Building a Future

by IMPeak123

This is a continuation of "Love Will Lead You Back." This story will be Callie and Arizona's journey through marriage, motherhood, and pregnancy.

1. Chapter 1

Building a Future

By Peak123

This is a continuation of my first fic, Love Will Lead You Back…decided to do the sequel since I had so many requests to continue. This story will be Callie and Arizona's journey through marriage, motherhood, and pregnancy. Hope you like it…enjoy and please review!

Disclaimer: I don't own Grey's Anatomy or any of the characters/story lines. Sadly, those all belong to ABC and Shonda Rhimes.

Callie's POV:

It's been a few months since we returned from our honeymoon…the honeymoon that changed our lives. After running into Arizona's ex, I caught a glimpse of the jealousy and insecurity my wife feels in dealing with Mark.

Luckily for me, I won't have to see the woman who won't be named ever again…but Arizona continues to have to deal with Mark on a regular basis. I've spoken to him numerous times about giving us space, not being intrusive in our relationship…trying to establish boundaries with my child's father. It's difficult though, because as much as I value my marriage and want to keep my wife happy…I also respect Mark's involvement with Sophia and want to keep things civil.

Right now, things are going ok…Mark calls to set up visits with Sophia that aren't already planned, we have dinner all together once a week, and Arizona doesn't seem to mind his presence as long as the rules are being followed. I'm nervous though, because there will inevitably come a day when those rules get broken…and then there will have to be consequences, decisions to be made. But I can't think about that right now….all I can seem to think about lately is that Arizona said she wants to have a baby.

We haven't really discussed it again since the night we came home. Arizona said she just wanted to talk about it then, that she wasn't ready to really start planning yet…but my God, the woman put the idea in my head and I find myself obsessing over it. The thought of my insanely adorable wife with a baby bump…the thought of the little baby who hopefully will resemble his or her mommy…well, it's enough for me to obsess over for years if I have to.

But I hope she doesn't want to wait that long. I am trying to gain the courage to bring this topic up again, but I don't want to freak her out and have her change her mind. Oh my God, what if she already changed her mind? Maybe that's why she hasn't said anything about it. Calm down…just calm down and talk to her, you can do this.

"Arizona," I call to my wife as she sits reading Sophia a book on the couch. "Can we talk? I mean, when…when you're done reading?"

She doesn't answer me, but finishes the last page and closes the book, placing our daughter into her playpen. Sophia immediately pulls herself to standing, peeking out over the edge of the playpen and smiling up at Arizona before plopping back down and grabbing a teething ring.

"Mommy needs to talk to Mama for a little bit honey," Arizona tells her, running her fingers through Sophia's curls. "Mama's making me nervous, isn't she? Let's hope she doesn't want to divorce me already."

"Very funny," I tell her . "Although I might consider it if you don't stop talking to Sophia behind my back like that." Arizona giggles, making her way into the kitchen where I am pulling out a chair for her.

"What is it babe," she asks, really starting to worry. "Are you feeling alright? You know, we've been so wrapped up in the baby and work…sometimes I think we both forget that you had major surgery recently. Maybe we should move your cardiologist appointment up and have them check you out…I'll call Teddy."

"Recently?" I ask, smiling at her adorable nervousness and grabbing her hand. "It's been almost a year…and I'm fine, healthy as a horse. Pretty sure we would know if my heart wasn't working at full capacity…think it would have give out by now with all the workouts I've been getting lately."

She blushes a little at the sexual reference, tightening her grip on my hand.

"What do you want to talk about then?" she asks. "I know I was joking earlier…but is it us? Is there something wrong with us?"

I roll my eyes, then look right into hers as I say, "No hun, we are great. We are perfect…our little family is perfect. It's just…um, well I hope it's not…complete."

"Oh," Arizona says, finally releasing a nervous breath. "You haven't mentioned anything since…"

"Well, you haven't mentioned it either, so…" I say, interrupting her. "I didn't want to bring it up in case you were just caught up in the moment…in case you know, you were having second thoughts."

"No…I thought maybe you were," she says. "Sophia keeps us busy and things at work have been a little nuts…I mean, we've both been picking up more hours lately and I just…I didn't know if now was a good time."

"Well right this minute, probably not. We have an eleven month old…still can't believe she's going to be a year old in a few weeks…anyway, yeah she is keeping us plenty busy for now. And yes, work has been a little demanding lately too…but we can always cut back again when we have another baby. I mean, if you still want to," I ask as a flicker of hope shines through my eyes.

"Of course I still want to Calliope," she tells me. "To be honest, I'm not in a rush…"

I start to cut her off, about to tell her that it's fine…we don't have to rush, we can take all the time she needs…but she jumps back in, effectively shutting me up. "I don't want to wait forever either though," Arizona continues. "To be honest, I was just waiting for you to bring it up…surprised it took you this long."

"Me too," I say with a laugh, taking her hand in mine. "I've been thinking about it a lot…obsessing actually…wondering how it will all work and how we are going to pick a donor."

"Yes, there will be a lot of decisions to make…and a lot of things to learn," Arizona says as she laces her fingers through mine. "But we can do this…if we really want to, we can do anything Calliope."

"Well, I really want to have a baby with you…just with you this time. And knowing that you will be the one with the morning sickness and lack of caffeine and swollen ankles…well that makes it even better," I say with a smirk.

"Hey now," Arizona replies, pretending to be insulted. "I took good care of you when you were pregnant with Sophia…I rubbed your back, and did all the housework, and made you those delicious healthy smoothies."

"Ok," I tell her. "I promise to do all of those things for you, especially the smoothies…just wait until you have one, yummmm."

She quickly removes her hand from mine, swatting me in the arm with it as we both laugh. I catch her eyes and suddenly get serious, taking her hand back and kissing it tenderly before saying, "Seriously Arizona, if you want to have a baby for us….carry our child inside of you…I will do anything and everything you need. I promise…in fact, you'll probably end up mad at me cause I will worry and hover and treat you like you're made of glass. But if you want this…oh my God, do I want this to happen. Now…later…whenever you are ready."

I feel a lump in my throat now, the magnitude of our conversation starting to sink in a bit. Waiting for her to respond, seeing her eyes fill with tears, I decide to bring in the other member of our family. I grab Sophia out of the playpen and hold her in my lap, the two of us just staring at Arizona.

Finally, after a moment of complete silence, she looks up and blesses us with her super magic smile. "I'm ready," Arizona states, plainly and with confidence. "I'm ready to start doing more than just talk about it…to do the research, contact some doctors, get everything going. Because…well, who knows how long it might take…to find the right donor, to actually get pregnant…to stay pregnant. I don't want to worry too much until we have to, but we just don't know how this is gonna go. I mean, I've never tried to get pregnant before…heck, it's never even been a possibility for me since I've never been with a guy. I'm starting to ramble…I know. But Callie…I want this, for us and for Sophia. I don't want her to miss out on having a sibling and by the time we do all of this…actually have the baby…it could be another couple of years, so I think we should get the ball rolling."

I smile, the biggest smile just appears when I hear my wife say all of this…hear her say that she wants to have a baby with me. I laugh…a nervous and excited laugh, and Sophia joins along, bouncing herself up and down on my lap. Arizona laughs too, clapping her hands in hope that our baby will do her little trick again. She doesn't of course, because we want her to…but she does something else.

When we all settle down, Sophia relaxes into my embrace, leaning her head against my chest while she looks up into my eyes. She is so sweet and loveable, I think because Arizona and I show her that…because that's how we love one another and her. Our sweet little girl just looks at me adoringly and says, "Mama."

"Oh my God," Arizona exclaims. "She said Mama, she said Mama to you Callie." There are tears in both of our eyes as we experience one of the many firsts that parents get to enjoy with their baby. "Sophia, you are amazing," Arizona says to her, looking at our peanut in awe.

Then, while staring at Arizona and leaning her little body towards her, Sophia again says, "Mama."

"I think that one was directed at you babe," I say, knowing full well that Sophia wasn't concentrating on me when she said it this time. Arizona brushes it off and says that she's just repeating the word, but I want her to see that she is wrong.

"Sophia," I say to the baby. "Where's Mama?" She turns and looks up at me again.

"See…I told you she was just repeating the word," Arizona says, looking a bit disappointed. "She was saying Mama for you…and that's ok Cal, you are her mama."

I shake my head in agitation…why doesn't she get it. "No…look, watch," I say to my wife. "Sophia…where's Mama?" Again, the baby looks at me…again, Arizona rolls her eyes. "Now, where's Mommy Sophia?" I ask this time. Sophia whips her head back to look at Arizona and says, "Mama," while putting her arms out.

Arizona takes her into her arms and Sophia again says, "Mama," as she looks up into teary blue eyes. "She can't say Mommy yet Arizona…but she knows who you are, she knows you're her mom too."

"Most times I hate it when you're right Calliope," Arizona says, "but not this time." I see a tear trickle down her cheek, and I reach out to wipe it away, keeping my eyes locked with my hers for a minute.

"Sophia," I say to the beautiful little girl who is desperately trying to tug on her mommy's hair, "do you want to have someone to play with? A little brother or sister? One that looks just like Mommy. Hmm…does that sound good honey?"

The baby just smiles and jabbers in her own little language, making us both crack up. Sophia is so funny, the way she talks to us like she understands what we're saying. Who knows…maybe she does. Sadly, we can't understand her…at least, not yet. Although we definitely understood when Mama came out of that pretty little mouth…her first word, directed at two people who love her more than anything.

"So, where do we even begin?" I ask Arizona after a few minutes of comfortable silence pass, the two of us just watching Sophia. "I want to say something…and I don't want you to take this the wrong way but…I want to be involved, but I think you should make most of the decisions since you will be the one doing it. Plus, you didn't really get too much say in the last baby we had…at least not in the beginning so…"

"Calliope," Arizona says to stop me from going on. "This is going to be your baby too, just like Sophia is my baby…and I want you to be involved in every decision possible. I do have a few ideas of how I would like to do things, so maybe we can just start there."

"I'm listening," I tell her, wanting to hear all these ideas she has. Apparently, I'm not the only one who's been thinking about this so much.

Arizona puts Sophia in her high chair so she can have a snack while we talk. Like the well-oiled machine we've become, I grab the box of cheerios while Arizona fills us Sophia's sippy cup with milk. Once Sophia started teething, I stopped breastfeeding…no way was I gonna become a chew toy. Arizona said she was glad that she could finally supply the milk, and always offers to run out when we need a new gallon. She places the cup on the tray and says, "Here baby girl, ooh yum yum. You love those cheerios, huh?"

Then she turns to me and smiles, taking me by the hand and leading me back to the kitchen table. We sit, and I begin to learn just how much my wife has been thinking about this potential baby. "So," she says, "I know we will have to find a doctor who can help us with a lot of this….and of course, we will need to pick a sperm donor at some point, and…"

"I know the perfect person," I tell her, interrupting her in mid-sentence. "Oh my God, why didn't I think of this sooner. Their an old friend…a great doctor…plus, they really love Sophia and will definitely love this baby."

"No," Arizona says, looking away from me suddenly. "Don't…Callie…I know he's her father and I guess it would be nice for this baby to have one too, might be kind of hard to explain why they don't…but no. I just can't get pregnant with…"

"Mark's baby?" I ask, shocked and a little angry that she would assume that's what I meant. I take a deep breath, trying to calm down and remember all that my wife has gone through and dealt with in regards to the Mark situation. "I meant Addison," I finally say, looking into her blue eyes. "For our doctor."

"Oh, sorry," Arizona says, looking a bit embarrassed at her brash reaction. "I'm sorry Callie, I just thought…I'm an idiot. Still working on my insecurity issues…hopefully this baby doesn't inherit all of my traits."

"Don't say that," I tell her, lacing my fingers through hers under the table. "I would love nothing more for this baby to be a tiny version of you, even with the not so perfect parts. Ok? And I get why you would freak out if you thought that…that I wanted Mark as the dad again. But I don't…didn't really want him as the dad ever, but ya know…just kinda happened that way with Soph."

"Yeah," she says, "I know. But he is her dad, and he's a good father. Do you think this baby will miss out because they don't have a father? Or do you think Sophia will feel weird because she doesn't spend everyday with us when the baby does? Oh God, there's just so much to think about Cal."

"No…and no," I tell her, gaining a confused look from my wife. "No…this baby will not miss out on anything, because he or she will have two awesome grandfathers as male role models and an Uncle Mark, who I'm sure won't mind being involved sometimes…if we want him to be. And Sophia…well, she's used to our routine…our family dynamic. If anything, I think she'll be grateful for the time she gets with her dad…it will make her feel special. Anyway, we have a lot of time to worry about those things…we won't really know how to deal with any of that until we get there, so let's just concentrate on now. Now, we need to pick a doctor…I believe I suggested the best obstetrician and neonatologist in the country."

"Addison," she says, clearly pondering the idea. "But she's all the way in L.A. Doesn't that seem a bit counterproductive? We can't just fly out to California every couple months, can we?"

"No," I say, "But we can fly out there initially…talk to her and have her help us decide what course of action is the best. Then she can recommend someone closer to Seattle to see regularly. But I would like to have her on board if that's ok…in case we run into any problems. She's the best you know?"

"Yes I do," Arizona answers truthfully. "If she didn't perform the C-section when she did, I might have lost you. I like Lucy…but man, she was way out of her league that day. Even with Sophia…I mean, I shouldn't have had to step in but…anyway, yes-to Addison. Maybe you can call her sometime during the week."

"Sounds good…she'll be thrilled to help us, I'm sure. And since she is so far away, there's no chance anyone will find out our business before we want them to. Won't that be nice for a change?" I ask, laughing as I recall all the rumors that have been told about us over the past few years.

"As far as the sperm donor goes…"Arizona whispers, as if Sophia should never hear the word sperm. "Well, I don't know…guess we'll have to find a good bank and start looking at candidates. I looked up a few places that are local, although we could get it anywhere. Do you know they will ship it to you overnight? It's like ordering a cheesecake Calliope…fresh or frozen, delivered right to your door."

I can't help but laugh, both at the statement and the adorable look on Arizona's face. She laughs with me, and Sophia giggles before shoving more cheerios in her mouth.

"Well, we should definitely spend some time deciding what kind of cheesecake we want before we place any orders," I say, eliciting another round of laughter.

"I do know one thing for sure," Arizona whispers, getting quite serious again. "I want…if it's ok…I want to do the insemination at home. I know we can never really make a baby together, which totally sucks…but I would at least like you to be the person who gets me pregnant instead of some high-priced doctor. No offense to Addison."

Suddenly there is a lump in my throat again, as her words hit me. She wants me to get her pregnant…I didn't even think about that as a possibility, but now that she's said it…well, there's just no other way I want this to happen. If I can make love to my wife, adding a special ingredient to the mix to give us a baby…well, that's just about the greatest thing I've ever heard.

"Amazing," I tell her as a few tears escape. "That would be amazing. You know, I remember reading about all the different insemination options one day when I was waiting for Lucy to see me. There were all these pamphlets and I was bored…anyway, I remember reading that they are all pretty successful. Oh my God, I can't believe I am going to get you pregnant…I know, I know it won't be my baby but still…"

"It will most certainly be your baby Callie," Arizona says as tears start to fall from her eyes too. "Don't ever say that. Our children are yours and mine…biology aside, they will all be our kids."

"All?" I ask with a playful grin, trying to lighten the intense mood. "How many are we talking? Please don't say ten again…I thought we agreed that would just be nuts."

Arizona rolls her eyes at me, wiping her tears before leaning in for a kiss. Of course, I give her exactly what she wants, pouring all my love and happiness into those delicious lips. "I will have as many children as you want, Calliope," she says when we break the kiss. "As long as you keep kissing me like that, we can have enough to build our own surgical team. But for now…let's just start with one more, see how that goes. How does that sound?"

"Perfect," I reply. "That sounds perfect. You are perfect Arizona, and I love you so much. You've already made me so incredibly happy…and now that you want to give us another baby, another beautiful creature to love…well, I'm just on cloud nine."

"Me too Calliope," she says, leaning in for a quick kiss. "I can't believe that I want this as much as I do…I've changed so much since we had the baby argument a few years ago. Thanks to you, I don't want to waste another minute of my life…don't ever want to take things for granted. So I'm not…I'm going to get pregnant and have your baby, build a family with you." Ah, music to my ears…I can't help but smile.

I glance over at Sophia, who has managed to fall asleep in her high chair. Noticing the time, I realize we totally forgot about her nap…guess we bored her to sleep with our conversation. "Aw, poor baby. I'm going to go put her down in her crib," I tell Arizona.

A few minutes later I return to the kitchen to find my wife gone. I head to our bedroom, where she is looking out the window, deep in thought. I stand in the doorway, just staring at her. She is so beautiful…the light is catching her eyes and illuminating the golden strands in her hair, making her look like an angel. My angel…she's always been my angel. When she suddenly sees my reflection in the window, she turns towards me and reaches her hand out for me to join her. I hit the button on the baby monitor and cross the room to my wife, coming to rest behind her so I can wrap her up in my arms. She melts into my embrace, her cheek brushing against mine. It is so soft and smooth, I just have to kiss it tenderly…the sigh of contentment she lets out tells me she doesn't mind.

"What are we looking at?" I ask, breaking the beautiful silence.

"See that house over there?" Arizona asks, pointing to a raised ranch a little ways down the street. "The yellow one with the white windows and porch? Do you see it Calliope?"

"Yes, I see it," I answer, unsure of why she's looking at some random house we've probably passed on our way home a million times. There's nothing that spectacular about it, at least from what I can see…and I'm pretty sure we don't know the people who live there. "What about that house, Arizona? Clearly, I must be missing something here."

"It's for sale. It's a nice house…for sale…still close to the hospital…"

"Oh," I say, finally starting to understand what she's getting at. "You want to buy a house? That house?"

"Well, I was just thinking…if we're going to have another child, maybe more children in the future…we probably need someplace with a little more room," she says, turning to look at me.

"We're gonna need a lot more room if you keep talking about all these kids. Don't tease me Arizona…we'll be having a dozen if you keep this up. You know I'm addicted to babies, especially ours…and after I see you pregnant, I'm pretty sure I'll be addicted to my gorgeous pregnant wife…so watch out."

"Be serious Calliope," she says, half joking herself. "Really, what do you think about this house? It's not huge or brand new…but it's a good size, looks like they expanded at some point…and we can fix it up if we need to…plus, it will keep things easy with work and with Mark."

"I'm not worried about keeping things easy for Mark," I tell her. "Believe me, if he wants to see his daughter enough, he'll drive to any part of town he has to. And he'll want to see her enough…for all his faults, I think you will agree he is a dedicated father."

"True," she responds. "But being close would make it easier…I kind of like knowing Sophia is just across the hall when she's not with us, and being just down the street will be a lot easier than across town. And just think of all the time we'll continue to save by not having to commute to work…I realized that we get an extra two hours a day with Sophia by living so close to work. Most people commute a half hour to an hour on average, not accounting for traffic or accidents or…"

"I get it," I chime in. "We save a lot of time…and gas money too. It sounds great, you're right. I've always loved being so close to the hospital, and it won't change our arrangement with Mark. I just want to make sure we choose a home we love…not choose a location we love, then end up hating the home."

"A home, Calliope," Arizona says, "is what we will make a house into….any house." We have a home here, right now in this apartment. We didn't choose this home together…you chose this place with Cristina because of the location. And it was nice and convenient…so you stayed. And then I started staying here so much that it felt like my home. And when I officially moved in, we changed it to suit us. We made it our home. Then Sophia came along and it became a home for our family. Any house we buy will be the same…we will change it and decorate it so that it fits us, fits our family. And it will become our home because we will live in it…fill it with memories. Sorry…rambling again. You can just tell me to stop when I get on a roll, you know?"

"Never," I whisper in her ear as I slide my arms back around her and look out the window with her. "Your rambling is one of the most adorable and endearing things you do…I will never stop you. I love it."

"And I love you," she says, turning to place a sweet kiss on my neck. "So, what do you say? Do you want to go look at it at least? If we really don't like it…then we'll look around, but I think it's worth giving it a shot."

"I think you're right," I say, a small from appearing without me even knowing it.

"What's wrong?" Arizona asks. "If you already hate the house just say so and we can…"

"Shhh," I say, stopping her in mid-ramble. "I don't hate the house Arizona. I just…I love this one. We finally have everything done, thanks to you…Sophia's room is so beautiful and, well…we've made a lot of memories here."

"Yes, we have," she says, taking my hand and leading me to the bed where we both sit. "But we will make new memories in our new home. And I can easily make a few phone calls so that we can keep anything we want looking the same…we'll take all of our furniture and pictures and everything, just kind of transfer our life to a new space…a bigger space."

"You're right," I admit. "And it will be nice to have more space…more space for the baby, maybe make a playroom…an extra bathroom would be nice."

"And, as much as I would like to keep him close…" Arizona begins to say.

"A little space from Mark would be nice too," I say, finishing her sentence. "Totally get that, Arizona. Ok, why don't you call a real estate agent on your day off? Maybe we can find some time in the next few weeks to go see this house. Who knows, maybe there are other houses on the market this close as well."

"Great," she says with a smile. "I'll set it all up, make sure I find a time that works for both of us…maybe one night when Mark has the baby that way we can take our time."

I nod and smile back at the beautiful woman beside me. "Alright, now that all of that's settled….are we done talking about this?"

"Sure," Arizona says, her smiling fading a bit at my words. "I'm sorry if I got carried away with all of this. I just thought…well, Sophia is sleeping and I've been thinking about it since I saw the For Sale sign last week…but really Callie, we don't have to do anything just yet. We can…"

"Shut up," I say. "I know I just said I would never do this, but…stop rambling. Just shhh."

Arizona just looks at me, shocked and confused, closing her mouth as her head drops down. I lift her chin up with my finger and kiss her deeply, pulling her into my body so I can feel her. "I want to buy a house…and have a baby…and do all of the things we just talked about. But right now…I just want to make love to my amazing wife, before our daughter wakes up. Is that ok?"

Her magical smile returns as she looks into my eyes and smiles. "More than ok, Calliope." With that, I pull Arizona in even closer, smiling into her mouth as I kiss her. She deepens the kiss, running her warm tongue over my lips until it makes its way inside my mouth. Even though we have to rush, we start out slow…kissing and holding one another for a few minutes without going any further. When we break for air, I pull back and look into Arizona's eyes. I can see our future in those eyes….our unborn child…our big house filled with laughter, and babies, and chickens. I am overcome with emotion, the familiar lump returning to my throat as I stare into her soul.

She keeps her eyes locked on mine, and when we are both on the brink of happy tears again, we delve back into one another. Tongues crashing, hands roaming wildly…the need to connect physically dominating our emotions. Clothes are ripped off and thrown on the floor…territories are marked on one another's bodies. I push my wife back on the bed, spreading her legs with my knee as my mouth seeks out her hard nipples. She throws her head back and moans, giggling every now and then as I tickle her with my feather-light touch. When my fingertips reach her entrance, I only tease her for a moment, knowing there is no time to waste. It only takes a few moments to bring her pleasure, and I try not to even blink as I watch her come undone beneath me….she is so beautiful, I don't want to miss a thing.

When she is done, I lay my naked form atop hers, kissing her again with all the passion I feel for her. Her teary blue eyes gaze up at me with adoration and she whispers, "I love you," before rolling my body with hers so that she can bring me to heaven with her.

Arizona kisses her way down my body, kneading my flesh as she works her soft lips from my mouth all the way down to where she knows I need her. She flicks her tongue across my throbbing core, and I can't help but cry out in pleasure.

She places her fingers over my mouth, telling me "Shhh," so we don't wake Sophia. I close my eyes and just inhale deeply, remaining quiet as this gorgeous woman uses her tongue and her fingers to create waves of pleasure…waves that rip through my body a few times before I can no longer see or hear or think. Once I am able to breathe again, I open my eyes and see her just gazing down at me with affection.

"I am so in love with you, baby," I tell her, pulling her down for a slow kiss. "Thank you."

"Calliope," she says, rolling her eyes. "You don't have to thank me for the mind-blowing orgasms…especially since you gave me a couple yourself."

"I'm not thanking you for the sex Arizona," I tell her as I shift our bodies so that we are facing each other. "I'm thanking you for being you….for giving me the two things I've always wanted."

"Great sex and a hot wife?" she says, knowing full well I'm talking about more important things.

"No," I say, looking deep into her eyes so that she has to listen. "Seriously Arizona, I've always wanted to raise a family and do it with the love of my life. For a while, I didn't think I would ever have both. After the shooting, even though you said we'd have ten kids and all that…I wasn't really sure. But I was sure about what I said…if I had to choose, I would have chosen you. I meant it when I said I didn't want to have kids if I couldn't be with you. So, I decided that having the love of my life would be enough…and it would have been, if things were different, if we never broke up and you never got on board with having kids…you would have been enough for me."

"I meant what I said too, Callie," she says before I can continue. "It might have taken me a while to get there…but I would have wanted to start a family with you at some point. I thought…never mind. It doesn't really matter now…what matters is that we have a family."

"No," I say, grabbing her hand to urge her to look at me. "What did you think? Tell me…I want to know."

"I thought…I thought we would go to Africa for three years, and then when we came back I would ask you to marry me and we would do all of this then."

"Oh," I say, a little shocked to hear this confession. "I'm sorry things didn't go according to plan…that you never got to have your dream first."

"I'm not," she says, leaning in for a kiss. "I will never be sorry that I came back for you…that we have Sophia…that we didn't wait three years to get married. If there's one thing I think we've both learned, it's that life doesn't go according to plan….that's what makes it so wonderful sometimes. And this is my dream now. You were my dream all along, it just took me a while to figure that out."

Suddenly, we hear Sophia babbling on the baby monitor, bringing us out of our emotional state and back to reality. "Speaking of the love of my life…there's one across the hall who I think wants to join us."

"I'll go," Arizona says. "Just gotta throw my clothes on…you relax. I'll get her and bring her back in to snuggle with her mommies."

A few minutes later, Arizona appears with a freshly diapered baby in hand. We sit on our bed, the three of us, paying peek a boo and trying to entice our little peanut to clap or say Mama again. Like all kids, she will not perform on demand…so we just laugh and enjoy the time together, giving Sophia all the attention she deserves. Pretty soon…I hope…she will have to share her attention with another little person. A beautiful little person with dimples and blue eyes, who will surely melt my heart…just like their mommy. I say a silent prayer, thanking God for all that he has blessed me with…for making all my dreams come true.

Chapter 2

Arizona's POV:

I've been at the hospital for way too long, and I am in desperate need of a trip to the on-call room. Sadly, this trip will be for one thing only…sleep. I page my beautiful wife to see if maybe she can stop by and spend a few minutes with me before her shift begins, seeing that I was on call all last night and will be back on duty in less than four hours.

Ughh, I hate days like this. It used to be alright to spend more than half of my time at the hospital, rocking awesome surgeries and saving tiny humans…but now, now there is just one tiny human who occupies my mind most of the time…Sophia. Don't get me wrong…I still love my job, and solving a difficult case or making a difference in a patient's life is still amazing. But when I am on call more than just one day a week, or my surgeries run long and I don't get home before bedtime…then I consider quitting and just being a mom. I hate missing my little girl and my Calliope.

My cell phone vibrates in my lab coat pocket…it's a message from Callie. Ortho Staff meeting in ten minutes, Weber's gonna stop by and talk about my cartilage research! Yay! What room are you in? I'll have to be quick, but I'll be there asap and I promise to give you a kiss.

I text her back, letting her know that I'm on the Peds floor so she'll know where to find me. A couple minutes later, she is plowing through the door and throwing herself on the tiny bed, practically squishing me.

"Well, move over then," she says when I grunt and push her off of me. "And give me a kiss, will you? I feel like I haven't seen you in days."

I comply, shifting so she can get in the bed completely and wrap her arms around me. I wait with puckered lips for my promised kiss, my eyes squeezed tightly shut. When a few seconds pass without action from my wife, I open them wide and give her my best pout. She laughs and pecks my lips, saying, "Is that what you wanted?"

"No," I tell her, putting my arms around her neck and pulling her lips back to mine. "This is what I wanted." I proceed to show her what a real kiss is, needing to feel and taste my wife before another long day. "Thank you," I say, when the kiss comes to a sad end. "I needed that."

"Thank you," Callie replies, brushing my cheek with the back of her hand. "I missed you last night…we both did."

"How is she?" I ask, wanting to hear all about our little peanut. She is just so adorable…I swear, she just keeps getting cuter.

"She's good," Callie tells me. "I just dropped her off at the daycare…maybe you can stop by before your next shift, I know she would love to see you. She was looking for you this morning, you know? Kept calling Mama, Mama…I wish she could understand when I tell her you'll see her later."

"Oh, just break my heart Cal…thanks," I say sarcastically, not wanting to get too upset.

"Hey, not my fault she loves you so much," Callie replies with that gorgeous smile.

"I will definitely go see her after I nap, and we can meet for lunch at our usual time…pending an emergencies."

"Sounds good," Callie says. "Well beautiful, I've gotta get going. Love you…see you later, ok?"

I pout again, but nod my head yes. I know she needs to get to this meeting on time, and I really need to get some sleep anyway. One more kiss and she is gone, locking the door behind her so no one will disturb me.

Three hours later, the alarm on my phone goes off, signaling I'd better get up if I want a little time with Sophia before my shift starts. I grab a five minute shower, changing into a fresh pair of scrubs for the day. When I arrive at the daycare, I stand out in the hallway for a few minutes…just watching Sophia interact with the other kids and her caregivers. Sophia seems really happy there, even though we all wish she never had to spend one minute away from us. Compared to some of the other kids though, she is lucky. Each of us takes her one day a week, leaving only four days for her to spend in the daycare. Since none of us ever log in the same hours at the hospital, there is rarely a day that Sophia has to spend more than five or six hours without one of her three parents. One of the few good things about sharing our baby with Mark Sloan.

Thinking about all of this out in the hallway, I make a mental note to talk to Callie about our work plans for after we eventually have this other "dream baby," that she keeps referring to. I can only imagine that one of us will have to take a serious step back from our career, since there will only be two of us to share the responsibility this time around. I shake my head to clear my mind of all this…it can wait. Sophia can not…I miss her and I need to see her before I start another eight hour shift. I swipe my card to enter the world of little people, saying hello to the director before making my way to the infant room. Sophia is in one of the jumpy chairs, happily bouncing away, her little black curls popping up every time she does.

"Look Sophia…Mommy's here," her caregiver Donna says, while pointing in my direction. "See honey…look over there."

When Sophia sees me, her bouncing becomes erratic, her teeny little feet working on overdrive, as she excitedly tries to bounce her way out to get to me. Donna starts to take her out of the jumper, causing Sophia to cry and wiggle out of her arms. Once free to crawl, my little peanut wastes no time in getting to me…she is so quick these days. We're gonna be in trouble once she starts walking….which will be any day now.

"Well hello there," I say to my baby once she crawls right into my lap. "I missed you too peanut…yes, I did."

Sophia babbles as if she is telling me something spectacular. I nod and smile, telling her what a good story it is that she's sharing with me. Donna informs me that Sophia got bit this morning, and I can't help but see red. I know most kids go through this phase between one and two, not being able to express themselves verbally just yet, but it still makes me so mad that some little brat bit my peanut.

Donna points out the mouth-shaped bruise on Sophia's arm, and tells me I will need to sign an incident report form, basically stating that the staff followed protocol for the injury and informed me of what happened. I kiss my baby's boo-boo, whispering that she has my permission to get that kid back.

"We just need one parent to sign, Dr. Robbins," Donna says while handing me the piece of paper. "I'm so sorry it happened…the other child had been playing so nice with her, I never saw it coming. I hope Dr. Torres isn't going to be too upset."

"It's fine Donna," I say, trying to reassure the poor woman. "Things happen…first of many, I'm sure. The main thing is that she's ok, you took care of her arm, and you let us know right away. I'm sure my wife will understand."

I happily sign the form…not that I'm happy Sophia got bit, but just over the moon that someone recognized me as her parent today…without being told. Donna easily could have waited for Callie or Mark to sign the form when they visited or picked up later, but she asked me…she considered me as much of a parent as either one of them, which just totally made my day.

What will not make my day, however, is telling her Mama about all of this. I know I told Donna that Callie would be fine, but my hot-tempered Latina is very overprotective of her baby girl, so I'm not quite sure how angry she'll be. I'll be looking forward to that conversation all day.

I give Sophia her breakfast, playing airplane with the spoon like we do at home. She laughs so hard that I'm pretty sure most of her oatmeal is on the two of us, instead of in her. I glance at the clock and realize it's time for me to go. I inform Donna that I have to get to work, knowing full well what's coming next. It started a few months ago…the crying when we leave. It's heartbreaking and I don't think I'll ever really get used to it…but they tell us every day that she is fine within a matter of minutes, and the only alternative is not to come see her…so, we leave as quickly as possible and deal with the crying.

"Sophia," I call to her, trying to get her attention while she munches on her banana. "Mommy's got to go to work now sweetie….but I'll see you at lunchtime later with Mama, ok? I love you so much peanut…have a great morning."

She isn't really paying attention to me then, but when I kiss her and walk away…well, she definitely noticed that. I don't look back…I can't. I can hear her screaming until I am out of the daycare and down the hall. I thought the tears would have stopped by now…not hers…mine. Like I said…heartbreaking.

When I reach the Peds wing, I hit the Attendings Lounge and throw some cold water on my face. Need to be fresh for my patients. I walk out and head to the nurses station, grabbing my first chart of the day. I open the file and see that my first patient is a seventeen year old girl with severe abdominal pain, brought into the ER around four a.m.

"Hi…Jenny," I say as I push back the curtain. "Hello Mr. and Mrs. Weaver. My name is Dr. Robbins and I will be treating you today."

I talk to the young girl and her parents, going over their family's medical history and discussing Jenny's symptoms. After hearing all the information, I inform them that I would like to do a sonogram and some blood work. The parents consent, signing the necessary paperwork, giving me permission to treat their daughter as I see fit. When we are done talking, I tell them that it will be a while before anyone can get Jenny down to radiology. "So if you want to go grab something to eat…a cup of coffee…a nap. I see you've been here for nearly six hours already and…"

"Go," Jenny says before either one of her parents can object. "Bring me back a book or crossword puzzle or something…I am bored to death in here."

They leave and I take a few minutes to fill in the form for radiology. When I'm done, I look up to find Jenny staring at me.

"I, um…I like your hair," she says shyly. My hair? My hair is in a messy ponytail. Whatever, maybe she's just nervous and wants to make small talk.

"Um…thanks," I say, unsure of how to react. "Don't be worried about the sonogram Jenny. It doesn't hurt at all and it will hopefully let us know why you're in so much pain."

I am about to leave when suddenly Callie walks in. "Hey…you are impossible to track down this morning," she says, briefly smiling at Jenny before looking in my eyes. I raise my eyebrows to silently ask what's up, and Callie shakes her head in disbelief. "My meeting this morning…hello. I paged you but I guess you were with Sophia. Good thing she was the other woman Arizona," Callie whispers as she pretends to look over the chart with me.

"About Sophia…"

"I know," Callie says, interrupting me. "She got bit…Donna told me. Oh well, guess it was bound to happen sooner or later…at least it wasn't on her pretty face."

"You are handling this way too well…your meeting must have been pretty good," I say.

"Ok, first of all…I am handling this well because Donna told me that you were there and saw her arm, and didn't freak out," Callie says, trying to keep her voice down. "And yes…my meeting went really well. The chief is going to give me a grant to extend my research…he's even going to let me choose an intern next year to help me. Can you believe it?"

Normally, Callie and I keep our distance physically at work…especially around patients. But I am so excited for her that I just hug her, without thinking. I notice Jenny watching us and quickly collect myself.

"Congratulations Dr. Torres," I say, moving away from my wife. "That's great news…I wish you the best of luck with your research."

"Thank you Dr. Robbins," Callie replies with a smirk, trying not to look at Jenny and act like her and I are just colleagues. "I will see you later on then…have a wonderful day."

Callie winks at me from out in the hall, blowing me a kiss before walking towards the elevators. I finish the form and tell Jenny someone will be by to take her down to radiology soon.

"She's really pretty," Jenny says as I attempt to nonchalantly leave the room.

"What?" I ask, turning back around.

"Dr. Torres…she's really pretty. Don't you think?" she asks.

The young girl is fidgeting with the blanket that is draped over her, avoiding eye contact with me. She looks nervous, as if she is trying very hard to keep a secret. I sense that Jenny is trying to tell me something…that she is looking for someone to talk to.

Suddenly it dawns on me…complimenting my hair, saying how pretty Callie is. Jenny is experiencing something all too familiar to me…the first signs of confusion about her sexuality. A typical straight teenage girl would not be focusing on me or my wife…she would be checking out Karev or Eli, probably not being shy at all about how hot she finds either of them.

I remember when I first started to question my own sexual orientation. I was sixteen and I went to a school dance with Tom, the boy who lived next door to us on the base. He asked me to dance and the whole time I felt so awkward…like I didn't want him to touch me. All I could think about was how pretty the girl next to us looked in her dress, how I would rather be dancing with her. When Tom kissed me later on that night, I was so disgusted…I couldn't even talk to him after that.

A few weeks later, I kissed my best friend Carly to see if it felt any different with a girl. It did…and I knew from that moment that I was gay. It took me a while to get comfortable with the idea, but two years later I went away to college and started dating. I felt terrible keeping the secret and told Timothy…after that, it got easier. Eventually, I came out to my parents, who luckily were very accepting.

I am brought out of my reverie when I hear Jenny ask, "Dr. Robbins, are you alright?" I see the look of insecurity and doubt in the poor girl's eyes, and decide that I am going to go against my better judgment and do something I never do.

"Yes," I answer her, closing the door behind me. "I'm ok. And yes…Dr. Torres is very pretty. Beautiful even. In fact, I think Dr. Torres is the most beautiful woman in the whole world."

Jenny eyes grow wide with surprise at my confession. "You do?" she asks, finally finding the courage to look in my eyes.

"I do," I reply. "She's my wife, Jenny. Dr. Torres is my wife…we got married just about six months ago."

"Oh, wow…that's great," she says as a small smile forms on her face. "Congratulations."

"Thank you," I say, cautiously approaching her in hopes that she will open up to me. "We are very happy, just like any other newlywed couple. Aside from the fact that legally we have a domestic partnership instead of a marriage, we are just the same. You understand that, right?"

"I do," she replies. "But…but my mom and dad, they won't…they won't understand. And I' mot even sure really…I just, I keep noticing all the girls in my classes lately and pretty women like you and Dr. Torres."

"And that's ok Jenny," I tell her. "You'll find out at some point…or maybe you won't. Callie…Dr. Torres…she dated men for most of her life and will probably always find them attractive. But she learned that she likes women too…and then we fell in love, so…"

"So, she's what? Bisexual?" Jenny asks, slightly confused. "Maybe that's what I am…I don't know. I've never even kissed a boy…or a girl."

"Have you talked to anyone else about how you're feeling?" I ask, knowing that she obviously hasn't told her parents any of this.

"I have a friend…I tried to kiss her once, but she pushed me away. She doesn't feel like I do, but she has kept my secret…don't really talk to her about it though," she admits.

"Well, you need to find someone to talk to," I say. "And I would love to help you…but I've already crossed the line, and I could lose my job if I start counseling you about your sexual preferences. I just…I saw you struggling, and I remember what that's like. I just wanted you to know that no matter what happens, whichever way this goes…someday you can be really, really happy."

"Like you and Dr. Torres?"

"Yes," I reply. "You just need to be yourself…don't hide who you are Jenny, because you'll never be truly happy that way. Ok? Promise me that you will talk to someone, anyone who you think will support you."

"I will Dr. Robbins," Jenny assures me. "Thank you…you have no idea how much your non-counseling has helped."

"You're welcome. Now get some rest before your sonogram…I'll be back later with the results, and we'll go from there. You're gonna be fine Jenny…trust me…with everything, you're gonna be just fine." With that, I walk out of the room and head back to the nurses station to grab my next chart.

After receiving the sonogram from radiology two hours later and diagnosing Jenny with ovarian cysts, I write a prescription for a low dose of birth control to help keep them at bay and an antibiotic to kill a minor infection. After our talk earlier, I find it best not to go back to Jenny's room and send Karev in with the discharge papers and scripts. I see Jenny and her parents leaving as I make my way back from lunch at the daycare…Jenny turns back and smiles at me, mouthing thank you again as they head out the door. I nod and smile, hoping she will take my advice.

The next couple of hours breeze by…I perform an appendectomy and check on all my patients one last time before calling it quits. I have been in this hospital for just about twenty four hours, and I need to go home. I head down to Ortho to see if Callie is done…her shift should have ended about ten minutes ago. A nurse informs me that she is in surgery…emergency leg amputation. She's gonna be a while. I see Mark's name on the surgical board, so luckily I will get to have Sophia all to myself until my wife comes home.

I text Callie, letting her know I'll have the baby and rush to the daycare and pick up my little peanut. I am so happy, knowing I will get to spend more than just a few minutes with her tonight.

When we get home, I feed Sophia dinner and put Callie's casserole in the oven. Wanting to make things easier for my wife, I give Sophia a bath and get her ready for bed…that way, Callie can just play and snuggle…if she makes it home in time. Just when I think I should get Sophia tucked in for the night, Callie bursts through the door all wet and still in her scrubs.

"Taking a shower…two minutes, give me two minutes," she yells as she goes straight for the bathroom. "Keep her up Arizona…I'll be right out."

"Who was that crazy lady?" I ask Sophia, who is looking around for the tornado that just passed by. "I think that was your Mama…hard to tell though, huh? Why don't read a story while we wait for her? Come on, my sweet girl."

I lift Sophia up and grab her favorite book with the little duckies, turning off the oven on my way to the couch. We read the book twice, Callie watching us in her pajamas with her hair dripping wet.

"Hey little lady," Callie says as she makes her way towards us. Sophia reaches her arms out for her Mama, and I willingly share our little bundle of happiness. After a few minutes of kisses and peek-a-boo, Sophia is melting into Callie's chest, fighting the urge to fall asleep.

"How about your chupo," I say, leaning over to place Sophia's pacifier in her mouth. "There you go baby…night night."

Callie tucks our sweet baby in her crib, then comes back out to join me for dinner. "Hi," she says, leaning in for a kiss. "Thanks for doing everything while I was in surgery."

"No problem," I say. "You've been on your own since I got called in last night…figured it was my turn."

"I love you," Callie says, plain and simple. "I'm so glad you're not on call tonight…I really missed you."

"I missed you too," I say as I serve us dinner and pour two glasses of wine. "It's been a long, long day."

We talk about our days over dinner…Callie tells me about her amputation and goes into more detail about her cartilage grant. I'm so proud of my wife…and I make sure I let her know. She asks about my surgeries, but all I can seem to think about is Jenny. I tell Callie about our conversation, how much I sympathized with the confused teenager.

"At least you reached out to her hun," Callie says, grabbing my hand "Just putting yourself out there like that…as a doctor, is so incredible. Ballsey…but incredible."

"I just had to let her know that being gay doesn't suck…that anyone can find happiness with the right person."

"Am I that person?" Callie asks with a goofy grin, knowing already that she most definitely is.

"I don't know," I tease. "Maybe if you take me to bed right now, we can find out."

"Are you saying you want me to prove to you that I'm the one?" she asks, chuckling. "Funny, I thought I did that when I married you."

"You're right Calliope," I say. "The wedding…the vows…promising to love me unconditionally. That's enough."

"So we don't ever have to have sex again?" she asks as she starts to undress. "Because I think I could live with that…if you could."

"Get over here," I order. She obeys and we start a rather dangerous voyage into our bedroom, banging into tables and tripping over toys as we try to get there without breaking our kiss.

We finally make it to the bed, where Callie roughly pushes me into the mattress. I quickly rid myself of my shirt and pajama pants, anxiously waiting for my wife to join me in bed. Instead Callie leans down and dips her tongue into my mouth before leaving the bedroom altogether.

I am about to yell for her when she returns, a can of whipped cream and a pint of strawberries in hand. I raise my eyebrows and lick my lips, feeling the liquid pooling between my thighs.

"We didn't have dessert," she says as she crawls across the bed towards me. "Want a taste?" Callie asks, offering up a strawberry that she has topped with some whipped cream.

"Umm hmm," I breathe out, wanting a taste of more than just her dessert. She feeds me the delicious berry, then takes a bit for herself and brings her mouth down until her lips are just about touching mine. Looking into my eyes, she runs her delicious tongue over my lips.

"Wait," she whispers as she dips back down. "I missed a spot." Callie proceeds to lick the tiny speck of whipped cream off the corner of my mouth, making me wetter than the tasty substance. I exhale loudly when I feel the cool topping sprayed down my neck, but the slight discomfort is soon forgotten when Callie runs her tongue across the trail.

She kisses her way back up the same path, stopping just below my ear to whisper, "You…are the best dessert I've ever had."

I'm not sure how much more I can take…but it's so good, I don't want to stop her. Callie continues to squirt the whipped cream all over me, licking her way down my body until she reaches my white lace underwear. She creates a straight path of whipped cream just above my panty line, which she licks away…purposefully slow, wanting to hear me moan. Oh, and I moan…I moan and writhe under her touch, needing to have her inside of me before I explode.

But she continues to eat her dessert, licking another whipped cream trail from my ankle to my inner thigh, so close to where I need her. She takes a minute to suck on her favorite spot, drawing a whipped cream heart that is soon replaced with a tender bruise. Then finally…finally her tongue is lapping at my wetness, my walls quickly tightening as I enjoy the most unbelievable orgasm. I breathe heavily, laying my head back on the pillow as I think she's done.

But then…then she retraces her steps, topping me again from my thighs to my ankles…from my belly to my breasts…then up my neck and right into my mouth. I kiss her so hard and long, tasting my own juices and whipped cream.

"Oh my God Calliope," I breathe into her neck as she holds me, continuing to kiss me anywhere she can. "That was the best dessert I've ever had…and I didn't even eat anything. You are the sexiest woman on earth."

"No, trust me Arizona…you are the sexiest woman on earth. Watching you…tasting every inch of you…amazing, just amazing. No…delicious, much better word."

We laugh, then resume kissing. I take a turn with the whipped cream, writing I Love You across Callie's body and licking it off. After what she just did to me, I can't be mean enough to tease her…so I quickly place two fingers deep inside of her as soon as she starts begging.

I straddle her hips, rubbing my wet core over her while I keep a steady pace with my hand. With all the amazing foreplay, it only takes a minute for her to come around my fingers. She screams my name as she rides out her orgasm, then pulls me down on top of her so she can kiss me again.

"I love you too," she whispers as I roll off of her and wrap myself around her gorgeous body. "And I meant what I said before…you are the sexiest woman on earth."

I lean down and place a tender kiss over her heart, like I do every night. Then we just lay there, enjoying the feeling of just being together…so close, our bodies fitting so perfectly like they were made for each other.

After quite a bit of blissful quiet, I break the silence and make a confession to my wife. "You know…I used to wish I wasn't gay," I say so softly that I'm not sure she hears me. She does however, evidenced by the way she rolls over to face me, linking our hands and looking deep into my eyes.

"You did?" she asks, a hint of sorrow for me in her voice.

"A long time ago," I tell her. "But yes…I used to wish that I could just be like all the other girls my age. That I could just like boys…would have made my teen years a whole lot easier."

"I'm sorry, baby," Callie says, running her fingers through my hair. "I mean…I'm sorry things were hard for you then. But I'm really glad God made you the way you are…or else we wouldn't be here, would we?"

"Nope," I answer, smiling at my beautiful wife. "And I am so thankful that some wishes just can't come true. Looking at you right now…making love the way we just did…I am so incredibly happy that I am gay."

The kiss I receive from Callie when I say this is so tender and loving. I swear, I was put on earth to feel her lips on mine.

"I know the fact that I'm bisexual, that I've been with men…I know it bothers you," Callie says after another couple moments of silence.

I don't want to argue tonight and I start to worry that the conversation is going to take a very unpleasant turn.

I am about to tell Callie not to say any more, when she lifts my chin to meet her gaze and continues. "I just hope that you realize that I love you so much…so much that I chose you. I could have taken the easy road…I could have made the decision to just stick with men, make things simpler. But I didn't. I chose you…I will always choose you."

Tears are in my eyes now, as my wife surprises me yet again with her words. Instead of arguing with me like I assumed, she makes me feel whole and loved. I pull her as close to me as possible, our hearts pressed together…I can feel them beating. "I love you Calliope."

"I love you too Arizona," she whispers before kissing me over and over again.

We lie in bed for a few hours, talking about how we'll juggle two kids and work someday…how we want to decorate our potential new house…the party we are planning for Sophia's first birthday. We laugh at all the silly things she's been doing lately…and cry that this first year has gone by so fast. Eventually we fall asleep in one another's arms, thankful for the life we have together and dreaming of what the future has in store for us.

Chapter 3

Callie's POV:

Tomorrow is the big day…aside from our wedding, this day seems like the most important one of my life so far. Tomorrow is Sophia's first birthday. Normally, parents describe the birth of their child as the most important day…but since Sophia's birth was anything but enjoyable for us all, we are more than happy to celebrate her first birthday as such. Our little miracle has more than survived her first year after being born severely premature, developing into a perfectly healthy and amazing little girl. She is the light of my life, and I'm pretty sure her mommy and daddy feel the same way…so we are throwing her a huge birthday party, hoping to make her even half as happy as she makes us.

Arizona was supposed to be off all day today to help me get ready for the big event. But as usual, our career gets in the way, and she has to go in to perform a surgery on a long term patient of hers.

"I'm sorry Calliope," she says while looking for her keys. "Please don't be mad, it's just I've worked with Jesse for four years and…"

"I'm not mad Arizona," I say honestly. "It sucks, but I understand. I'll just have to try and run my errands with Sophia. Might take me a bit longer, but it can be done."

She comes over to the kitchen where I am sitting, feeding Sophia her breakfast, and kisses us both on the head. "I'll be back as soon as I can…promise," she says while grabbing her jacket. "I love you…both of you."

"Love you too…now go, so you can get back here and help me," I say, giving her a smile to let her know it's ok.

After Sophia is done eating, I clean her up and put her in the carrier while I grab my list and the diaper bag. "Ok kiddo, let's go do this…the sooner we get out of here, the sooner we can come home and play. Then when Mommy's done, she can hang out with you while Mama sets everything up. How does that sound?"

Sophia just smiles up at me from her carrier, her big brown eyes watching my every move as I scramble to grab everything we need for our outing. Just as I am about to leave, Mark calls.

"Hey," I say after picking up the phone. "I was just heading out to the caterers and bakery. Can I call you back later?"

"Um, well I was actually calling to see if you needed any help," he says. "My surgery got cancelled, so I am done until eight when I go on call for the night. Thanks again by the way for not telling me you and Robbins took off for this."

"Ugh, I didn't think we had to tell you Mark," I say, kind of aggravated by his tone. "It's common sense…kinda need some time to plan a party and actually be there for it. It's not my fault you didn't use your brain."

"Well…anyway, I'll definitely be there on time tomorrow. One o'clock, right?"

"Two Mark…she doesn't wake up from her nap until one," I say, rolling my eyes on the other end of the line.

"Right, right…that's what I meant," he says. "Party at two…got it. You want some company running your errands? Or I could take Sophia so you don't have to worry about her."

"I'm good," I tell him. "Sophia's already in her carrier, my bag is packed…if you want to come with us, that's cool."

"Alright…meet you in the lobby in five minutes," he says before hanging up.

We hit the bakery first, as I am in major need of a sugar high to get me through this day. Mark wants to buy Sophia a cupcake, but I try to tell him nicely that she has to wait until tomorrow for cake. Arizona cannot miss our peanut having her first taste of sweets…although I'm pretty sure she has snuck Sophia a few bites of donut when I'm not looking. Mark looks agitated…not really about the cupcake, but about me mentioning Arizona.

"What?" I ask when I see the brooding begin. "What is your problem?"

"Nothing," he lies. "I don't have any problems…I'm great. Sophia's the one missing out on a cupcake because your wife couldn't be bothered to do this with you."

And there it is…I should have know bringing him was a bad idea. Now I have two children to deal with.

"My wife…Sophia's mother, would love to be here with us. But she had to go into the hospital for a few hours. And even if she was here, I wouldn't let Sophia have a stupid cupcake. This isn't about the cupcake though."

"No," he admits. "It's not. It's about the fact that you don't treat me like Sophia's father anymore."

"Um, no…I do treat you like Sophia's father. I just don't treat you like my husband…that's what you're getting mad about. But you are not my husband Mark. Arizona is my wife and she is one of Sophia's parents too. Why are you suddenly acting like this is something new?"

I am starting to get angry, and have to take a few deep breaths to calm down before I start screaming in the middle of this bakery. Mark doesn't say anything for a minute…he is clearly smart enough to know I am pissed.

"I'm sorry," he finally says after putting Sophia back in her stroller. "It's just…things used to be different. You used to ask my opinion about Sophia all the time, come to me when you were worried, call me right away when she did something new. Now I just find out second hand from Robbins…and neither one of you seem to care what I think anymore. I guess I just feel left out."

"Well I'm sorry you feel left out," I tell him. "And you're right…I used to go to you for everything. And it almost ruined my relationship with Arizona. You're a good friend Mark, and your Sophia's dad…you'll always be her dad. But when it comes to anything else…making decisions, talking about my feelings…I need to do that with my wife. Of course, if it's something important regarding Sophia, I will include you but…"

"But basically, Arizona won't let you be my friend anymore," Mark says, cutting me off. "I get it…she's always been the jealous type, I just didn't see you playing into it."

"She was jealous for a reason Mark," I say, pushing the stroller outside so we can continue this conversation in private. "I went to you for a lot of things before…things I should have gone to her for. And it's not like we've always been just friends. I mean…we have, but we've also slept together. Do you have any idea how that makes her feel? She doesn't want me to stop being your friend Mark. Hell…she's not even the one who has been putting the distance between us. It's me."

"So, what?" he asks. "You don't want to be my friend anymore?"

"That's not what I'm saying…ughhhh," I groan in frustration. "I'm saying that I don't go to you anymore for stuff because I don't have to….don't want to. I used to talk to you about my problems, my feelings, my relationships…because you were like a safety net for me. I knew you would always be there because we've always been friends."

"What's wrong with that?" he asks, obviously not getting my drift. "I thought friends were supposed to confide in friends."

"I didn't see anything wrong with it either…not for a long, long time," I admit. "And there's nothing wrong with us being friends…but I don't need to go to you anymore. I have a wife now…she's my safety net, my person to lean on, my everything. Can you understand that Mark?"

"I'm not a complete moron Callie," he answers, the sting of my words evident on his face. "I get it…you love Robbins more than anything in the world…she's the one you want to talk to about stuff now…you need her, not me. Yeah, I get it."

With his head hung low, he starts walking towards the car. I can tell he is angry and hurt, but he has got to come to terms with this. I can't keep living in this world where I tell Mark what he wants to hear just to keep him happy. It's not my job to keep him happy.

"Come on," I yell down the street. "Grow up Mark. You are a father now…act like one."

"You want me to act like a father?" he asks, coming back towards us.

"Fine…come on Sophia." With that, he takes the baby out of the stroller and walks over to the car, where he proceeds to hook in the carrier before getting in. We ride back to apartment in silence. Once we arrive, he takes Sophia out of the car and walks her up to our apartment. I open the door and he hands me the baby, kissing her and saying goodbye.

"I'll see you at the party tomorrow. I would offer to help, but…"

"Yeah. See you tomorrow Mark," I say, my voice laced with disgust.

Great, now I've wasted most of my morning with him…only had a chance to pick up the cake…never ordered the food. Sophia is hungry and getting tired…she is about to have a meltdown. And I still have no idea what time Arizona will be home. This day is so not going according to plan. Fuck it…I'm just gonna hang out with my peanut and figure the rest out later.

So that's exactly what I do. I make lunch for Sophia and I, trying to recoil after my confrontation with her father. He can be such a good dad, and such a good friend…but man, he can also be a really lousy human being sometimes. It's scary because I used to think that him and I were alike…maybe we were.

Thank God Arizona came into my life…I know she has made me a better person. We've made each other better. Just thinking about her makes me miss her.

I call the hospital and find out that she is still in surgery…turns out the kid, Jesse, went into kidney failure and got moved to the top of the transplant list. Now not only will she be treating his cancer during surgery, she'll be doing a kidney transplant. Guess we won't be seeing her anytime soon.

I start to get angry again when I hear my phone beeping. There's a long text message from Arizona, from nearly three hours ago saying, I am so sorry baby…babies. I love you both so much and promise I will make this up to you. If you're mad, just remember I am saving a tiny human's life right now. Please don't be mad. Should be home in about two hours. Don't do anything else without me, I want to help. Sophia, tell Mama to just have fun with you and wait for Mommy to come home. Xoxo

I instantly feel a smile forming on my face. I look over to Sophia and say, "We are the luckiest girls in the whole world. Do you know that peanut? Yes, yes we are. You have the best mommy ever."

"Ma mi," Sophia says, repeating my word. "Ma ma…Ma mi." Oh my God, she is saying it. She is actually saying mommy….wait, she is actually getting it. She is actually differentiating between the two, but saying them together. Somehow, I think our daughter has actually figured out that she has two mommies. I am so amazed and want to share this moment with my wife so badly. I look at the clock and realize that Arizona should have been out of surgery an hour ago…she's got to at least be scrubbing out now.

"Let's go see Mommy," I say to Sophia, taking her out of her high chair.

"Ma mi," she says again, clapping her little hands in excitement.

"Yes honey, we're gonna go see your mommy," I say, tears about to surface.

I don't even bother to get the stroller back out…I just walk as fast as my feet will carry me, holding Sophia in my arms. She must get the sense that we are going somewhere good, because she keeps squealing with excitement, hugging me tightly then laughing and repeating the process. Every once in a while, I slow down and bounce up and down on my heels, causing her to release what Arizona refers to as her piggy laugh…the kind that is so hard and deep it creates a snorting sound. I am caught between wanting to hear this ridiculous laugh and get to my wife. Eventually the game isn't quite so exciting to Sophia, so we just walk the rest of the way, heading straight for the third floor once we get into the hospital.

When the elevator doors open to the Pediatrics wing, I can see Arizona right away. She is standing at the nurses station charting…probably charting the follow up care for Jesse. She doesn't see us right away…her head is bent as she writes on the chart, a strand of hair falling slightly in her face.

I stop at the waiting area to put down the diaper bag and take Sophia's jacket off. I place Sophia down beside me, positioning her hands on one of the chairs for support while she stands. I turn around to grab our things before heading over to Arizona…but when I turn back around, Sophia is gone. For a second I panic, like any mother would, but then I see her a few paces ahead of me…walking.

I am about to scream…scream to Arizona, to tell her not to miss this. But when I look over to the nurses station again, I see her already watching…her arms outstretched for our tiny walking miracle, the most proud and beautiful smile on her face.

Sophia falls, but quickly gets back up again and continues her unsteady voyage to her mother. When she finally gets close enough to the now crouching Arizona, Sophia scrunches up her little nose and laughs so hard before flinging herself into her arms.

"Ma mi," she says, big brown eyes looking up into adoring blue ones.

Arizona shoots me a shocked and amazed look from across the room, hugging Sophia tight as tears begin to fall from her eyes. "Oh my God…Calliope," she calls to me as I approach them. "Calliope…did you, did you hear that? She called me mommy. She walked to me and called me mommy."

"Yes," I reply. "Yes she did. It happened at home and I just wanted you to…"

"Oh," Arizona says, the joy fading a bit. "I missed it…I missed her first steps."

"No!" I yell. "No, the walking part…she saved that for you. No, no…I meant the mommy thing. We were having lunch and I was talking about how I wanted to see her mommy and she said it. So I hauled ass over here so I could tell you…then she goes and walks over to you and tells you herself. Show off," I say to our little wonder as she continues to gaze up adoringly at her mother.

Then Arizona does something that catches me completely off guard. She puts Sophia down and pulls me toward her, kissing me with so much love….the kind of kiss that is usually reserved for the privacy of our own home. And believe me, it doesn't go unnoticed.

"Wow," I say, looking into my wife's gorgeous blue eyes. "Breaking all the rules lately, huh?"

"Oh shut up Calliope," she says, "and kiss me again, before the mood ends and I get embarrassed."

So I do…I kiss her passionately, not caring that a group of new interns or all of the nurses are watching. I kiss my wife while our little girl tries out her newfound legs again, walking and falling in circles around us as she squeals, "Mama, Ma mi," a few more times so she doesn't go unnoticed.

After a few moments of awkward stares and whispers, Arizona turns to the crowd and says, "Ok everyone…back to work. My daughter just took her first steps, and I wanted to kiss my wife, alright? You saw the show…now it's over. As you were people."

Signing her chart and leaving it on the nurses station, Arizona takes my hand and we start a slow journey behind our teetering daughter. As we approach the elevator, I see Mark out of the corner of my eye. I'm not sure how long he's been watching, but the look on his face tells me he is anything but happy.

"Oh God," I say, glancing in his direction before stepping into the elevator.

Arizona looks around for a minute before joining me, catching Mark lurking in the shadows. "What's his problem?" she asks, bending down to pick up Sophia who is tugging on her shirt. "If looks could kill, huh? I thought he wasn't on until tonight…wonder what he's doing hanging around here."

"Probably looking for someone to complain to," I say, the aggravation from earlier coming back all too fast. "We kind of had a major argument earlier."

"You did?" she asks, looking slightly stunned. "Oh, I saw him leaving before my surgery…he said he was going to see if you needed any help. From the looks of it…he didn't exactly help you though."

"No," I say, taking a deep breath so I don't get too worked up. "He came with me to pick up the cake this morning…and he wanted to get Sophia a cupcake, and I said no because you weren't there and she should wait until her party, and then he got all pissy."

"Because you wouldn't let her eat cake?" Arizona asks, looking surprised that even Mark could act so immature.

"No…because I wanted to wait for you," I say. "Then it turned into this huge thing about how I don't talk to him anymore, how I go to you for everything now, how you don't want us to be friends." Before she can even say anything, I continue. "But I told him that it's not you…it's me. It is me…I have been distancing myself from him somewhat, because well…it needed to happen. I don't want to go to him about everything anymore…I want to go to you, because you are my person and we are building a life together. Anyway, he just can't accept that and wants to act like a baby."

"He's lonely and stupid," Arizona says, putting a calming hand on my shoulder. "He'll get over himself…hopefully in time to act like a grown up at Sophia's party tomorrow."

"We'll see," I say as we leave the hospital. "Speaking of her party…we have a lot to do yet, so let's not talk about Mark anymore. Ok? I just want to enjoy the rest of the day with my girls, get everything ready for tomorrow."

So we forget about Mark and his stupidity, and head home. We decide that after Sophia wakes up from her nap, Arizona will take her to the park and I'll head to the hall to start setting up. Until then, we just relax…laying together on the couch, Arizona's head in my lap while I lazily run my fingers through her hair. I know it's relaxing her, and I can feel my nerves calming too. I look down at my beautiful wife and see that super magic smile I fell in love with. I wasn't lying when I told Ruby that smile makes everything better.

Arizona's POV:

I am not a party person…I don't like to plan parties, throw parties, and definitely detest any in honor of me. My poor Calliope learned that lesson years ago when she tried to surprise me with a birthday bash. I can't say I regret that night though…seeing what Callie had done for me, and finding her waiting up on the couch that night, finally gave me the courage to say those three words that had been stuck in the back of my throat for months. I loved her then…and I love her even more now.

Anyway, for the first time in my life I find myself actually excited over a party. Maybe it's motherhood…maybe I just want to make my little girl so happy that I am willing to go all out for her first birthday. I made sure Callie and I picked out the biggest, most beautiful cake for our little princess….and I rented a bubble machine. Callie says I am a big kid, that's why I went into pediatrics….maybe she's right. But…you can't teach an old dog new tricks, and other than making a few phone calls, I am so not into the preparation aspect of this thing. I'll leave that to my wonderful wife…and I'll take Sophia out for the afternoon.

"Ready to go peanut?" I ask her, half expecting an answer after the walking and talking stunt she pulled earlier. She just smiles and looks up at me lovingly. "Ok Sophia, say bye bye to Mama," I say as I pick her up and walk over to Callie, who is busy putting together goody bags.

"Have fun, my beautiful girls," she says, leaning in for a kiss. "Be a good girl Soph."

"You have fun with those," I say. "Since it's so gorgeous out today, I'm gonna take this little lady to the park…you want to ride the swing, don't you baby? We'll be back in time for dinner…I'll pick you up and we can go anywhere you want to eat. It will be your reward for doing all the work while I get to play with her."

"Fair enough," Callie says. "See you in a couple of hours."

I go back for one more kiss before heading out of the door. Unfortunately, I run into Mark in the hallway. Apparently, he bought out the toy store in a lame attempt to overly spoil our daughter…he must think that's gonna prove something. Or maybe he just wanted to make himself feel better after Callie ripped him a new one earlier.

"Hey Mark," I say nonchalantly, as if nothing is wrong. "Didn't you get the memo…Callie said no toys."

"Well I don't care what she says," Mark yells, snapping at me and startling Sophia a bit. Then in a lower voice, he says, "Sophia is my daughter too, you know? I'm allowed to buy her whatever I want."

"Relax," I tell him, rolling my eyes at his ridiculous behavior. "I was just kidding…God."

"Oh whatever Robbins," he says obviously hating me right now. "Hello Sophia…I heard you walked today. Yes, isn't it nice that I heard that from one of the interns on my rotation today? I came to see it for myself but your mommies were taking you away before I had a chance."

"Come on Mark," I say, seeing why Callie was so aggravated earlier. "It's not like any of us can plan when she does things…or who gets to witness it. Maybe if you weren't being such a douche this morning, Callie would have called you to tell you Sophia walked."

Sophia is squirming around in my arms, trying to wiggle free. So I tell Mark I have to go…that I am taking her to the park while Callie gets everything done. I pass Sophia to him for a minute, so he can get a cuddle in, and then leave…finally.

We arrive at the park a few minutes later and I spread out a huge blanket for us to play on, while we wait for one of the swings to become available. There is a little old lady sitting on the park bench, just watching Sophia. She is just that adorable…perfect strangers can't even keep their eyes off of her. Sophia tries to walk around in the grass, but doesn't quite like the feeling on her bare feet, so she squeals and throws herself into my arms a few times. I can't help but laugh at how silly she is.

After a few more minutes of this adorable game, I grab Sophia and head towards the swing set. The woman on the bench says something as we pass her…I can't quite make out what she says, so I turn back to face her.

"I'm sorry, were you talking to me?" I ask, Sophia wiggling until I put her down beside me.

"Yes dear," she says. "I was just remarking on how cute she is for a…well, you know."

No…I don't know. In fact, I have no idea what she's talking about. Sophia…she's a baby, my baby.

I raise my eyebrows to inquire, but the elderly woman just keeps talking.

"Anyway, I think it's very noble…what you're doing, giving her a home. A few of my friends' girls can't have babies either…but they always want to adopt the white ones."

A lump appears in my throat as her words hit me. This woman…a woman I don't know, who doesn't know me at all…just made the assumption that I couldn't have children. Who says that to someone? Even if it were true…who actually says that to a perfect stranger? And to make matters worse, I'm pretty sure this racist old bitty just referred to my daughter as some kind of lesser being…because she's not white. Well, technically she is half white…like her father and like me. But the part of her I love the most- the part of her that's exactly like Callie…that's the part this woman is insulting. I am getting angrier by the second, watching this woman look at me and Sophia with pity…pity for this poor, Hispanic baby and her poor white, barren mother.

"She's not adopted," I blurt out, catching the woman off guard. "She's her mother's daughter…every perfect little inch of her. But thanks for the very rude assumption," I say as I pick up the baby and start to walk away.

"That's too bad," she yells after me. "I thought more of you a few minutes ago than I do now…knowing you slept with an Hispanic man. I'm not trying to offend you…but I don't think the races should be mixed. It's just…just not good for anyone."

I am infuriated at this point. I know that people, particularly the elderly who grew up in a different time, are set in their ways…that they don't see what I see when I look at my gorgeous wife. I see a person…a beautiful, wonderful, loving human being who would be the same no matter what color her skin was. Sophia is no different…she is a smart and funny, beautiful little girl. The fact that people- this woman- is so ignorant, really upsets me.

"My daughter is cared for…and loved," I say, willing the tears not to fall. Won't let her have the satisfaction. "How does it matter whether her parents are white, or black, or Hispanic? We love her more than anything…isn't that good for her?"

"No," she answers before I can continue. "No, I do not believe that it's good for her…or for society. How will the child know her place in this world? Where she belongs?"

"Where she belongs?" I basically scream the question back at her. "She belongs with us…as a part of our family. My wife and I will make sure she knows exactly where she belongs."

Again, I turn to leave with Sophia…but this woman just won't let up.

"Your wife?" she questions. "Well, that explains it…why she looks nothing like you."

I feel a shooting pain in my chest, like a knife was just placed directly into my heart. I know Sophia doesn't look like me…she can't. Usually it doesn't bother me…she is so beautiful, just like Calliope. And she really doesn't resemble Mark either, so I don't think about it. But now…right now this woman- this perfect stranger, is commenting on how my child doesn't share my genetic makeup…how technically she is not a part of me.

And it hurts….just like it did when Mark said I was nothing…when Dr. Stark said she wasn't mine. And this hurt will continue…I know I'll get over the present conversation, but it won't be the last. For the rest of my life as Sophia's mom, I will continue to experience this feeling every now and then. And it won't change things. I won't love her any less. I won't stop being her mother, in all the ways that really count. But it will hurt, every single time.

I wait for it to pass….this stabbing pain, this horrible ache. And then I open my mouth to let her have it…to tell off this elderly woman who knows nothing about life and love. But I can't…she won't let me…she just keeps talking.

"Poor child," she says, reaching a hand out to touch Sophia's little face. I pull my arms back defensively, not wanting her to lay one prejudiced finger on my baby girl. I place my hand on Sophia's head, holding her close to protect her from this evil woman. "You may love her," she continues, paying no attention to the vile look I am giving her, "but you are ruining her life. It's bad enough she is of mixed race…that will be a hardship in itself. But to have two mothers…lesbians….the child is doomed. She will be teased, and picked on and…"

I can't hear another word. The venom that this woman is spewing has reached a level that I just can't tolerate. I snap, and before she can finish her sentence I yell, "by people like you. She will only be picked on by ignorant people like you. But luckily…at least I like to believe, most people are not like you. You may not see it…may not want to see it, but the world is changing. My little girl can, and will, grow up in a world where people accept her for who she is…regardless of her skin color or the sexual status of her parents. I don't know you…and I usually don't judge people. But since you are judging me and my daughter, I will make an exception. You are a mean, evil old woman…and you are certainly not worthy to stand in the presence of this little angel," I finish, picking up my sweet baby girl and walking away.

This time, I don't look back…she keeps talking, but I choose not to listen. I pack up our snacks and blanket, then head to the car.

Just as I am strapping Sophia into the car seat, I hear my cell phone beeping. I rummage through the bag to find it and see that I have a message from Callie that reads, All set for tonight…finishing touches in the morning when we arrive at the hall. Hope you are having fun with the birthday girl…please don't have too much more fun though, I miss you guys. Come home soon.

Normally, this would make my day…but right now, I am emotionally drained and don't know how well I can pretend that everything's fine. I know I should talk to my wife about what happened…tell her I am upset and why. But tomorrow is a big day for her, and for Sophia. I don't want to put a damper on that…it can wait. I can wait to tell her about all this until after the party.

I drove home slowly, wanting to take a few extra minutes to clear my mind and put this incident behind me for the time being. I look in the rear view mirror and see that Sophia has fallen asleep. She really is like a little angel…a little mixed race angel with lesbian mothers. Ughh, that woman. I just can't get it out of my head…all the terrible things she said, implying that our daughter won't have a good life. Before I even realize I'm doing it, I scream…a loud and angry scream, startling Sophia who cries out along with me.

"Shhh baby," I say, calming myself down. "Mommy's sorry honey, I didn't mean to frighten you….it's ok." Sophia whimpers for another minute before closing her eyes and drifting back to sleep again. Waiting at a light, I bang my head into the steering wheel…cursing that damned woman and myself, for letting her get the best of me.

Maybe she's right, I think to myself. Maybe we are going to cause unnecessary pain for Sophia…it won't be intentional, or even our fault, but inevitably it will happen. People will judge us…and treat her differently. And then one of us will get upset, like I just did…and maybe that will be hard for her too, especially as she gets older.

There have only been a few times that I've remembered all my reasons for not wanting children…and this is one of them. I don't want to feel this way…and deep down, I know that woman was wrong and I was right. I know that Sophia will always feel loved and cherished…that her two mommies will show her what real love is, teach her to be accepting, and disregard people who are not. But in this moment, I am unsure. I am hurting and scared…this is hard, and I want to run away. But I can't run away…I don't want to run away. This is my life…Calliope is my wife and Sophia is my daughter, and tomorrow is a big day for all of us.

So I will go home and make love to that beautiful, Hispanic woman tonight…and tomorrow I will watch my little girl eat her birthday cake and be happy. I gently lift Sophia out of the back seat, trying my hardest not to wake her again. She feels the cool air and instantly springs up, looking into my eyes for a second before her tired little body collapses into my chest. Looking down at her, I can see her smile in her sleep…that one little dimple of hers coming out to play. And in this moment, I am sure of one thing…Sophia is mine, no matter what.

A/N: Okay, so I know that many of you have emailed me to get a copy of this fic. Sorry it's taking so long to re-post, but you know it's a long one and the orginal was saved in unedited form (meaning, I have to go thru and separate dialogue, paragraphs, & chapters). Ughh, what a PITA, but I am doing it so that we can all re-read the whole series from start to finish. Hoping maybe some new readers will be able to enjoy the story as well. Thanks to all of my loyal followers. And thanks to my lady loves for giving me the inspiration to write the way I do.