AN: Just a heads up, there's going to be some small time jumps. Here it is ready or not. Happy reading :)
Chapter Fifty-Three
Arizona
"Callie…" Arizona sat straight up, looking around the darkened room. The sheets beside her were cool letting her know that Callie had been gone for a while. She felt panic start to rise up in her as she threw the blankets from her naked body and stood on shaky legs, "Calliope...Callie, where are you? Answer me!"
"Baby, what's wrong, I'm right here." Callie said, entering the room from the bathroom.
"Where were you? I couldn't find you."
"Honey, I was just trying not to wake you. I had a phone call and then I thought I'd take a shower before I woke you up for lunch." Callie said, drying her hair with a towel.
"You should have woken me up." Arizona grumbled, moving past Callie to start the shower for herself.
"Hey, what's wrong?"
"Nothing, I'm sorry, I just had a bad dream and then I woke up and you were gone." Arizona replied, feeling the temperature of the water before stepping into the glass shower.
"I'm sorry I worried you. Are you sure you're ok?"
"I'm sure. Why don't you go make sure Teddy is up?"
"Teddy is awake already, we had coffee together while you were sleeping. So I'm going to sit in here until you tell me what's going on."
"I told you, I had a bad dream."
"What was the dream about?"
"I don't remember." The blonde lied. In truth, she did remember, she remembered every detail but she didn't want to talk to Callie about it. Flashes of Callie in the throws of passion with Arthur flooded the blonde's memory and she pressed against her eyes to try to remove them from her brain.
"You don't remember any of it?"
"Just flashes."
"I take it that it wasn't a good dream."
"No." Arizona replied.
"Why are you mad at me over a dream, Arizona?"
"Mad at you? I'm not mad at you, Callie."
"You're not? Then why are you acting like you are?"
"I'm sorry, I'm just tired and I forgot where I was for a second when I woke up. I'm not mad." Arizona assured as she rinsed her hair. She wasn't mad, not really. It was a dream, her logical brain knew that but the feelings she had felt during the dream were still fresh and she couldn't help that irrationally, she was upset with Callie over the dream. Even if it was only a dream, on some level she knew it had been real at one point and the fact that Arthur had ever had his hands on her gorgeous fiance made her blood boil.
"Ok. I'm going to finish getting ready for lunch. "Callie replied, leaving the blonde alone in the bathroom.
Arizona took a moment to gather her thoughts. She used the routine of washing and rinsing to occupy her mind and bring herself to the present. They were in Callie's family hotel in New York City and they were getting married in less than three months. That thought brought a new panic to the peds surgeon but only because they still had so much to do, she wasn't sure they could pull it off. Thinking of the wedding helped the residual feelings from the dream slowly dissipate and by the time the blonde shut off the water, she was back to herself, mostly.
"Just give me ten minutes to blow dry my hair and I will be ready to go." Arizona said as she sat on the edge of the bed.
"I brought some clothes for you and Henry packed a few things for Teddy."
"Thank you." Arizona said as Callie opened the closet door to show the blonde the clothes she had brought for her. They were much nicer and cleaner than the clothes she had taken to Malawi and the blonde appreciated the thought.
"Here, I also want this back on your finger." Callie said, pulling the ring from the chain she removed from her neck. See pulled the pink silicone one off and then replaced it with Arizona's engagement ring. "There, much better."
"It felt so weird not wearing it. I'm glad it's back where it belongs. Thank you for keeping it safe for me." Arizona replied, placing a soft kiss on Callie's lips before the brunette stood back up.
"I'm going to go check on Teddy. Meet us in the living room in ten minutes."
Arizona blow dried her hair quickly and threw on a pair of black dress pants, a blue silk blouse, and a pair of flats that Callie had packed for her. She decided against make-up with the exception of a tiny bit of mascara and some lip gloss. Deeming herself presentable, Arizona left the master suite in search of her best friend and fiance exactly ten minutes later.
"Wow, I hardly recognize you without all the dirt and grime." Arizona teased Teddy as she walked out of the room and saw her friend standing there in a gray pencil skirt and a white button up collared shirt.
"You don't clean up so bad yourself." Teddy laughed.
"How was your bath?"
"Phenomenal. It turned into a four hour bath because I fell asleep and woke up cold so I had to drain the tub and start all over." Teddy laughed.
"Are you two hungry?" Callie asked. Arizona smiled at her fiance. Her hair was getting long, it was not far from her waist now and it was straightened, something Callie didn't do often. She wore a pair of cream colored dress pants with black heels and a long sleeve black shirt that showed a bit of cleavage.
"I am. You look amazing by the way." Arizona said, hugging her fiance around the waist.
"So do you. I wasn't sure which shirt you would want, I'm glad you went with the blue." Callie replied, kissing the tip of Arizona's nose.
"Oh come on, I'm starving and if you two get started, you'll end up back in that bedroom and I'll end up eating alone." Teddy complained, grabbing each woman by the hand and dragging them toward the door.
"I should probably tell you, we aren't eating alone. We have three guests joining us for lunch."
"Really? Who?"
"It's a surprise." Callie said, placing a kiss on Arizona's temple.
"You know she hates surprises, right?" Teddy asked.
"It's a good surprise." Callie said, placing her index finger over Arizona's lips before the blonde could object. Arizona rolled her eyes at her fiance but kept her complaints to herself. She really had no idea who they would know in New York that could possibly be joining them for dinner.
"Mom, Dad, Tim?" Arizona said as they entered the restaurant and she immediately laid eyes on her family.
"How are my girls?" Barbara said, jumping up first, followed quickly by her son and husband. Each of the three women were embraced until everyone had been sufficiently hugged. Tim and Daniel pulled out the chairs for the four women and waited to sit until they were seated.
"What are you doing here? Not that I'm not glad to see you." Teddy asked.
"Well when Callie called and said she was meeting you two in New York, we decided we would come as well. Daniel had some last minute work stuff to do so we're just getting in."
"How's Sara? How's my nephew?" Arizona asked her brother excitedly. She was seated between him and Callie.
"They're both great. Nora is coming to stay with us now until after the baby is born. Nick is doing so well, he really doesn't need her anymore and she doesn't want to miss the birth of her first grandchild." Tim replied. "Here, I have one for you and Callie and one for Teddy."
"Are these ultrasound pictures?" Callie squealed as Arizona showed it to her.
"You're such a badass." Teddy giggled. "Ouch, that hurt."
"It wasn't me." Callie denied.
"It was me." Arizona said with a smirk as Teddy rubbed the shin Arizona had just kicked under the table.
"Awe my hero coming to my defense." Callie said, placing a kiss on Arizona's temple.
The Robbins family enjoyed a nice meal and sat and talked about everything except Malawi. Arizona was grateful that her fiance and family knew her well enough to know that it wasn't something she was prepared to talk about yet. Once they finished eating, they moved the party up to the penthouse where they sat and enjoyed wine and each other's company. Barbara was first to bring up the wedding and insisted that she steal Arizona and Teddy the next day for some wedding planning. Arizona only agreed at her fiance's insistence and because her father and brother promised to keep Callie entertained. Once plans for the next day were set, the two elder Robbins and Tim made their way to their rooms to change into their swimsuits. They were all headed to the pool for the afternoon.
"Thank you for calling my parents and Tim. I didn't realize how much I needed to see them." Arizona said as she watched the door close behind her family.
"I think they needed to see the two of you as well." Callie replied.
"So, pool time?" Teddy asked.
"You two go ahead. I have some calls to make and then I will meet you down there." Callie said.
"What's with all of these secret phone calls?" Arizona questioned as she changed into the bikini Callie had packed for her.
"I have some family business that I told my dad and Aria that I would take care of for them while I'm here." Callie said. It wasn't a lie, Carlos had asked her to meet with the Chief of surgery to let him know he would no longer have their funding if he continued to employ Albert Arthur Blake. He had also asked her to have the same conversation with several other businesses in the area that had the Torres name stamped on it. Luckily for Callie, those she could handle by phone.
"Oh. Anything I can help with?"
"No babe. Go relax with your family. I will be down as soon as I can, ok?"
"I really wish you would join us."
"I will honey, I'll be as quick as I can be."
Arizona reluctantly made her way down to the pool with Teddy,leaving Callie alone in the penthouse. Her brother, mother, and father were already at the pool and had grabbed a table in the nearly empty pool area. Tim was already in the pool swimming laps, the Colonel jumping in right behind him. Arizona watched them for a moment, the competitive side of her wanting to join but she was still jet lagged and decided a soak in the hot tub sounded better.
"Want to sit in the hot tub?" Arizona asked her mom and Teddy.
"You read my mind." Teddy laughed.
"Oh sure." Barbara said, setting her book on the table and standing to join the girls.
An hour later, Callie appeared at the pool dressed in a swimsuit, much to Arizona's relief. She'd begun to wonder if her fiance was going to make an appearance and had been debating about marching up to the room and dragging her out by her ear. The couple had yet to talk and though it was apparent that Callie was happy to see her, she knew the brunette hadn't been happy about that surgery. They still had plenty of things to talk about.
"Fancy meeting you here." Callie said coyly as she sat at the edge of the pool with her long legs dangling in the water. Arizona swam over to the edge of the pool.
"What's with the granny suit?" Arizona asked, commenting on Callie's unusually modest one piece.
"I thought I should be a bit more modest around your parents."
"But I can wear a bikini in front of them? And your parents too for that matter?"
"Yes because I actually wanted to see you in a bikini." Callie leaned over and whispered.
"Oh well in that case, you should get a closer look." Arizona said, giggling even as she pulled Callie in.
"Arizona! I straightened my hair." Callie shrieked as she broke the surface to find the blonde giggling uncontrollably. "Oh, you're asking for it now."
Arizona squealed and jumped out of Callie's reach just in time but she was no match for Callie in the water. The brunette soon caught her prey and pulled her in, tickling her sides relentlessly, "Callie, stop, stop...babe really stop."
Callie stopped and looked at Arizona, realization hitting her that she had managed to hurt the blonde, "Oh God, are you ok?"
"Yea just broken rib, remember?"
"Umm no I think you managed to leave the broken part out."
"Well the orbits were fine but there was one small rib fracture." Arizona replied, now cursing herself that she hadn't told Callie about it sooner. It had honestly just slipped her mind with everything else she had been stressed about in Malawi.
"I swear, you're going to be the death of me and not in a good way, Arizona."
"My adventurous days are over, I promise. I just want a normal, happy life with you now." Arizona said, pecking her fiance's lips before she could get too riled up.
"I'm going to hold you to that Robbins."
"You do that." Arizona replied with a smile.
The rest of the evening was a lazy one. The group of six gathered for dinner and once again enjoyed a meal together before parting ways. Barbara had tickets to a show that she made Daniel promise to take her to and Tim had plans that he was being elusive about. Once back in their suite, Teddy excused herself to call Henry and enjoy another bath. Arizona and Callie retreated to their own bath and found themselves once again covered in bubbles. This time Arizona won and was sitting behind Callie, washing her chest gently while the brunette relaxed against her own chest.
"Should we talk about the fact that you're angry with me and you have yet to yell at me?" Arizona whispered into Callie's neck, kissing the skin there as she hugged Callie from behind.
"I don't even know what to say. I was so angry on Friday, I wanted to yell and scream and drag you out of that clinic but my anger has simmered down now and I can see your point of view a bit better. I'm not saying I am happy about it. I am definitely not saying I would have agreed to it had you consulted me ahead of time but I understand not being able to say no to a child in need."
"If it makes you feel any better, I have no desire at all to do anything like that again anytime in the near future, maybe never. I want to focus on our wedding and planning our honeymoon."
"And babies?"
"Yes and babies."
"Come on, we should get to bed, we can continue this talk later." Callie said, standing and helping Arizona from the tub.
"It's barely ten."
"And you are jet lagged and your mom is going to be ready to go bright and early in the morning." Callie replied, leading the blonde into the master suite. The two changed in silence and met in the center of the bed.
"Do you think we could talk now?" Arizona asked, thinking maybe Callie wasn't ready to talk about this.
"About?" Callie asked. The blonde wasn't generally the one to initiate important conversations.
"Babies. I can't stop thinking about it."
"You're serious about this, aren't you?"
"I told you I was."
"I know but you've been through a lot. We both have in the past year and a half. And we aren't even married yet. I just thought this conversation wouldn't happen again for a while."
"Me too but Callie, I sat on the dirt floor of that cell and I just kept thinking about you. All these memories of you flashed through my brain and then I thought of all the things I still wanted to share with you. Marrying you was of course top of my list, followed by a honeymoon but then all I could think about were these beautiful little babies with tan skin and big brown eyes or with dimples and a freckled nose. I want that, Callie, I want that with you, more than I ever would have thought possible."
"So all of your fears have what, just disappeared? What about all of the big dreams you have?"
"No my fears and doubts are still there but I know I won't be alone, I will have you. And we have an amazing group of friends and more family than we could hope for. And as far as my dreams go, this is a dream now. You are the dream, Callie. Anything else that comes along, I don't want it if we aren't doing it together."
"I love you for saying that."
"Do you know what my biggest fear is now?"
"What?" Callie asked as she snuggled into Arizona's side, the blonde gentle stroking her long hair out of her face.
"Not having that future with you. Something taking that away, that scares me more than anything, Callie. It took me being arrested and being in an African jail cell to see that but I do now, so clearly. I know you're worried I will change my mind but I mean it, Callie."
"I believe you."
"But?"
"But nothing. I just want to get through the next three months. We don't have much time planning our wedding and I want to be selfish and focus on that."
"And then?"
"And then I want to go on a honeymoon with you and drink sangrias on the beach and make love all night and be so in love that everyone is insanely jealous of us."
"That sounds amazing." Arizona giggled.
"And then, after that, we can talk about starting our family."
"Really?"
"Really."
"I love you Calliope Torres."
"I love you too Arizona soon to be Torres."
"Hmm I like the sound of that."
"Me too. Now come down here with me so we can go to sleep, I missed sleeping next to you." Callie said, tugging Arizona down next to her.
"Tell me about our five kids one more time." Arizona whispered. Callie smiled and rubbed her finger down Arizona's forehead to the bridge of her nose and then down to the tip and back up softly in an effort to make Arizona drowsy. "I know what you're doing."
"Shhh, I'm telling you a story." Callie said with a smile as blue eyes were already fighting to stay open and Arizona's breathing began to slow. Callie made it to the end of the dream before Arizona sighed in contentment and let sleep take over. The brunette watched her sleep for a while before she reached for her phone and sent a message to Tim about their plans for the next day then closed her own eyes.
Callie
"How long is Barbara going to keep Teddy and Arizona busy?"
"We have about two hours." Daniel said, looking at his watch.
"Arthur texted me that he's on his way." Callie said.
"Are you sure about this, Callie?" Daniel asked.
"Positive."
"Ok then, here we go."
Daniel drove them to the spot in Central Park where the meeting had been set up. They were meeting near the basketball courts where Arizona's cousins and brother were currently playing basketball. Arthur had texted Callie the moment his plane landed the day before and upon hearing she was in New York, begged her to meet him to hear his side of the story. Luckily, Arizona had been at the pool at that time and had left Callie time to organize a new plan. It had worked in her favor for him to reach out to her and after a little while, she had agreed to meet him but not at the country club where he suggested, she wanted to meet him at the park and he had agreed.
Callie climbed out of the car while Daniel went to find a parking spot and made her way to a bench, facing the park, her back to the basketball courts. She had come early to be sure that she got there before Arthur so that she could have the advantage of choosing where they sat. She heard Tim in her ear, the earpiece he had given her making her jump. "Can you hear me, Cal?"
"Loud and clear Big Rob." Callie replied with a smile, then added, "Don't I get a code name now?"
"Sure but uh, I'm married now and you're engaged to my sister so I'll have to think of a new one." Tim replied and Callie smiled, sure that her fiance's brother was blushing.
"You do that, Timothy."
Callie watched as Daniel crossed the grassy area with a frisbee and began playing with two men she didn't recognize but assumed they were his army buddies. She checked the time, ten minutes until Arthur was supposed to be there. He was never concerned with punctuality but she was anxious to get this meeting over with.
"I'm surprised you agreed to meet me." Callie heard the cocky voice from her right. She had been caught up watching a dog chase a squirrel as her mind wandered to her conversation with Arizona from the night before, she hadn't heard him approach.
"Arthur." Callie said, patting the seat next to her.
"I was actually hoping we could walk."
"Not in these shoes. Besides, I twisted my ankle last week and I'm not in the mood for a walk right now." Callie lied but pointed down to the heels she had chosen to wear for emphasis. She had promised the boys with her change of plans that she would not leave their sight.
"I guess I will have to sit then." Arthur said, sitting down in annoyance. He didn't like to not be in control of the situation.
"I guess so. What do you want, Arthur?"
"I want a lot of things, Cal."
"Care to elaborate?"
"You know, my dad cut me off after I married Penny. She lied to me about her family fortune, it never existed. My dad didn't care about the cheating, no, he's done his fair share of that but marrying into a family that couldn't save our own financial burdens, well that was the tipping point for him."
"I fail to see what that has to do with you meeting me, Arthur."
"I'm aware you've been in contact with the hospital and some of my associates. It seems like the Torres family is trying to use their clout to punish me."
"You should have seen that coming after what you did to Arizona."
"Well, I was hoping to get rid of your fiance in Malawi but that didn't work out quite the way I planned so I guess I have to do this the hard way." Arthur said. His forwardness, momentarily stunned the brunette into silence before she regained her composure.
"Excuse me? So you're admitting to purposely putting Arizona in danger?"
"I exposed her for what she is."
"She's done nothing to you."
"You're not gay, Callie and the truth is, I need your money. Thanks to my father and a bit of gambling trouble, I'm headed toward financial ruin."
"Wow, you're something else, you're even more of a monster than I thought."
"You're going to end things with that precious blonde of yours so we can get married like we were supposed to."
"Arthur, if you think I would seriously agree to marry you after what you did, even if I didn't have Arizona, I would never agree to that. You're delusional if you think otherwise."
"If you don't want your freaking annoyingly sweet fiance's name dragged through the mud then you will."
"Are you blackmailing me?"
"Dr. Arizona Robbins, pediatric surgeon, winner of the prestigious Carter Madison Foundation, arrested for homosexual misconduct while working in a clinic with children in Malawi. Parents might jump to some conclusions and even if they don't, some of them will have problems with just the fact that she's gay. I've done my homework, Arizona has left a long list of heartbroken women who were all too willing to talk."
"You're a real bastard." Callie said, disgusted with the man she thought she had loved once upon a time and nearly married. She now wished she hadn't changed plans and had let the Robbins men handle Arthur however they saw fit.
"What's it gonna be, Cal?"
"Do you think I came here without backup, Arthur?" Callie asked, exposing the wire she was wearing that recorded their conversation. At that she could tell, she had caught the attention of the Robbins men.
"Give me that." Arthur said, making a move for Callie's chest where the wire was taped but she anticipated the move and jumped from her seat just in time. Arthur rose with a gun in his hand. "We can do this the easy way or the hard way, Cal. I'm a desperate man, I have nothing much else to lose."
"Ok, easy, put the gun down."
"I didn't want to go this route but I'm leaving here with what I want one way or another, Callie. Believe it or not, my feelings for you are real or they were. I'm about to lose everything so really, there's only one way out of this mess for me. So, how about we just make our way to an atm and you can just give me a downpayment to make up for this little lapse in judgement on your part. And then you can go break Arizona's little heart and maybe I won't come after her again."
"You ok, Callie? We're moving in." Callie heard Tim's voice.
"I'll do whatever you want, just leave Arizona out of this." Callie said, holding her hands up in front of her. Arthur reached in and pulled the wire from her chest, dropping it to the ground and crushing it with the heel of his boot.
"Hey there miss, you ok?" Callie and Arthur both turned to see one of Daniel's army buddies approaching them from where the three of them had previously been playing frisbee.
"She's fine." Arthur said, using Callie's distraction to pull her closer to him, the gun jabbing into her ribs.
"I asked her. Miss, are you ok?"
"I'm ok, just having a discussion with my ex."
"Her fiance, actually. We just got engaged."
"Is that why you are holding a gun against her?" The man asked. The directness of the man, caught Arthur off guard and he pointed the gun at the man.
"You don't want to do that." Callie said, back up in order to put a few steps between herself and Arthur as she did. He trained the gun back on her. Out of the corner of her eye, Callie caught motion and saw a body fly over the back of the bench seconds before colliding with Arthur. The gun went off and Callie felt a searing pain in her arm.
"Get off me, get off me." Arthur shouted as Trent tackled him. The man reached them a few seconds later and removed the gun from Arthur's reach. Arthur screeching in panic, "The gun wasn't supposed to be loaded."
"Callie, Cal, are you hit?" The brunette heard Tim shouting her name. She was on the pavement somehow, her left hand clutching the opposite upper arm.
"Callie, look at me." Daniel said, kneeling in front of her. Behind the two men, she watched the Robbins cousins take pleasure in detaining Arthur as he tried to fight them. Sirens could be heard in the distance.
"Callie!" Tim shouted, snapping his fingers in front of her face. Callie finally made eye contact with the two men, her eyes finally coming into focus. She removed her hand from her arm and blood pooled, soaking the material of her white blouse.
"She's been hit." Daniel said, ripping the material open to see the damage. "Looks like it's just a flesh wound, it must have just grazed you but we're going to have to go to the hospital."
"Arizona is going to kill me." Callie moaned, leaning her head on Tim's shoulder as Daniel tied his tie around her arm to stem the bleeding. "We were just supposed to get a confession and scare him. Why the hell did he have a gun?"
"Did we at least get the recording?"
"Got it." Reese said, pulling the wire from behind the bench. The wire Callie had been wearing had just been a decoy.
"I did not expect it to go down that way. I'm really disappointed we didn't get to do a Robbins beatdown." Doug said though Callie had forbade them from that.
The plan had only been to show their strength in numbers and intimidate him. Although at first when Callie had called in reinforcements, her temper had been in control and a beatdown was exactly what she had envisioned. However, after her meeting at the hospital with the Chief, a request for proof that what Arthur did to Arizona was malicious before agreeing to fire the surgeon, Callie had reconsidered her plans. She knew harming Arthur would only get the Robbins men in trouble and give Arthur sympathy that he didn't deserve so her revenge changed to exposing him for the rat he is.
"Well, in case our friend, Arthur here gets any ideas about anything, we are going to give Mr. Torres this audio and he has connections so let's just say, you won't be safe anywhere if you happen to mess with Arizona or Callie again. Not to mention, this is Arizona's brother and these are her cousins, she's the youngest and only girl, they're quite protective. And I am her dad, Marine Colonel, trained killing machine and these two fine men served with me. They've known Arizona since she was in diapers. You mess with her or her fiance who is now part of our family and you have to answer to us." Daniel whispered to Arthur as Trent and Wesley stood him up. His face was inches from the other man's and Callie suddenly got a chill as she saw a side of the Colonel that she hoped to never see again.
"I have my own connections." Arthur replied, hoping his very small connection to the mob would scare them.
"Yea, so we've heard. I'm betting those connections won't like the fact that you're talking about them. I'm sure prison is very safe from the mob." Daniel replied. Arthur paled visibly. He had one friend whose uncle ran security at a mob affiliated restaurant in town. His ties really went no further than that, though he liked to make people think they did. The gun he had shot Callie with had been one he had "borrowed" from his friend's uncle when he visited that restaurant yesterday. He owed them money for his gambling and had thought bringing a gun to help convince Callie to give him money might be necessary.
"Does someone need a medic?" A man in uniform asked as he strolled up with a medical kit. Callie noted the half dozen officers that approached with the medic.
"Here, she's been shot." Tim said, standing back so the medic could look at her.
"The man who shot her is over here." Trent shouted, pressing Arthur's face into the cement with pleasure as he tried to get away.
"Can you walk?' The medic asked Callie.
"Yea." Callie said, allowing Tim and the medic to help her up using her good arm.
"Tim, you go to the hospital with Callie, I'll call Arizona."
"We are all dead, you do realize that?" Tim said to his dad.
"Nope, not us we were never here." Quinn said. Not only was he afraid of his cousin but he knew his Aunt Barb's wrath was no picnic either.
"Sorry Timmy but the kid has a point." Doug laughed.
"I'm not a kid." Quinn said, rolling his eyes.
"Sorry, you're stuck with it." Dustin said, shrugging his shoulders at his younger brother.
"What happened to 'we're all in this together'?" Tim asked his cousins.
"Dude, that was before Callie got shot, I don't want to be in the same state as Arizona or Aunt Barb when they find out." Trent said, releasing Arthur to the police.
"He has a point." Daniel said with a shrug then pointed his for his son to follow Callie and the medic to the ambulance.
Once the cops had arrested Arthur and Daniel had given his statement along with the rest of the witnesses, Daniel told his nephews to make themselves scarce and then he headed to the car as he dialed his daughter's number. He held his breath as the phone hooked to bluetooth and he eased into traffic, heading toward Mount Sinai.
"Dad, where are you guys? You were supposed to meet us for lunch twenty minutes ago."
"I know squirt, I'm sorry, we were in Central Park playing basketball. Now, don't freak out but Callie is in the emergency room at Mount Sinai. She needs some stitches."
"What? What the hell happened? You know what, it doesn't matter, I'm on my way."
"No, Arizona, she shouldn't be long, it's probably best if you just wait at the hotel."
"Dad, my fiance is in the emergency room with an injury, I'm going. See you there." Arizona said, Daniel sighed as he navigated the car through New York traffic. Perhaps he had chickened out but he thought the less his daughter knew, the better.
Callie was in an exam room, Tim nervously pacing the floor and Daniel was in the waiting room, awaiting his daughter's arrival. The nurse had come in to apologize for the wait, cleaned out her wound, and given her a tetanus shot, the police had been in to take her statement, but still, they were waiting on someone to come stitch up her arm. She heard a familiar voice in the hallway and her body stiffened as she listened.
"My fiance was brought in with an injury." Arizona said, Callie hearing the careful control in her fiance's voice that let her know she was seconds away from hysteria.
"Name."
"Calliope Torres."
"Ah yes, gunshot wound. She's in trauma room nine."
"Gunshot wound!" Arizona shrieked.
"No one told you? Come on, right this way, dear." The receptionist said, kicking herself for saying that aloud.
"Mom." Arizona cried, her careful resolve fading.
"Only one person at a time, if you wait here, I'll show you to the waiting room once I take her to the room." The receptionist said to Barbara and Teddy. Arizona had no choice but to follow the woman alone to trauma room nine. Callie quickly closed her eyes, call her a coward but she knew her fiance was going to be furious.
"Timothy, what the hell happened? Callie was shot?" Arizona asked, pouncing on her brother while looking at her fiance in the bed.
"Just a flesh wound, she just needs some stitches, I'll give you some privacy so Callie can explain." Tim said, quickly following the receptionist out of the trauma room.
"Give it up Calliope, I can tell when you're sleeping and when you're awake after almost two years." Arizona said, pinching the brunette's toe.
"Ouch."
"Are you ok?" Arizona asked, looking the Latina up and down. Callie could see the tears in Arizona's eyes as she reached for Callie. They embraced quickly before Callie responded.
"Yes, I'm ok, I just need some stitches." Callie said, pointing to her arm.
"Explain, now." Arizona said, her arms were crossed and she was giving Callie a Torres glare that would make Aria proud and made Callie slightly scared of the petite blonde.
"Don't be mad."
"Any sentence that starts with don't be mad probably means I am going to be mad, Callie."
"Ok but just remember, you were in a Malawi prison and then performed surgery after you had been forbidden to. I think you took ten years off of my life and I didn't yell."
"Talk."
"Ok, well I called in some backup after I spoke to you, you gave me the idea actually. I figured Arthur would contact me once he returned to the states and then he did, yesterday so I agreed to meet him."
"You did what?" Arizona yelled.
"Shhh, we are in a hospital. Do you want me to explain or not?" Callie said. Arizona glared at her some more but nodded her head for her to continue, keeping her jaw clenched so she wouldn't yell at her fiance before she could finish explaining what happened, "Anyway, I met Arthur at Central Park. Your dad and brother along with some other people came for backup. We planned on getting Arthur to confess what he did to you in Malawi on tape to give to the Chief of New York Pres, at the very least, he deserved to lose his job. And then we were just going to scare him a little, Robbins style."
"Callie…" Arizona said, throwing her arms up in the air but silencing herself as Callie pointed at her.
"Everything was going to plan but Arthur was so up front about what he had done. He suddenly started talking about how he needed to get rid of you so we could get married because he needs my money. He threatened to drag your name through the mud if I didn't agree. Things got heated and he pulled a gun."
"Are you telling me Arthur shot you?"
"Yes. I don't know that it was intentional though. He was pointing it at me but Trent tackled him and he honestly seemed shocked that there were bullets in the gun. It went off and just grazed my arm. He was arrested but we got the whole thing on recording." Callie explained. She could see Arizona's skin flushing in anger. She had never seen the blonde like this and she was slightly scared at the moment.
"Are you sure you're ok?"
"Yes, you want to see for yourself? They've already given me a tetanus shot and a dose of antibiotics." Callie said, removing the gauze from her injured arm.
"Oh my God, Callie you were frickin shot." Arizona whisper yelled, reality finally sinking in. She shot up from the bed and pulled her phone out.
"What are you doing?"
"I'm calling your mother, Callie."
"No, why would you call Mami?"
"Because Callie, you were shot and if I don't call them and they find out somehow they are going to freak out like I did." Arizona said, the phone was already ringing when Callie moved to take it from her. "Calliope Iphegenia Torres, sit your ass in that bed or so help me...Hello Lucia, how are you?"
Callie slumped against the hospital bed with her arms crossed as she heard the one sided conversation from her fiance. "Yes, I am ok, thank you. Yes, we need a girls day. Listen Lucia, I need to tell you something. Are you sitting down? I'm in the ER with Callie, she needs stitches. Yes she's ok, I will let her explain that to you."
"Arizona." Callie whispered as the blonde handed her the phone. She tried handing it back but the blonde glared at her and placed her hands on her hips. "Hi Mami."
"What happened, Callita? Arizona says you're in the emergency room."
"Yea there was an accident at the park and I need some stitches."
"What kind of accident, Callita?" Lucia asked then Callie heard her cover the phone and talk to someone, "No Callita es en el hospital. No se. Estoy hablando con Callie ahora."
"Mami?"
"Lo siento, Callita. Abuela was just asking what was happening. So what happened?"
"I met Arthur to talk with him about Arizona and things got a bit heated. He pulled a gun and when someone tackled him, it went off and a bullet grazed my arm." Callie said, trying to make "I got shot" sound less horrible.
"You were shot? By Arthur?"
"Si Mami pero estoy bien. I just need a few stitches, it's just a flesh wound. Please don't tell daddy."
"Callie, oh my God. Should we fly out there? Of course we should. Maria, Callie was shot."
"What? Callie? What is going on. Lucia said you were shot." Maria said, taking the phone from her daughter-in-law.
"Si Abuela but it is just a flesh wound. The bullet barely grazed my arm. It is really nothing to get excited over."
"Hello, Dr. Torres is it? I am here to stitch you up." A tall dark haired doctor said, entering the room. She extended her manicured fingers, "I am Dr. Pria."
"Abuela, the doctor is here to see me. Tell Mami I will call her back when we get back to the hotel."
"Ok Callita. Te amo nieta."
"I love you too Abuela." Callie said, hanging up and handing Arizona her phone back. "I'm sorry, my fiance called my mom and she heard the word gunshot and freaked."
"My mom would freak out too if she heard I had been shot, can't say I blame her. So where is your fiance?"
"That would be me. Dr. Robbins." Arizona said, sticking her hand out coolly. She didn't like how her fiance was all tongue tied or how the doctor looked at Callie.
"Nice to meet you." Dr. Pria said, turning to Arizona and shaking her hand before she turned back to Callie, "Now, let's have a look at that wound so I can get you out of here."
Arizona sat on the bed beside Callie and held her hand as the woman stitched her up. Although the brunette never flinched, Arizona knew she had an irrational fear of needles and she could see by the way she drummed her fingers and talked continuously that she was nervous. Arizona picked up Callie's left hand and brought her hand to her lips causing Callie to stop her rambling and look at her. It didn't matter how angry she was at her fiance for what she had done, she didn't want her to be scared or hurt but if she was, she needed to know Arizona was there for her.
"I'm sorry I scared you." Callie said softly.
"I know. And I know I have scared you plenty recently so let's just call it even for now, ok? But we do need to talk about this later."
"I know." Callie replied, squeezing Arizona's hand gratefully.
Callie was finally discharged an hour later with prescriptions for pain medication and antibiotics. She had to follow up with her family doctor before being released for work and Arizona had already called and made an appointment for the ortho surgeon for Wednesday morning, wanting to give them time to get home and settled. After being sufficiently yelled at by Barbara while in the waiting room, both Daniel and Timothy looked like sad puppies and Arizona didn't have the heart to yell at them too. She knew how her mom could lay it on thick.
"Are you doing ok, Calliope dear?" Barbara asked as sat with Callie in the living room of the penthouse. Arizona had run to the pharmacy with Teddy to fill Callie's prescriptions and insisted Callie not be alone. Barbara had offered to stay with her and now, with the use of her full name, Callie was a little scared to be alone with her future mother in law.
"I'm ok, just a little sore."
"Good, then we need to chat. If you ever pull a stunt like that again, you will get much more than a lecture young lady. You are one of my own now and just because you're grown, does not mean a spanking is off the table. I know you were upset and emotions were high but what the hell were you thinking?"
"I...I wasn't. I was just so mad at Arthur for putting Arizona in danger and for trying to put doubts in her head that I acted before thinking. I called in the boys when I was still angry and I didn't realize they would all show up. By then, I realized beating the crap out of Arthur wasn't a good idea even if he deserved it. So we settled on just planning to intimidate him you know, show our numbers, have Daniel give him the Colonel speech. I never expected him to be so aggressive or bring a gun. I never would have gone or put everyone else in danger if I even thought it was a possibility."
"I believe you. And I know how much you love my daughter and I love that she has someone that protects her so fiercely but sometimes you have to stand back and let her fight her own battles as hard as that is. And sometimes she is going to need to protect you and you're going to have to let her."
"I know."
"Ok then. I talked to your mom, she has calmed down and isn't flying out here but if you put another toe out of line before you get back to Seattle, I won't hesitate to call her."
"Understood." Callie replied, a soft smile crossing her face.
"Ok. Now that we have that out of the way, what do you say to some good ole sleazy tv?"
"That sounds great."
Arizona and Teddy returned forty five minutes later and both Barbara and Callie were sound asleep at opposite ends of the couch. Arizona woke them gently, her mom, dad, and brother were using the jet to fly back to Boston. Tim wanted to get back home to Sara and Barbara had a photo shoot to get to. The three surgeons would be flying back to Seattle the next day once Callie had a little time to rest and heal a little.
After seeing the Robbins off in their taxi a few hours later, the three women stopped in the hotel restaurant to order dinner to be delivered to their room and made their way back upstairs. Their last night in New York was uneventful and everyone was quiet, lost in their own thoughts and eager to get back home.
"You know, your mom threatened to spank me." Callie said as she and Arizona laid in bed that night.
"Oh I've gotten that lecture before, she's a bit scary, huh?"
"Do you think we will be that terrifying to our kids someday?"
"Nah, you're a softy." Arizona giggled as she snuggled into Callie.
XXXXX
"Home at last!" Arizona said, flopping down on the couch and pulling Callie on top of her.
"Are you glad to be home?"
"More than you know."
"What do you say to ordering a pizza and spending the rest of the day in front of the fire? I'll toss your clothes in the washer for you if you want to order the pizza."
"Mmmm, this is why I agreed to marry you, you have the most brilliant ideas. Except when they involve calling in my brother, father, and cousins to kick the crap out of your ex."
"Yes, that was one of my finest moments." Callie teased. She had finally filled the blonde in on her plan and explained how everything had gone wrong. To say she wasn't impressed was the understatement of the year.
"I have to go in after your appointment tomorrow. I don't have surgeries until Monday but I should have been back yesterday to take my department back. I'll have to go in everyday for the rest of the week to get everything back in order and catch up on my cases. This weekend though, can we go look at some venues? We need to book something." Arizona said.
"Yes, absolutely. I want to get a venue nailed down. Also, we should schedule some cake testing and pick our colors so we can get the bridesmaid's dresses and best man's tuxedos picked out."
"Do you have any color ideas? Wedding planning is not really my thing, I'm not sure what colors we should go with."
"Well it is a June wedding so it should be something summery." Callie replied. "What colors do you think of when you think of summer?"
"Orange, yellow, blue, green, pink...bright colors, I guess."
"I think of the beach." Callie replied with a smile.
"Me too."
"What do you think about these colors?" Callie asked, pulling out her phone. She had been researching June wedding color ideas and had narrowed it to her top three.
"Oh, I like them all. I would never have thought to combine these colors but they work."
"These are my top three choices. I've narrowed it down from dozens. If you want to see the others, you can look at those too."
"No, no, these are good."
"Ok, then I want you to make the final decision."
"What? No Callie, you are way better at this than me."
"Just tell me, what is your favorite of these three, if you had to choose?" Callie pulled up the three color combinations again. One was a minty green with coral accents, one was a light blue with yellow accents, and one was a dusty pink with darker pink accents. She thought for sure the blonde would choose the pink.
"You know, I never would have thought I'd like this combination so much but I think the blue and yellow. It just screams summer to me and I can see Teddy in this blue and it would look beautiful on Addie too." Arizona replied.
"Really? Not the pink?"
"That's my second choice and I really do like them all but the blue and yellow is my favorite I think."
"Mine too." Callie replied with a smile.
"Did we just pick our colors?"
"I believe we did."
The couple shared a few heated kisses before the brunette's stomach rumbled, causing them to break apart and laugh. "Go order pizza, woman."
"Yes ma'am but we are eating it in our underwear." Arizona replied.
"I see no problems with that."
XXXXX
March flew by in a haze of wedding planning and surgeries. Callie's arm was mostly healed and both she and Arizona were back to work full time. They had managed to pick their wedding colors, along with bridesmaids dresses. They had decided on a smaller wedding but that idea had quickly gotten out of hand. Each of them wanted to have a best man and a maid of honor, along with two other members of the wedding party. Callie had chosen Aria to be her matron of honor with Addie and Cristina being her bridesmaids. Mark would be her best man. Arizona had chosen Tim as her best man and Nick to be a groomsman. Teddy would be her maid of honor and Sara was her bridesmaid, though with her being due in April, it made bridesmaid dress shopping more difficult. Alex and Jared had agreed to be ushers, Meredith and Amelia would be their hostesses, Wil and their baby nephew would be their ring bearers, and Reina would once again be the flower girl.
It was now the beginning of April, spring was in full force and they had yet to nail down a venue. Arizona was growing frustrated with it. She had assumed Callie would want to be married in a Catholic church and there was no shortage of them but Callie was dead set against it for reasons that the blonde didn't understand. She would honestly marry the Latina in the hospital chapel for all she cared but she knew that Callie had always had an idea of what she wanted for her wedding and the blonde wanted her to have that.
"Mark, why doesn't Callie want to get married in a church? Do you think it's because she's marrying a woman? I mean, I know she's not ashamed of me or herself but maybe she is afraid to bring it to church. What has she said?" Arizona asked, her mind running full force as she found the man in the cafeteria eating an apple as usual.
"Well good afternoon to you too Blondie. Oh I've been great. Lexie is good, she comes back to work this week. Yea it's been a while we should do dinner."
"Mark, stop this is serious, I don't have time for small talk. Why doesn't she want to marry me in a church?"
"Ask her."
"I did."
"And?"
"And she says she doesn't want to get married in a church anymore but I know that's not the whole truth, Mark."
"Maybe you should just listen to her."
"Mark..."
"Listen, I don't know why she doesn't want to get married in a church but I do know that she doesn't want to. I'm not sure what changed her mind but she was talking the other day about the Iron Pearl Wharf being booked and she was very disappointed about it. She said it was perfect, well I know a guy so I made a call and he said that there was no actual booking for the seventh of June, just a request that it be held. He said if he gets a deposit by Friday he would book it for the wedding that I am the best man in."
"Are you positive about this, Mark?"
"Absolutely."
"Here, call him, tell him we want the venue and put down the deposit. Ask him if we can come see the venue tonight."
"Sure thing." Mark said, snatching Arizona's credit card from her hand.
"Do you know where Callie is?"
"I think she was scrubbing into a surgery with Hunt about an hour ago."
"Thanks." Arizona said, clapping a hand on Mark's shoulder. "I'll be back for my card, Sloan!"
Callie was in the middle of repairing a man's hip. He had been in a motorcycle accident and thankfully been wearing a helmet so the hip was the worst of his injuries. Owen was scrubbed in with her as well as Amelia as they had taken him to surgery before clearing the spinal cord. Now with the spinal cord clear, the neuro surgeon sat and observed the surgery, having no other surgeries of her own to get to at the moment.
"Callie." The ortho surgeon looked up to the gallery to see Arizona.
"Hey you, what brings you to the gallery?" Callie asked. She was in a great mood, her morning had been filled with sex and surgeries and she was excited about going cake testing over the weekend.
"Do you have any surgeries after this?"
"No, this is it. We probably have an hour or so left. Why, what's up?"
"There's a venue I want to check out tonight."
"Ok, give me two hours. I need to check on my post ops and shower before I leave and then I will be all yours."
"Ok, I'm scrubbing in on an appy with Alex in fifteen and then I'm done for the day. Meet me in the lobby at five?"
"You've got it." Callie said, sending the blonde a wink.
"How's the wedding planning going?" Amelia asked curiously.
"Well aside from the venue, great. We're going cake testing this weekend and the wedding party all has their dresses or tuxes ordered with the exception of Sara who is going to order hers at the beginning of May. They said as long as she orders it within a month of the wedding they can guarantee it will be ready in time."
"Can't find a venue?"
"We can, I've found several that would be perfect but Arizona has been hesitant to agree. She thinks I'm going to regret not getting married in a church."
"Are you?" Owen asked, briefly eyeing the other ortho surgeon.
"Absolutely not. I know it seems like that is what I would want and it was for a long time but it's just not something that's a part of my life now. It's Arizona's wedding too and I want it to reflect us both. A church is just not us."
"I get it." Amelia said with a shrug.
"Yea?"
"Yea. I mean people change, people grow. You imagined those things before you knew who you were going to marry. It's a generic idea about what you want. But then when you're with the person that's right for you, everything sort of clicks." Amelia replied.
"Wow, look at you being all wise and stuff." Callie teased.
"Yea well, I met someone and he's good for me."
"We will have to get together for a double date so we can meet him. You bringing him to the wedding?"
"Should I?"
"I mean that's up to you but if you want him to come, he's welcome."
"But you and Arizona don't even know him."
"I know but if he's important to you then he's important to us." Callie replied. She really was in a great mood. Her father had called just before her surgery to let her know she wouldn't have to testify in person against Arthur as they had the tape and enough witness statements to provide enough evidence. That and the fact that Arthur had pleaded guilty to shooting her had been enough to avoid a lengthy trial.
"You're in a good mood today." Owen commented.
"I am. Hey, Amelia, turn this up, I love this song." Callie replied.
XXXXX
"Arizona, how did you book this place?" Callie asked in wonder as she and the blonde got back into the car after viewing the venue Arizona had placed a deposit on that afternoon.
"I know a guy." The blonde replied with a dimpled smile and a wink.
"I can't believe we're getting married here, it's perfect."
"You're sure that this is the place?"
"Arizona, I fell in love with it the first time I saw pictures of it and they definitely didn't do it justice."
"You won't regret not getting married in a church later on?"
"No, I promise."
"Is it because I'm gay? I mean because you're marrying a woman?" Arizona asked, avoiding her fiance's eyes. Callie stopped and put the jeep back into park so she could look at Arizona. She reached for her hands and tilted the blonde's chin up so she could look in her eyes.
"I won't regret it and no, it's not because I'm marrying you. Well I mean it is but not for the reasons you think. I've changed, my dream of what this day would look like has changed because of you. A Catholic church, it just doesn't fit that dream anymore. You aren't religious and I don't want you to be uncomfortable plus, I don't want there to be even a hint of anything said about our marriage not being real or meaning the same because we are two women. I want us to both be comfortable to be affectionate with each other and to get married in a place that will celebrate with us."
"If you're sure, I really love this place too." Arizona replied, kissing the palm of Callie's hand.
"Me too. I love you so much, Arizona and I am so glad that we have found this place."
"I love you too."
Saturday morning, Arizona and Callie met Teddy and Addie at Flour & Flower Bakery and Floral shop for their cake testing. This was the part of wedding planning that Arizona had been most excited about and Callie couldn't help but smile as the blonde sat waiting patiently for their pre ordered samples to arrive at their table. The four women chatted and browsed through the different cake styles they could choose from.
"Are you going to have a groom's cake? I mean, I know there's technically no groom but are you going to do something like that?" Teddy asked curiously. The flashing of light across her finger caught Arizona's attention.
"Teddy! Teddy, oh my God, when did this happen?" Arizona asked as she saw the ring on her best friend's hand.
"Last night. Henry took me to the Space Needle and then we went on the Ferris Wheel and he proposed when we stopped at the top. It was so romantic." Teddy smiled dreamily.
"Oh my God!" Arizona shouted again, practically bouncing in her seat. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"I know. I really didn't expect it and today is all about you."
"Oh my God, Teddy, that should have been the first thing out of your mouth this morning. Does mom know?"
"Not yet, it still doesn't feel real."
"Now if only we can get Jake to pop the question." Callie said, pushing her shoulder against Addie's as the two watched Arizona and Teddy gossip excitedly.
"No, no, it's way too soon to think about that."
"Hello there ladies. Are you ready to sample some cakes?" A young woman carrying a tray with small sample cakes asked.
"Yes, yes, we definitely are!" Arizona said clapping.
"She's always ready for cake." Callie replied with a smile.
"Hey I skipped dinner last night and breakfast this morning so I could have some cake." Arizona replied. "Besides, I'm a bride, I get all the cake I want."
"I mean she's not wrong." Teddy said, shrugging her shoulders as the different cakes were spread over the table.
"Will the groom be joining us?" The woman asked Arizona.
"Oh, no groom. This is my fiance, Calliope Torres." Arizona said, reaching for Callie's hand.
"Oh, oh, I didn't realize." The woman said, her smile falling. "Let me know if you need anything."
"Was that weird? She was weird, right?" Callie asked.
"Maybe a little." Addie agreed.
"Let's just try the cake." Arizona said softly. She surveyed the table. They had several samples to narrow down. The package she had ordered came with eight samples, six that you could choose and two that were chosen by the bakery for your party to sample. The two complementary samples were champagne kisses and death by chocolate.
"Let's start with the complementary cakes." Callie suggested, reading her fiance's mind.
"Ewww, no...no, that is not cake." Arizona said, making a face as she tried the champagne kisses. She swallowed roughly, shaking her head at the taste.
"Really? I kinda like it." Teddy said.
"Ew, no, I agree with Arizona, that is not cake." Addie replied. By the look on Callie's face she wasn't impressed either.
"Oh my God, I think I'm in love." Callie said as she dug into the death by chocolate.
"Yes, now this is the cake I'm talking about." Arizona agreed.
"Ok, let's try the ones you chose now." Addie suggested. The group went through the different cakes… salted caramel and red velvet were at the top of their lists with cocoa butter and strawberry being at the bottom. Plain vanilla and turtle fell in the middle.
"What do you think?" Arizona asked.
"What's your favorite?" Callie asked.
"The salted caramel."
"Mine's the red velvet."
"How many tiers do you want?" Addie asked.
"I was thinking three. Should we do the death by chocolate as the third?" Arizona asked her fiance.
"Yea, I think that is going to be one amazing wedding cake." Callie replied. She didn't have the same sweet tooth as the blonde but it was hard to deny that she had thoroughly enjoyed that cake tasting.
"I think we've decided." Arizona said as the woman came out to clear their table.
"What day is the wedding?"
"June seventh." Arizona replied.
"I'm sorry, we're all booked up for that day?"
"But I put that in our cake tasting reservation and it said that getting a cake for that date was not going to be a problem." Arizona said.
"Sorry, something came up."
"Like the fact that we're two women?" Callie asked pointedly.
"Sorry, we don't support that….lifestyle." The woman responded.
"Unbelievable." Addie replied.
"Well, you just lost out on the sale of a very expensive wedding cake and flowers for the wedding. Not to mention my friend here is getting married to a man and planned on using your business but we don't support your bigotry." Arizona replied before stomping out of the bakery, the other three women trailing behind her.
"Wow, that was just….I'm beyond horrified at that." Addie said.
"It makes me so mad that I'm going to be thirty this year and I'm still dealing with assholes like that." Arizona replied, her entire body was trembling in anger.
"Honey, it's ok, we will find another bakery."
"I know but that's not the point, Callie. I'm just so tired of people judging me, us for this."
"Hey, isn't Kacie a baker? Like a really fantastic baker?" Teddy asked.
"Yea, I think she said her family owns a bakery in Tacoma." Callie replied.
"Should we ask her about it?" Arizona asked.
"Can't hurt. Plus I like the idea of giving her family our money more than these bigots. Come on, let's go get some lunch. I need food to soak up all that sugar." Callie said, crossing the street hand-in-hand with Arizona as they all walked to the parking lot where they parked.
"Joes?" Teddy asked.
"Yea I think beers and greasy burgers are just what the doctor ordered." Addie said.
XXXXX
Arizona
"Mom? What's wrong? Are you ok? Is it dad?" Arizona asked, answering her phone and seeing it was nearly four in the morning. Last time she had gotten a call from her mom at this hour, her brother had been missing in Afghanistan.
"Everyone is fine. I was just calling to tell you that you have a baby nephew!"
"What?! Sara had the baby?" Arizona asked, sitting straight up in bed. Callie was working an overnight shift at the hospital and wasn't home.
"She did. He was born at 3:23 this morning. You are the first person Timmy wanted me to call. He's going to send you a picture soon."
"Oh my God, I'm an Auntie." Arizona cried, her emotions all over the place these last two weeks as the wedding got closer and closer. "Is he healthy? How much did he weigh?"
"He's a chunker, eight pounds, eight ounces twenty two inches long, ten fingers, ten toes and just perfect Zozo."
"Oh I am so sad I'm not there to see him."
"We will send you lots of pictures. Maybe you can make it out to see him in the next few weeks."
"I can't believe Tim is a dad. What did they name him?"
"Tim wants to tell you. He's going to be sending you a whole bunch of pictures so I will get off here so he can do that."
"Ok mom. Give Tim and Sara and my sweet little nephew hugs and kisses for me."
"I will. Love you honey."
"Love you too, mom." Arizona said. She hung up her phone and held it tightly in her hands, waiting anxiously for pictures of her baby nephew.
She sent a quick text to Callie to let her know they were officially Aunties and then her phone chimed with incoming pictures. She opened her phone to see a baby boy wrapped in a blue blanket with a white knit hat on his head. The message with it read, Meet your Godson Auntie Zozo. This handsome little man is Cooper Daniel Robbins.
Arizona dialed her brother's number quickly, he answered on the first ring, "Hey sis."
"He's absolutely perfect, Tim." Arizona said, fighting off tears again. She never expected to be this emotional over a chunky little poop factory.
"I know. I can't wait for him to meet his Auntie Arizona and Auntie Teddy."
"And Auntie Callie."
"Yes, he may be the one to steal her away from you though sis."
"You might be right. I'd be okay with that." Arizona giggled.
"I'm going to tell Callie you said that."
"I love his name. Where did you come up with Cooper?" Arizona asked, thinking her brother was being a typical dude and named her nephew after tires or something.
"Cooper saved my life in Afghanistan. Before he died, I told him I'd name my kid after him someday. It was something I said offhandedly to get his mind off the pain but when I found out I was having a boy, I wanted to honor that promise."
"Well then Cooper is the best name I've ever heard." Arizona said, now full on sobbing.
"Oh come on Zo, when did you become such a girl?" Tim asked but he loved that his sister was so emotional over his baby boy.
"I'm going to see if I can come out for a weekend. I'm not on call again until mid May so I should be able to at least be able to swing a weekend. I know Callie will want to come so I will have to see if there's a weekend that works for her too."
"Trust me, we will welcome the help." Tim said.
"Speaking of Callie, she's calling." Arizona said. She had forwarded the pictures of Cooper to her.
"Go, talk to your woman. I'll send you more pictures after we get some sleep."
"Ok, love you bro."
"Love you too."
"Hey babe." Arizona said, switching the line over.
"Our nephew is so freaking adorable, Arizona." Callie squealed into the receiver.
"I know, I can't wait to meet him. I know we have so much going on with the wedding but do you think we could make it out there for a weekend?"
"I'm not on call next weekend. And I think now that we have Kacie and her family doing the cake and my mom is handling the florist, we officially have everything we can do for the wedding done for right now. The caterers have been paid, the food has been ordered. I think we can relax and go see our nephew for a weekend."
"Oh thank God because I cannot wait until the wedding to hold him."
"He looks like Tim." Callie said as she pulled the photo up on her phone again.
"He really does." Arizona replied.
"Can you imagine us having one of those?"
"I really can't wait." Arizona replied as she stared down at the picture of her baby nephew.
"We can book a flight as soon as I get home in the morning. What time are you in."
"Eight."
"It's nearly five, you should get some more sleep honey. I'll be home around seven, I'll wake you when I get there and we can book a flight, ok?"
"Ok. Night, I love you.
"Sweet dreams, love you too."
AN: Many of you might be disappointed with the lack of beat down but I just felt like that was out of character for Callie. She's hot tempered and reacts quickly but I can't see her actually going through with violence. I think she would have come to her senses after having time to cool down and think.
Serious question for you guys...yay or nay on bachelorette parties? I have the next chapter partially written but I'm not sure if I should include more than just a mention of the parties. Majority will rule on determining if I write the bachelorette parties or not.