Spoiler Alert

DO NOT read this if you haven't seen Season 17 and don't know what is happening with Meredith.

So after Derek, George, Lexie and Mark have all appeared on the beach and news that April is back filming, it's surely only a matter of time before Calzona makes an appearance. So then I started thinking about how they would bring them back. I don't think it would be for a funeral, so this is a super short one-shot of how they came back to GA in my dream.

I do not own the characters of the show and this idea is totally made up.

—-

New York

"Babe hurry up! The taxi is going to be here any minute" Arizona yelled up the stairs to the house they had just moved into. There were still boxes that needed unpacking and the house needed a little bit of work, but they had both fallen in love with it the minute they had seen it.

Callie appeared at the stairs with her suitcase and passport "I'm ready, I'm ready" she said slightly out of breath. She had got caught in the hospital and having ignored Arizona's suggestion to pack the night before, it had been a rush to get home, showered and packed for their trip to Seattle.

"Are the kids all packed?" the brunette asked slightly out of breath.

Arizona turned to look at their daughter who was engrossed in a film on her iPad.

"Well Sofia's been packed for days!" Arizona said smiling as she looked at her daughter who had just celebrated her tenth birthday. Where had the time gone? Sofia had been so excited about seeing Zola again she had packed her bag as soon as they had told her they were going Seattle.

"And this little fella..." she said and she leant down and tucked a blanket into the pram where their son Ben was tucked up "...is ready fast asleep".

Arizona's phone started ringing.

"Hello. Great, we'll be right out." Arizona said before grabbing her keys "Sof sweetheart, time to go" the blonde doctor told her daughter who looked up excitedly as she paused the film and jumped up off the sofa.

"About time!" she said as she grabbed the door handle.

"Ready?" Arizona asked Callie who was looking a little nervous.

"As ready as I'll ever be going back to Seattle."

—-

Once they had taken their seats and Sofia had been reunited with her iPad the two women exchanged supportive looks. Flying was still a major deal with Arizona and she tried to avoid it wherever possible. Callie reached down and took her wife's hand.

"You OK?" Callie asked trying not to make a deal out of it.

"I will be as soon as this thing lands at Tacoma!" Arizona said nervously.

"I'm here for you OK?" Callie said as she leant over and placed a soft kiss on the blonde cheek.

"Thanks." Arizona smiled "Is Benji OK?" she asked keen to change the subject.

Callie held the blonde's gaze for a little while to make sure she was OK before turning to check on their son who was next to and Sofia.

"He's fine. He's ummm enjoying his feet at the moment" the brunette said as she watched their son pull his socks off and play with his feet.

Arizona had given birth to Ben 14 months ago and aside from trips to visit their parents, this was the first time they were going away together. It was the first time they were going back to Seattle since they had both left. Callie had left with Penny and Arizona had taken the decision to move to New York so that Sofia would have both her moms near her.

It hadn't taken them long to find their way back together. Their bond was just too strong. After a year of being back together they had decided to try for another baby.

Arizona squeezed Callie's hand as the plane started speeding up and Callie kept a watchful eye on her wife and their kids. Sofia was a pro at flying and didnt even take her eyes off her screen as the plane lifted its wheels off the tarmac.

After five minutes Arizona finally released Callie's hand and took a deep breath and forced a small smile at her wife to show her she was OK.

Two hours into the flight and Sofia had nodded off and Benji was on his way having been fed.

They had downloaded Bridgerton to watch on the flight, but four episodes in Arizona had switched it off when the characters started having sex.

"Hey!" Callie complained "I was enjoying that!" giving Arizona a look which the blonde knew all too well!

"Callie we are on a plane with our children right next to us!" Arizona responded in a hushed tone. Whilst the blonde's voice was firm, Callie saw the glint in those blue eyes.

"Sooooo no chance of..." Callie stopped nodding towards the toilet.

"OMG! Don't even think about it!" Arizona replied unable to the smile forming on her mouth at the brunette's suggestion. Sex had always been good between them and it was a compliment that Callie still felt that way about her.

"Come on..." Callie whispered "you know it's on my bucket list?" The brunette pleaded.

"Calliope Torres...we are NOT having sex on this plane!" Arizona whispered back trying to keep a straight face.

"Spoil sport. but maybe later? You know...when the munchkins are asleep...we could take a shower?"

Arizona chuckled "what's gotten into you?"

Callie laughed "I dunno, it must have been all that period drama, you know the longing looks - blame Shonda Rhimes!"

—-

The next day Arizona and Callie were getting ready and the blonde could see her girlfriend was nervous. She walked over and put her arms around the taller woman's waist.

"Relax Cal...it's just our friends!"

"I know it's stupid right...it's just, well this is the first time I've seen everyone since I left for New York with..." Callie hesitated.

"With Penny!" Arizona smiled softly "you can say her name Cal..."

"I know. I'm sorry" the brunette said "I'm just a bit nervous seeing Richard after the custody battle and you know Bailey is going to give me that 'I told you so look' about Penny"

"So" Arizona replied looking into Callie's eyes "so let her Calliope. I love you, and you love me and we are together again and none of the rest matters right. .Together ..again and I'm happier than ever, and these are our friends and they will see that they will be happy too."

Callie smiled and gave the blonde a soft kiss. "I love you more than ever too, but you do know I still really hate it when you are right!"

"I know" Arizona smiled back sweetly before planting her lips on Callie's. The kiss was just intensifying when they heard Benji start crying in the other room "mama - Benji has pooped again!" Sofia yelled out.

Arizona looked at Callie "and because I was right and you were wrong, you can change your son's nappy!"

Callie chuckled "why is he always my son when it comes to messy nappies" she said smiling at the cheeky look she was getting as she headed out to clean up the mess.

They really were better than ever before and Callie had plans to propose to Arizona as part of this trip. She had the ring hidden in one of her socks in her suitcase and whilst New York was their home now, there was something special about Seattle.

—-
Meredith had been discharged from the hospital two weeks ago and had arranged a special dinner for all of her friends and colleagues that had been there for her during the time she was in a coma.

Meredith stood up at the dinner table and cleared her throat to get everyone's attention.

"I know some of you worried that the next event of mine you would attend would be my funeral!"

"Yeah I lost a bet with Yang on that one!" Alex yelled out joking with his old friend.

"Ha I wouldn't put it past the two of you!" Meredith said smiling at her two oldest friends.

"And let's face it...at times it was very close...right Bailey?" Mer looked over at Miranda who nodded with a serious face. She had been very close to dying on multiple occasions, but unlike so many people across the world, she had pulled through and she wanted to celebrate this with her friends.

"Thank you for all coming today. For being here with me...some people think i'm crazy doing this so soon..." Meredith looked over at Richard who gave her a serious look back.

"...but I wanted you all here today so I can tell you that... I picked you." Meredith paused and looked round the table at the blank faces - Richard and Catherine, Avery and April, Bailey and Ben, Jo, Cormac, Amelia and Maggie, Callie and Arizona, Alex and Christina.

"I chose YOU...all of you. I chose to stay around and I fought hard...and at times, oh boy...at times it would have been so easy to have gone to the beach".

Meredith smiled as she pictured the beach where she had visited so many times. She knew some people would probably think she was mad, but she had experienced something so special.

Meredith felt tears start to form as she continued "I saw the love of my life Derek, Lexie and Mark...darling George, my dad and my mum Elis...who finally told me she was proud of me." the blonde paused as she quickly wiped away a tear that had escaped at the thought of all those people she had loved and lost and looked at her friends faces.

"It was so nice there, the sound of the ocean, the cool sand beneath my toes, the smell of the sea in the breeze...it truly was magical and it was so tempting to just stay."

Meredith thought back to the chats she had had on the beach to when Derek was fishing, how happy Lexie was with Mark.

"I could have so easily have just laid down on that sand and stayed with them all..." she looked over at her kids who were busy playing in the corner of the room and smiled.

"...but here is lovely too, with all of you, and I just wanted to thank you all for looking after me, looking after my kids and for never giving up on me. I love you all and as much as I loved my time on that beach...there is still so much life left to live...so much to fight for."

—
Let me know how you would like them to come back in Season 17.

Season 18 gets confirmed and GA continues.