why are you dressed up Mommy? Is Uncle Alex coming for dinner?" Sofia asked.

It's true, usually when Jo worked late, he would pop by for dinner. Sofia really liked Alex so it worked well for us.

Just then the doorbell rang.

"Sofia honey, could you go open the door?"

Sofia hops off the chair and makes her way to the door. I follow her, but I keep my distance so that she doesn't suspect anything.

The doorbell goes off again.

"I'm coming Uncle Alex! Hold on" Sofia yells as she unlocks the door and opens it.

"Hi baby"

"Momma?"

Sofia lunges forward as Callie crouches down to her height and hugs her tightly. Callie has tears in her eyes as she closes them, perfectly content in holding her daughter.

Honestly, tears tickle my eyes too as I watch my daughter reuniting with her Momma.

Callie tries to pull away but Sofia refuses to let go.

"I'm not going anywhere Sofia"

"Promise?" Sofia asks.

"Yes, of course honey" Callie replies as Sofia unwraps her arms from her Momma's neck. "Oh Sofia"

Callie reaches forward and wipes the tears out of her eyes.

"I missed you so much Momma"

"I missed you too," Callie replied. "Stop crying honey, I'm right here. You know, Torres children don't cry" that was a little strange, I have never heard her saying something like that to Sofia ever before, but she could have started that when she spoke to her over the phone.

"What?" Sofia asks.

"Umm… you are a strong girl, right?" Sofia nods "So… Do strong girls cry?" Sofia shook her head. "That's right"

Sofia gathers herself. Honestly, if I hadn't seen either one of my parents for such a long time. Even I would have broken down like that, rather I would have been much worse.

"Mommy can I show Momma my room?" Sofia asks as she turns towards me.

Callie has already been to this house and she has already seen her room, but I guess Sofia doesn't remember it, nevertheless I nod and Sofia drags Callie upstairs.

"Slow down baby" Callie says but I know it's of no use. Sofia is excited and she's happy.

I smile at the scene in front of me, before I snap out and head back to the kitchen to pull out the bottle of red wine I bought earlier and fill up a glass for Callie and start preparing the salad.

"That's a lot of pink you have in your room Sofia" I hear Callie say along with footsteps coming down the stairs.

"Pink's my favorite color" Sofia replies as the two of them walk towards the kitchen.

Callie smiles at me as Sofia talks to her about everything. I pick up the glass I poured earlier and hand it to Callie.

"Oh thanks" Callie replies as she takes the glass, our hands briefly touch for a moment.

I turn towards Sofia. "Did you wash your hands missy?" I know the answer to this question, but I still have to remind her before every meal.

Sofia takes off running to the bathroom, probably not wanting to be away from Callie for a long time.

"Hey, you need help with anything?" Callie asks me and she walks around the counter.

"Umm, no. I'm almost done" I replied.

I brushed my hair away with the back of my hand, but my damn hair kept flying in front of my face. I shook my head as I tried to get my hair away from my eyes.

"Here" Callie says as she reaches forward and tucks a strand of my hair behind my ear. As if it was the most natural thing to do.

My breath catches in my throat.

Callie is standing way too close to me. I couldn't help but stare into her eyes. Her hand lingers on my face as it makes its way across my ear and down my cheek. I swear I feel like my whole body is on fire.

"All done Mommy!" Sofia answers as I pull away from Callie.

What's wrong with me! No woman has hurt me like Callie has, yet I feel myself being drawn towards her. Callie turns away from me taking a sip of her wine.

"Can I sit beside Momma?" Sofia asks.

"Of course, honey" Callie answers before turning towards me "Is that okay Arizona?"

"Umm, yeah. But only if Sofia finishes all of her salad" I replied as I started filling up her plate. Sofia pouts but nods.

"Well then, looks like I'm sitting beside you Sofia" Callie replies as I hand her Sofia's plate. Callie turns around and places it in front of her as if we have been doing this every night.

"Thank you so much Arizona" Callie says as she starts filling up her own plate.

I just nod and smile at her before I turn around to look at my daughter. It's been a while since I have seen her this happy.

A/N: Was this the chapter you have been waiting for?