Chapter XXXVI
It was days like this that made Callie wonder why she even got paid for this job. She had been at the Yankee Stadium since early in the morning and she was once again reveling in the pre-game buzz. She loved the excitement that hung in the air, which was paired with the excitement of having Arizona and Sofia come over later today. The morning was spent together with Emma, going over exercise plans for some of the players.
Around lunchtime, the players started coming in. Alejandro Perez, the pitcher that had frequented the hospital more than any other player on the team, got all excited when he saw his favorite Doctors in the catacombs of the stadium.
"It must be my lucky day, Doc. T and Doc. C in my house!" Alex greeted both ladies.
Callie smiled. "It's good to see you out and about, Perez."
"All because of your fine handiwork," the man said with a wink. "I get to be useful though, meeting some fans today during their Stadium Tour."
"Oooh, then you'll be meeting Torres' daughter," Emma butted in.
"What? No way, Doc! Now I'm sure it's my lucky day," the man said excitedly. "How old is your daughter?"
Callie smiled proudly. "She is nine. I thought it would be a fun surprise in her last weekend before going back to school."
"Oh, I'll make sure it's special for her. I'll see if I can recruit her for my daughter's T-ball team, we can never have enough girls on the team."
"Thanks, Perez. We'll see about that. We'll be in the stands tonight, cheering you guys on." Callie wanted the best for Arizona and Sofia today. She went back into business mode though, intent on finishing her work before they showed up so she could join them on the tour. "How's the shoulder?" Callie asked the always chipper man.
"Ready to work, Doc," Alex replied.
"I'm going to head into the physio room, I'll see you out there later," Emma said. Callie nodded at the blonde and she walked off.
"What do you have planned for me today?" The pitcher asked with an amused smile on his face.
"You know it's gonna be good if the Docs themselves come over to work you," she quipped back, equally as amused.
"I'm serious about the T-ball, Doc. I coach the team and it's just my girl and a bunch of boys. She would love to have another girl on board."
"Up until recently, Sofia was all about ballet. I'm not sure what she wants to do now she's back in New York. But you can give it a try."
###
Callie got stuck in the physio room for a little longer than she had planned. Fortunately, she managed to catch up with Arizona and Sofia a little bit after they started their Stadium tour. It was just them on the tour, making it extra special.
"Mama!" Sofia shouted when she ran up to her mother. "This is so cool!"
Callie flashed her daughter a bright smile. "Hey, baby. Oh, just you wait, the really cool stuff is still coming up!"
"I can't believe you work here!"
Arizona walked up to Callie all smiles. "Hey," she said in a happy tone of voice, making Callie's heart flutter a little bit.
"Hey you, navy blue looks good on you," Callie said. Arizona was wearing a pair of skinny jeans and the Yankees jersey Callie had given her. Her hair was braided and it made Arizona look absolutely stunning.
"Thank you." Arizona's cheeks flushed slightly.
"Oh wow, you are even getting a private tour, Doc!" It was the pitcher, Alejandro Perez, that came walking up to them. "I'll take it from here, Joe," he said to the man who had been leading Arizona and Sofia around.
"So these are your girls, Doc T?" He said as he extended his hand to Arizona. "I'm Alex Perez, pitcher for the Yankees."
"Oh wow," Arizona said excitedly. "I know who you are."
Callie narrowed her eyes, waiting for Arizona to correct Perez about not being 'Callie's girl', but she did not. It slightly amused her, but she figured Arizona might not have heard his words since she looked like she was fangirling over Perez.
"Alex, this is Arizona Robbins." Callie decided to help out when she noticed Alex was staring at Arizona expectantly. Her words seemed to have gotten Arizona back to earth and she shook Perez' hand.
"Nice to meet you," he flashed Arizona a wink and let go of her hand before turning to Sofia. "Oh my God, I think I might be in love!" He put his hand over his heart in a dramatic gesture. "Who might you be, little lady?"
Sofia beamed at the man. "I'm Sofia Robbin Sloan Torres, Sir," she said as she extended her hand.
"Oh wow, that's a mouthful. May I call you Sofia, ma'am?" Perez joked as he shook Sofia's hand.
"You may," Sofia replied in all seriousness, making both her mothers chuckle.
"Did you know your mommy fixed me? If it wasn't for her, I wouldn't be able to throw any pitches." Perez extended his hand for Sofia to take, but was left hanging.
The little girl frowned and pursed her lips. "No, that's not true. My mama fixed you, my mommy fixes tiny humans."
"Oh, I'm terribly sorry for the mix-up," Perez replied. He looked up at Callie and Arizona and flashed them an all-knowing look. "That's a little spitfire you got here."
"Sing it," Arizona quipped back with a grin.
"Alright, ladies, I'll show you around our house. Are you ready?"
"Absolutely," Arizona replied, the excitement oozing from her voice.
Callie observed the blonde closely. It was good to see Arizona this happy, she deserved every ounce of it.
Alex Perez proved to be an excellent tour guide, showing them around the stadium and teaching Sofia fun facts and baseball lingo. The little girl was beaming with excitement and it touched Callie's heart deeply. There was no feeling in the world better than seeing her little girl that happy.
"Mr. Perez?" Sofia asked politely.
"Hey, we're friends now. Friends get to call me Alex, Sofia," the man replied with a smile.
"Okay. Alex, can you show me where my mama works?" She asked.
"It actually isn't part of the tour, but you know what, since you're such a good girl, I'll see if we can make an exception."
Alex flashed Callie a questioning look. She replied with a smile and a slight nod. She knew Emma was in the physio room, but all players were supposed to be out on the field for stretching and warming up. They probably would not bother anyone.
"Well, Sofia, the boss just told me that we can have a look."
Sofia tilted her head and put her hands on her side. "You just looked at my mom," she said, her face scrunching up.
Perez snickered and shook his head. "Nothing gets past you, huh?" He guided all three of them to the physio room.
Emma looked up from her desk as four people entered, her smile widening when she recognized who entered. "Hey guys."
"Doctor Emma!" Sofia said excitedly when she spotted the blonde.
Suddenly, Callie felt a little hot under the collar. She had not thought about the fact that this could be quite an awkward moment. How was she going to introduce Arizona to Emma? Yes, Emma and her were just friends. Good friends. But she was going to have to be open about the fact that she had slept with Emma at some point. Especially if….no, she was not going to go there with her thoughts.
"Hi, Sofia!" Emma replied just as enthusiastically. "Fancy seeing you here. Are you having a good time?"
"Yes! Mr. Alex showed us the whole Stadium!"
"Wow! That's so cool! I wish I could have been there," Emma replied.
Callie watched the interaction with a smile, but she also kept a close eye on Arizona. "Arizona, this is Dr. Emma Caplan," she said when she felt it was appropriate to butt in.
"Emma, this is Dr. Arizona Robbins."
Arizona walked over to Emma to shake her hand. "Nice to meet you, I've heard a lot about you," she said with a pleasant smile.
Callie had indeed talked about Emma quite a lot and realizing that made a slight blush creep up her cheeks.
"Likewise, it's nice to finally be able to put a face to the name," Emma replied, returning the smile.
"Mommy, did you know Dr. Emma's son plays baseball? I think I want to play baseball too. Can I?" Sofia interjected. She walked up to Arizona and looked up at her mother with big puppy dog eyes.
"That sounds like a lot of fun, Sofia," Arizona replied. "Let's talk about it when we get home, okay?"
Callie had stayed back a bit, giving her the chance to just observe. She pursed her lips and crossed her arms in front of her chest. It was going well so far, but this situation had the potential to go south pretty fast.
"Congratulations on the Patent," Arizona said, turning her attention back to Emma. "Callie told me you helped her out a lot."
"Thank you," Emma replied, a slight blush creeping up her cheeks. Callie wondered if it was because of the compliment or if it had to do with the nature of their friendship. "From what I've heard, congratulations are in order for you too," Emma continued, oblivious to Callie's turmoil. "Opening the center will change so much for fetal medicine. You truly are pioneering here."
Arizona flashed Emma a bright smile and then turned to Callie. "I like this one," she said while pointing towards Emma.
Caplan chuckled and flashed Arizona a smile. "Credit where credit is due, really. I was just doing my job, but you are going above and beyond."
"Thank you, Emma." Arizona had already been glowing, but now she was practically beaming. Callie was just happy the two seemed to be getting along and nothing awkward was going on. Maybe not everything in her life had to turn into a drama.
Arizona and Emma were talking about the Robbins-Herman center and Callie kept a close eye on the two while also half trying to follow the conversation Sofia was having with Alex. Even though she was enjoying herself, her whole body was alert, scanning the room for any sign of trouble.
Trouble did not come though as the two blondes agreed on Emma visiting the center sometime and Sofia convincing Alex to let her throw a pitch.
"Mama, mommy, let's go, there's more to see," she said while grabbing Arizona's hand.
"You guys go have fun, I'll hold the fort," Emma said with a smile. Once they left the room, she went back to her computer screen, typing out her notes.
"She seems very nice," Arizona spoke while walking next to Callie. They were following Alex and Sofia towards the field, where some of the Yankee players were warming up.
"She is," Callie responded. "She has become a good friend," she added. She eyed Arizona, ready to further questions, but they did not come. She chastised herself for being so on edge, this was a fun day for all of them. She should be enjoying, not trying to micro-manage every single thing.
"Wow."
Arizona stopped dead in her tracks and her words derailed Callie's train of thought. They had reached the end of the player's tunnel and were about to enter the field. The blonde was marveling at the view and obviously impressed while she was taking everything in.
"Callie, this is so awesome," she said. "Thank you for doing this." To Callie's surprise, she felt Arizona's hand grab hers and squeeze gently. It was a simple gesture, a sweet, friendly touch, but it was awakening pretty much every nerve ending in her body.
Perez was holding on to Sofia's hand while guiding them onto the field. "Okay, listen," he said. "Normally we don't do this, this is not part of the tour. But since you are special, I'm giving you the full Yankee experience."
Sofia's eyes were almost popping out of her head while she let out a squeal. "Mama, mommy, look!"
Callie's mind was very focused on Arizona's hand in hers and she almost wanted to scream when the blonde let go. But that would be weird. She was being weird. How was it that Arizona was making her so giddy? Where did all these feelings come from all of a sudden? It was not like her ex-wife had never touched her before. Why was it doing so much now?
Since Perez was still injured, he was not playing. He did explain to them what pitchers do to warm up and how they have to really build up a bond with their catchers. He spoke with so much enthusiasm, that Callie found herself being drawn into his story.
"This, my dear new friends, concludes the tour," Perez said, finishing his animated explanation of the game.
"Awwww," Sofia was obviously not ready for it to end. Callie was agreeing with her daughter in silence. Arizona was only standing next to her, but for some reason she could feel the warmth emanating from the blonde's body and it felt nice. She did not want that feeling to stop.
"Don't worry, Sofia. You still get to watch the game," Arizona said. She walked over to her daughter and wrapped her arms around the girl. "Did you like it as much as I did?"
"I bet I liked it more," the girl replied with a smug grin on her face.
###
A little bit later, they were in the stands at field level, ready for the game to start. Sofia was bouncing up and down, willing the players to come out on the field. Arizona sat next to Callie and was talking to her about some of the work they were going to do on the Robbins-Herman Center in the coming week. Life for all three was going back to normal, for as much as they had established a normal, after this weekend. Sofia would go back to school and the schedule Callie and Arizona had come up with, was going to be put to the test.
Callie found herself noticing little things about Arizona. Things that reminded her of their time together. Little mannerisms that she would find endearing, that had made her fall for the blonde all those years ago. She was not really ready to admit to it though, forcing her thoughts back and trying to stay in the here and now, enjoying the great atmosphere of today.
Just when she thought Sofia and Arizona could not be more excited, the game started. Seeing the both of them so happy made her heart feel so full that it could explode right out of her chest. It almost felt like they were a family again and it was weird that everything felt so natural all of a sudden. It started to annoy her a little that she constantly had to pull herself back to reality.
"Dude!" Arizona yelled out loud, startling Callie from her musings. "You need glasses! He was so out!" The blonde was standing and angrily waving her finger in the air.
Callie could not help but chuckle. She knew Arizona was a passionate person, but she had not expected her to be so passionate about something like this. It was highly amusing.
When Arizona sat back down, she looked at Callie and flashed her a sweet smile. "Sorry, I can get carried away a little sometimes."
Callie just flashed the blonde an all-knowing, shit-eating grin. "Uh-huh."
Her smart reaction earned her a playful slap from Arizona. "Shut up."
"I didn't even say anything," Callie said, feigning hurt as she rubbed her upper arm where Arizona had just slapped her.
"What happened to you being badass?" Arizona quipped back.
"I am badass," Callie replied.
"Uh-huh."
Arizona flashed Callie a very familiar shit-eating grin in return, making her crack up. She had missed this, this carefree feeling when spending time with Arizona. After her initial reluctance during the meeting with Emma this morning, she had not once felt like she was waiting for an argument. Yes, her mind still drifted off to overthinking land, but she was no longer expecting the other shoe to drop. And it was nice. It was relaxing and fun.
Just then a foul ball was soaring their way and Callie could not help but stare at it. The steward standing close to them caught it with ease. He then walked over to Sofia and handed the ball to her. "There you go, little lady," he said with a smile on his face.
The young Torres gasped and let out a squeal when taking the ball. "Thank you, sir." She then turned to Callie and Arizona, her eyes big and her smile even bigger. "I have a Yankees ball!"
"That is so cool!" Arizona sounded about as excited as their daughter. "Can I see?"
Sofia handed the ball over to the blonde before hugging Callie. "This is the best day ever," she said before burying her face in her mother's neck.
She had to fight back her tears of pure happiness. If someone had told her last year that she would be doing this, she would probably have laughed in their face. But right now, she could not picture herself anywhere else.
Today turned out to be a very good day.