Ortho Goddess: Chapter XXX

"I wish things were like before."

Sofia's words felt like a nasty punch to the gut and Callie could actually physically feel it. She had known a conversation like this was coming, but she was not ready for it. She would probably never be ready for it. Over the past three years, they had talked about the divorce and the changes in Sofia's life and the little girl had seemed to accept everything pretty well. She was a strong little girl and Callie admired that in her daughter. But just like her mother, Sofia was a thinker. It had taken her three years to come up with this and it would not surprise Callie if Sofia had also had this exact conversation with Arizona.

It made Callie wonder what Arizona had said. She did not get a lot of time to wonder though, because her phone ringing stopped her musings. Speaking of the devil.

"Hey Arizona," Callie greeted her ex-wife with a smile. Sofia caught on and looked at her mother expectantly.

"Oh, that's great…..Yes, sure! There is a nice Italian place a few blocks from where you are, Sofia and I can meet you there….Alright. Yes….we'll meet you there in a few. Yes, I'll send you the address."

Callie hung up the phone and slipped it back into her pocket. "Ready to go? We're going to meet mommy for lunch to celebrate the new apartment," she said to her daughter.

"Ugh, more food?" Sofia groaned.

"You promised you would eat lunch as well as your ice cream, remember? Plus, we are walking there, that might build up your appetite." Callie got up and held out her hand for Sofia while looking at her expectantly.

"Mama, I'm too old for that now," the little girl complained as she got up and headed towards the park exit.

Callie quickly caught up with Sofia and wrapped her arm around the little girl, pulling her into a hug and pressing a loud kiss to the top of her head.

"Maaamaaaa!" Sofia whined before giggling. She was secretly loving all the attention she was getting from both her mothers.

"I'm your mother, I get to hug and kiss you as much as I like, whenever I like," Callie said with a grin. Her heart fluttered as her daughter grabbed hold of her hand and they walked to the restaurant together. Sofia was getting older and Callie realized that things were not going to be like this forever. Soon enough Sofia would be too cool for hugs and kisses like that, so she wanted to enjoy this while it lasted.

While they walked, Sofia started chatting about everything and nothing and Callie was thoroughly enjoying the moment. Their serious conversation was still fresh in her mind and they would definitely come back to it sometime, but right now Sofia seemed satisfied with the answers Callie had given her. The excitement of the new apartment also helped. The little girl was already coming up with ideas about decorating her room at Arizona's apartment.

When they arrived at the restaurant, Arizona was already sitting at a table. The blonde's face lit up when she caught Callie's eyes. She smiled at Callie while Sofia let go of her hand to run over to Arizona. Callie slid into the booth across from Arizona.

"Congratulations," she said, her eyes never leaving her ex-wife's.

"Thank you," Arizona replied with a dimpled smile. She looked radiant and her eyes were smiling along with her lips. It had been quite a while since she had seen Arizona this happy. It was nice.

"If there's anything I can do while you are back in Seattle, just let me know, ok? I don't mind getting these hands dirty," while she spoke, Callie wiggled her eyebrows while holding up her hands.

Arizona chuckled. "We both know that's code for 'calling a guy'," she retorted.

Callie did not get to respond because the waitress came to the table to take their orders. While they waited for their food to come, Callie and Arizona engaged in planning things for the new apartment. Once again, against most odds, they managed to agree on almost every point they discussed.

All the while they spoke, Sofia was eyeing both her mothers carefully. She had been giving coloring pencils and a piece of paper and she was working on a drawing, but she also took the time to listen in and gauge her mothers' reaction to each other.

By the time their food arrived, the planning up until the actual move to New York had been pretty much done. Sofia would be staying with Callie in the beginning so Arizona had the space to get settled and deal with things at the Clinic. Since their daughter would be on her summer holiday, Callie had decided to take two weeks off to spend time with Sofia and help out with the move. They had also agreed that Callie would be taking Sofia to Miami to visit her father. Something Sofia had been particularly happy about. After that, Arizona and Callie would be taking turns in spending time with Sofia.

"Mommy, are you coming to Miami too?" Sofia asked before taking a bite of her pizza.

Two pairs of dark brown eyes focused on Arizona, making the blonde's cheeks turn a slight shade of pink. "Ah, I'll be busy with getting the apartment ready for us, princess."

"How about next time?" Sofia was obviously not going to let this go anytime soon.

"We'll see about that," Arizona replied, giving the exact same answer Callie had given earlier.

Callie had purposely not said anything and just watched the interaction. She was oddly proud of the fact that Arizona gave the same answer she did. Since she had so thoroughly enjoyed her time with Sofia and now the lunch, she had completely forgotten about how tired she was. But now she had finished her lunch, fatigue hit her like a hammer.

"Callie," Arizona said gently. "You look like you're about to fall asleep. Don't you want to head home?"

"I'm not that tired," Callie said, her words followed by a yawn.

"Liar, liar, pants on fire," Sofia said with a giggle, making both her mothers join in.

While Callie watched Arizona and Sofia pass through security, she felt a sense of loss. She knew it was only temporary since they would be coming back in a month's time, but it still felt like a loss. Arizona turned towards her just before moving out of view and waved. Callie waved back and flashed her a smile.

She had gotten used to being alone and it surprised her how fast she had gotten used to not being alone. Fortunately, this was the last time she would have to say goodbye for a while.

With that, they were out of view. Callie sighed and turned on her heels to head home. During the drive home, her mind conjured up a million and one ways to make things easier on Arizona and to help her out with the apartment. All kinds of grand gestures played out in her head like watching trailers of movies. She shook her head though, forcing herself to back off. This was Arizona's move and she needed to let Arizona handle it. The fact her ex-wife had even asked her to help out was already a big win and she should honor that instead of going above and beyond the blonde's requests. It was quite unlike her to stick to just the request, but she felt she needed to do that, to show Arizona she was not trying to manage or fix her.

She knew Arizona trusted her, but for some reason, she was intent on showing Arizona that she, in fact, could trust her. The blonde had handed her the key to the apartment so that she could let the workers in and could accept deliveries and be there if needed. And that was just what she would do. She was not going to get a head start on decorating or anything else, no matter how much she felt like doing that.

Yes, she was going to do it right this time around. She did not really know why, but she was more than a little intent to show Arizona that she had grown.

The first week after Arizona and Sofia left had flown by. She had been in contact with her ex-wife a lot more than usual and she found herself waiting for the blonde's text messages or calls. The workers at the apartment were making good progress in getting the place ready and Callie had made sure to stop by regularly to check up on them and take pictures to send to Arizona.

Today, she was not really having her day though. Her favorite resident, Lieberman, was not on her service since he was training the new interns. It made her a little cranky since she had a few surgeries on her schedule where she would have liked him to assist. It was not that the other residents were duds, but she liked to have things her way when she was in a mood. And a lot of things were not going her way today.

She was standing in front of the vending machine, glaring at a bag of chips that had only come out partially and was now hanging halfway against the glass. She mumbled some curse words in Spanish under her breath while she smacked a flat hand against the glass to get the bag to move.

"You kiss your mother with that mouth?" Anne walked into the Attending's lounge and watched in amusement as Callie manhandled the snack machine.

"It's bad enough to make us pay for crap like this," Callie muttered in response.

"What's up?" Anne asked after while she walked over to the vending machine. She bent forward slightly and slammed her flat hand against a spot on the side of the machine, making the bag of chips come out.

Callie eyed the redhead in disbelief.

Anne winked at Callie. "I'm very good at finding sweet spots."

"Shut it, Williams," the dark-haired woman teasingly shot to her co-worker before bending down to get her bag of chips. This woman. Some days she could see the appeal, but on other days, like today, she wondered what Emma had ever seen in her. She did not want to be rude to Anne, but she did want to keep setting boundaries, which was apparently needed with the super flirty redhead.

"What's up?" Callie plopped down on the lounge chair next to the big sofa and opened her bag of chips. She flung her legs over the side of the chair, facing the sofa Anne had claimed, mindlessly munching on them.

"I haven't seen my own bed in two days," Anne replied. She laid down and put her arm over her head, closing her eyes. "I managed to catch my son's T-ball game earlier, but I had to rush back here right after."

"How is Brayden?" Callie asked in between bites.

"It's amazing, he's walking and running again like no one's business. You and Emma did an amazing job there." This time Anne did open her eyes and she turned towards Callie to face her. "I'm so happy I get to see him like that again."

Callie nodded. She could only imagine how it must feel to watch your child go through something like that. "I'm really glad to hear that, kids should be able to run around."

"I heard yours is back in town," Anne said. "How old is she?"

"Sofia is nine," Callie replied. "At the moment, she's in Seattle with her mother, but they are moving back here next month."

"Same age as Brayden, maybe we can do a playdate during the summer break?"

She pursed her lips and nodded. "I'll ask her. I don't think she's at the 'boys have cooties stage' yet, but I do have to ask."

Anne chuckled. "Yeah, sounds familiar. Old enough to boss you around, young enough to get away with everything."

"Uh huh."

"Talking about getting away with everything. Have you seen Emma around?"

Callie raised her eyebrow, wondering what Anne meant with that. "Nope, she's in back-to-back surgeries today. Why?"

"Oh, no reason. She's just been gloomy lately." Anne noticed the look Callie give her and chuckled. "Yeah, yeah, I know, I shouldn't talk to you about her. Secret sisterhood and all." She waved her finger around as if she was casting a spell.

"I always thought you were above jealousy," Callie teased her. She knew Anne was not really jealous, but behind every joke, there was a hint of truth. So maybe the redhead was a little envious of the bond she had built with Emma.

"I am." Anne sat up and flashed Callie a smile. "I want her to be happy, you know. I'm just a little worried, she's been kind of withdrawn lately. Haven't you noticed the thunderclouds above her head?"

"Nope, all sunshine and rainbows," Callie replied with a shrug. Anne's words did make her mind switch a few gears. She had not noticed any behavioral changes in her friend, but to be honest she had not had a lot of personal interaction with Emma. Callie had been busy with work and planning for Arizona and Sofia's big move to New York. Had she overlooked something?

Emma and her had exchanged text messages and Callie tried to rack her brain, but she could really not think of anything out of the ordinary. Was there really something going on or was Anne just fishing? Either way, it annoyed Callie. Was she being a bad friend to Emma?

Both women were quiet for a moment, just sitting in silence and going over their own thoughts. The lounge they were in was in a quiet corridor, away from the hustle and bustle of the hospital and it seemed like the both of them needed a little peace and quiet.

Anne had laid back on the couch and had closed her eyes again. "Hey, Torres," she said.

"Hmm?" Callie was still focused on her bag of chips, she had worked hard for it after all. And it was the first thing she had eaten in….well, in a long time.

"Can I borrow you for a consult later?"

"I'm on a break, Williams."

"I said 'later', didn't I?" The redhead retorted, not backing down.

She had been the one setting boundaries earlier, but now it was Anne slapping her in the face with one. Maybe she could have reacted in a nicer way. "Alright, since you asked so nicely."

"I seriously wonder how Emma puts up with you sometimes," Anne said in a different tone of voice, making it obvious she was teasing.

"I'm very good at finding sweet spots," Callie replied with a wiggle of her eyebrows. Using Anne's earlier words against her.

The other woman did not catch her facial expression since she still had her eyes closed. Her lips curled into a cheeky smile before she sat up and shook her head. "I'm sure you do." She groaned when her phone went off. "Gotta go. So? I'll see you later?" She got up and looked at the dark-haired woman.

"Sure. I have to check on a post-op patient and then I'll come to find you."

"You are gold, Torres." With that, Anne left the room, leaving Callie with a genuine smile on her face.

For the past two years, she had been at this hospital and it had been fine. But now she was really starting to feel at home here. Maybe it was because she had managed to leave a lot of bad things behind, or maybe it was the prospect of having Sofia and Arizona here. Either way, she was starting to feel less like she had to be guarded all the time. And it showed because more and more people ended up talking to her. Over the past few months, she had gotten to know more doctors in the hospital than in the past year.

Callie closed her eyes for a moment, just giving herself a second to rest her very tired eyelids. Or at least, that was what she was telling herself. The peace and quiet in the room caused her to drift off in an awkward position in her chair.

Her phone beeping startled her so much that she almost fell out of the chair. She huffed, expecting to have been paged. When she looked at her phone, her lips curled into a beaming smile. It was a text message from Arizona instead.

She sat up and immediately replied. She stretched out and cracked her neck to get ready to continue her day when her phone beeped again. Another smile erupted when she saw the immediate response from her ex-wife. She paused for a moment and quickly typed up a response to Arizona's text message. With the beaming smile now plastered on her face, she returned to work.