AN: Just a warning, I know nothing about medicine except for what I picked up watching Grey's so anything medical in this story is purely from artistic license and Google searches. I also don't know much Spanish, so anything included is from online translators. I apologize in advance for any mistakes.

As always, thank you from the bottom of my heart to every person who has favorited, followed, and especially reviewed this story. You all rock!

Arizona couldn't figure out why she was so nervous. Driving across town on the now-familiar route to Callie's house, her hands were sweaty and she kept catching herself chewing on her bottom lip. She had driven this same way just the day before and didn't feel this way, but she couldn't pinpoint what felt different. Her music paused as a call came through her car's speakers. She saw Tim's name come up on the screen and touched the button to answer.

"Hey, Timmy!"

"Hey, Zone. What are you up to?"

"I am on my way to pick Callie up for our first date."

"Am I...am I going crazy? Weren't you doing that exact same thing when I talked to you yesterday?"

Arizona let out a small laugh. "You're not crazy. She had a family emergency and we got interrupted, so we're trying again."

"A family emergency, huh? Was it her husband? Or her kids?"

"Stop it, Timmy."

"I'm just looking out for you."

"And I appreciate that, but you don't need to. I'm nervous enough already."

Tim scoffed. "Why are you nervous? You're Arizona freakin' Robbins. You are the queen of first dates."

"I know." Arizona tried to sort through the jumbled thoughts crowding her brain. "I think...I'm nervous because I'm getting invested. Callie had to do surgery on her childhood nanny last night and I spent the whole surgery sitting with her sister. I'm feeling more and more like part of the family and that scares me."

"Childhood nanny? Are they rich?"

"No…" Arizona thought for a moment. "Maybe? That...that might actually make a lot of sense if they were."

"Well, either way, if they're becoming a part of the family, then I'm going to have to meet them sooner rather than later, sis."

"Let me get through this date first, okay? Nothing is official; it's all just me and my feelings at this point."

"Why were you with the sister last night? Isn't she Cynthia's responsibility?"

Arizona turned down Callie's street and smiled seeing the Latina already waiting on her front porch. "They got into a fight." She continued before he could interrupt. "Cynthia is still off the market, though. They're going to work it out. I've gotta go. I'm at Callie's."

"Is she looking at you?"

Arizona parked the car in Callie's driveway and waved. "Yes."

"Is she smiling?"

"Yeah."

"Are you?"

"Yes, Timmy."

"Do you realize that I'm stalling until she gets in the car so I can say hello?"

Arizona sighed. "I do."

Callie opened the car door and stopped when she realized Arizona was on the phone. "Oh, sorry, I didn't realize…"

Arizona shook her head. "It's my stupid brother. He wouldn't let me hang up until he gets to say hello."

"Ah, alright." Callie sat in the passenger seat and pulled the door closed behind her. "Hello, Arizona's brother."

"Hi, Callie!" Tim's voice came through the speakers. "I keep telling my sister that she needs to take us both out so we can meet."

Callie smiled at Arizona as the other woman rolled her eyes. "I think that sounds nice. I'm looking forward to meeting you."

"Me too. Maybe we can invite Cynthia."

"Enough, Timothy. Goodbye!" Arizona reached out to hang up the phone and blew out a breath. "Sorry about him."

Callie waved a hand in the air dismissively, "You spent six hours with my sister last night. The least I could do is say hello to your brother today."

"If this date goes well, he really won't leave us alone until he meets you."

"Well then we should probably get something on the calendar because I don't see how we screw it up at this point."

Arizona smiled and put the car into reverse, checking the rearview before pulling out of the driveway.

Sitting across from each other in a booth at the diner, Callie and Arizona smiled politely at the waitress who took their orders as she walked away.

"Okay, first, any updates on Rosa?" Arizona asked.

Callie nodded. "She made it through the night with stable vitals. She might need another surgery, but we won't know for sure for a couple of days."

"Is she awake?"

"Not yet. She should wake up a bit today, and then we'll know more about any permanent damage."

"You'll let me know if there's anything I can do?"

Callie smiled. "Of course. Thank you."

"I have to ask…" At Callie's raised eyebrow, Arizona continued, "You guys had a nanny?"

"Oh, uh…" Callie shrugged and glanced down at the table. "Yeah. Rosa worked for my parents for a few years before I was born. She always wanted kids of her own, so when I came around, she wound up taking care of me while my parents were working. Their careers really took off in the years between me and Aria, so when she was born Rosa was really the only person we had taking care of us."

"What do your parents do?"

"Dad runs a business and Mom is a lawyer." Callie cleared her throat and diverted the subject away from her family. "What about your parents?"

"My dad is a military man through and through. Colonel Daniel Robbins of the US Marine Corps. My mom is all the stereotypes of a mom rolled into one. She was the perfect PTA parent, bakes pies, little frilly apron, the whole nine yards. She still sends care packages on our birthdays."

"That sounds lovely."

"It was a little idyllic, for sure. But we did move around a lot so it wasn't always easy growing up."

Callie nodded. "I feel like that's something a lot of people don't understand. You can have all the right things on paper, but there's so much more happening behind the scenes. Nothing's ever really perfect, you know?"

"It sounds like there's more behind that comment."

Shrugging, Callie took a sip of her water. "I've just been thinking about childhood a lot lately. Mostly what my kids will say about their childhoods. But ever since I held Rosa's heart in my hands yesterday, I've been thinking about mine too. And Aria's. And how it shaped us."

"That's a big topic."

Callie shook herself from her thoughts. "Probably too big for breakfast. Let's talk about something else. Tell me about your brother. What do I need to know before I meet him?"

Arizona laughed. "He's the most annoying man in my life and I love him to death. He's always looked out for me, even when he was dealing with his own stuff. He's a hero."

"Your face lights up when you talk about him."

"I'm really proud of him. He's a good guy." Arizona shrugged. "I'm excited for you to meet him; even if I am a little nervous about it."

"Does he...does he typically get along with the women you date?"

"Oh, god no!" Arizona shook her head quickly. "He's very picky on my behalf. But I don't think you're going to have anything to worry about." She shot a wink across the table. "I happen to know, for a fact, that you are very charming, Calliope. I'm sure he's going to love you."

"Oh geez. No pressure, I'm sure." Callie smiled at Arizona and leaned in as Arizona reached out to put a hand over Callie's.

"No pressure at all. You've already won over Cynthia, and she's like family to me. Timmy is going to be no problem."

Callie turned her hand so that she could interlace her fingers with Arizona's. "Aria is a big fan of yours too, especially after last night."

Arizona shrugged. "It's what you do for friends."

Just then, the waitress came up with their food, causing both women to sit up and pull their hands apart. Callie looked past the waitress and noticed two nurses from the hospital at the cash register. The younger nurse was looking over at their table with interest and then turned to her friend and whispered something, causing the other nurse to look over as well, brows furrowed.

"Is everything okay, Calliope?" Arizona had picked up her fork, ready to dive into her pancakes when she realized something had caught the other woman's attention.

"Yeah." Callie looked down at her plate of food, trying to figure out why she was unsettled.

"If everything is really okay, you should probably tell your face."

Callie shook her head and sent a small smile across the table. "Sorry. There were some nurses from the hospital looking over at us and whispering. I think they saw us holding hands." She shrugged, but still couldn't shake the slightly uneasy feeling.

"Oh." Arizona put her fork down. "Does that bother you? Them seeing us together?"

"Well, it's never fun being part of the rumor mill. I can't seem to get out of the spotlight these days. Between Owen's outbursts, the divorce, and now I'm holding a woman's hand at breakfast…"

"It bothers you that they saw you holding a woman's hand?"

"Arizona…"

Arizona held her hands up in defense. "I'm just asking."

"Come on, I told you this was new to me but that it wasn't going to be an issue."

"Well, now we're out in public and it seems to be a bit of an issue."

"Do you want me to hold your hand again? To kiss you in the middle of this restaurant? To announce to the whole hospital that we've been seeing each other?"

Arizona sighed. She understood why Callie was upset, but she was also looking out for herself and her heart. "No, Calliope. I'm sorry. Can we forget this and get back to our date?"

Callie glanced back over at the nurses who had finally paid their bill and were leaving. She still felt a little unsettled, and for as much as she had protested to Arizona she knew that a little bit of that was because she was on a date with a woman and people had seen it. She thought back to the advice she had received from her sister and decided to focus instead on how much she enjoyed spending time with the woman sitting across from her and not on her fear. She smiled and nodded. "Let's get back to our date. Tell me everything there is to know about you."

Aria had been sitting in the ICU wing with Rosa most of the day, going over some research to help with their cartilage project. Drew had already stopped by to check in and to let her know that they were covering for her with Chang for the day, so she was free to stay as long as she wanted.

Frankie had also popped his head in to recount the conversation that he had had with Kelly the day before, sharing his fears that she was only doing it so that Dr. Rogers would overhear. Aria nodded but didn't tell him that he was right and that Cynthia had assumed the worst of Aria because of it.

Hours later, Mark stopped in and pulled a chair up next to Aria. "Hey, roomie. I miss having you around the apartment."

Aria smirked and shook her head. "You miss having someone cook for you."

He shrugged. "That too." Mark gestured towards Rosa's sleeping body with his chin. "Any improvement?"

"She woke up for a minute or two earlier. She was groggy and confused. I explained what happened and told her to sleep more if she needed it. Vitals are all stable, though. Yang has been in here every hour to check on her. She said that Rosa waking up, even for a few minutes, is a good sign."

"Yang is the Cardio resident, right? She scares me."

"I'll never admit it to her, but me too."

Mark glanced around the room. "Where's your girlfriend?"

"I don't have a girlfriend."

"Okay, okay, I know you guys have only been on a few dates or whatever, but I'm still surprised she's not in here with you."

Aria shook her head. "I don't have a girlfriend. She doesn't trust me and I don't need to deal with that."

Mark scooted his chair closer to Aria's and put his arm around her shoulder. "What happened?"

Sighing, Aria told Mark a condensed version of the fight. "And then she accused me of sleeping with her to get hired at this hospital. Even if it was all based on a lie that Kelly told, why am I going to spend my time with someone who would believe something like that about me?"

"It sounds like maybe she was scared and lashed out. You should let her explain."

Aria shrugged. "She hasn't tried to talk to me since the fight. It doesn't seem like she cares enough to explain."

"Look, Little Torres, I don't know much about her, other than the fact that I'm not her favorite person, but after seeing you two together I can't believe that she doesn't care. I'm just saying you should be open to a conversation."

Aria raised an eyebrow in Mark's direction. "You're really good at girl talk."

"I like girls. I make it a point to spend as much time with them as possible." Mark wiggled his eyebrows, causing Aria to laugh. He pulled her closer and squeezed his arm around her shoulders.

Cynthia was standing at the nurses' desk in ICU staring at the back of Mark's head, trying not to let jealousy overtake her.

"They're just friends." Arizona walked up behind her friend and leaned on the nurses' desk next to her.

"That's what I keep telling myself." Cynthia sighed. She knew that it was not the time to try to talk to Aria, but she couldn't help but lurk around the ICU unit to make sure she was okay.

"We talked about him last night during the surgery. She thinks of him like a brother. According to her, he's a really good guy and he's been a good friend. You just need to get your head out of your butt."

Cynthia snorted. "I'm aware." She sank down in one of the chairs and spun it around once. "How was your date?"

Arizona couldn't help the smile that spread across her face. "It was great. It wasn't the romantic evening that I had planned, but we still got to talk and I learned a lot about her and...it was just great. There was a weird moment when some nurses saw us holding hands and she got a little weird about it, which I will, no doubt, overthink later, but otherwise, it was really special."

"Ooooh, you two held hands? Scandalous," Cynthia teased.

"She kissed me again too. In the parking lot. I can't get enough of that woman's lips. I don't know how I'll handle anything more than that without bursting into flames."

Arizona looked up as the ICU room door opened and Cynthia ducked behind the desk, in case Aria saw her. She heard the door close and peeked over the desk to see Mark Sloan scowling at her.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"Uh...just checking charts. A patient. Checking on a patient's chart," Cynthia stammered.

He rolled his eyes. "You're an idiot. Don't make me have to hit a girl. Fix it." He looked over at Arizona. "You ready to get to these evaluations, Robbins?"

"Let's go. Cynthia, I'll call you later, okay?"

Cynthia nodded meekly before dropping her head into her hands.

Two days later, Cynthia found herself back in front of the door to Rosa's room, taking deep breaths as she gathered the courage to go inside. She could see that Rosa was awake and smiling at Aria and Callie, who were both doting on her from either side of her bed. Callie cracked a joke that made Aria laugh loudly and Rosa smile fondly at the two women before Callie glanced at her watch and leaned down to place a kiss on the older woman's forehead. She turned to leave and spotted Cynthia through the glass door, furrowing her eyebrows inquisitively. Callie glanced back to see if Aria had spotted the other doctor, but she had already slipped back into her chair and was chatting softly with Rosa.

Callie opened the door and made sure it was closed behind her before turning to Cynthia. "Hey."

"Hey, California. How's she doing?"

Callie glanced back towards the room. "Rosa or Aria?"

"Rosa. But I'll take any information on Aria you're willing to give me too."

"Rosa's good. Her vitals are strong and she's alert and responsive. It's practically a miracle."

"She had an amazing surgeon."

"Flattering me isn't going to get you back on my sister's good side."

Cynthia shrugged. "Any advice about what would get me back on her good side?"

"Cynthia, you're really great and I consider you a close friend, but…"

"But she's your sister and you're going to protect her," Cynthia interrupted. "I get it. I'd do the same for my family."

"It doesn't mean I'm not rooting for you two. It just means I can't get in the middle." Callie reached out a hand and squeezed Cynthia's shoulder. "I hope you two work it out." She glanced down at her watch again. "I've gotta get to surgery. I'll see you later."

Cynthia watched as Callie walked down the hallway before turning back to the glass door, knowing she had to go in there. She was sent on a mission and Chang wouldn't want to hear that she was too scared to talk to one of her residents. Cynthia took a deep breath and slid the door open, trying to look brave as Aria turned and locked eyes with her. "Hey, Aria?"

"Yes, Dr. Rogers?"

"Chang asked me to get you to join us for a department meeting. It'll only be about ten minutes."

Aria turned back around to face the bed. "I'm off today. Tell Chang you couldn't find me."

Taking a step into the room, Cynthia spoke to the back of Aria's head. "Your friends have big mouths. He already knows you're in the building."

Rosa looked at Aria with a stern face. "Mija," the older woman prodded, "introduce me to your friend."

Aria bit her tongue and smiled tightly at her childhood nanny. "Nanny, this is Dr. Rogers. We work together in the Ortho department. Dr. Rogers, this is Rosa Gutierrez. A dear friend."

Cynthia watched as the older woman tugged on Aria's hand and waited for Aria to look up at her before Rosa raised her eyebrows in a silent question.

Aria rolled her eyes and mumbled, "Ella fue mi novia."

Rosa's eyes lit up and she chuckled softly. "Ah, mija." She looked over at Cynthia and held her arms out in welcome. "Hola, Dr. Rogers. Come here, child."

Cynthia couldn't help but smile at the warm woman and walked over to the opposite side of the bed from Aria. "Hi, Mrs. Gutierrez."

Rosa clicked her tongue. "Nonsense. You call me Rosa." She paused as a thought seemed to occur to her. "My pronouns are she/her."

Smiling, Cynthia let out a small laugh. "Mine too."

"My child recently told me that they are nonbinary and use different pronouns. They told me I need to tell people my pronouns and ask theirs. I did not understand at first, but I am learning."

Aria smiled softly and spoke up. "Do they still go by Alex?"

Rosa nodded affectionately.

"I'll have to give them a call. I haven't talked to them in a long time."

"They'd love that!" Rosa beamed.

Cynthia grinned and cleared her throat. "It's a pleasure meeting you, Rosa. But, if I can, I do need to steal Aria away for a couple of minutes." She turned to Aria. "Chang has an announcement and wants the whole department there."

"Go, mija. You need a break from babysitting this old lady."

Aria seemed to be weighing her options before sighing. "Fine. But you have to promise to behave for the doctors, alright? I have connections here-they will tell me if you're annoying."

Rosa smiled mischievously and nodded. "I promise."

Aria leaned down to kiss the woman's forehead and walked out of the room, leaving Cynthia to send a quick goodbye wave to Rosa before she followed Aria through the door.

"Hey, Aria-wait."

Aria turned quickly, causing Cynthia to almost run into her. "Was this just some ploy to get me alone and talk to me?"

"No! No, there's really a meeting." Aria turned again and started walking, so Cynthia picked up her pace to walk beside her. "I was hoping I'd get a chance to just tell you how sorry I am, though. Because I really am so, so sorry. I let my own insecurities eat away at me and then I heard Dr. Warren..."

"I know what Kelly did," Aria cut her off. "Frankie told me."

"Okay. So you can see how my mind jumped to conclusions."

Aria stopped short in front of the doors to the Ortho wing and turned to face Cynthia. "Here's the thing...If you trusted me, even the slightest bit, you would have known that she was lying, even if you didn't know why."

"But it didn't have anything to do…"

"Stop." Aria paused to make sure Cynthia wasn't going to continue. "I had to stare at my nanny's actual, physical heart for six hours three nights ago. She is my priority right now, not this. It has literally been a week from hell and this is not helping." Aria took a deep breath and Cynthia's heart broke as she realized the other woman was fighting to keep her composure. "I can't do this right now."

"I understand."

"I mean it, Cynthia."

"I get it. I just...I miss you and I'm sorry. I hope that you'll let me explain when you're ready and we can talk. But in the meantime, if you need anything at all, I hope you'll still reach out."

Aria swallowed and turned, pushing her way past the double doors, leaving Cynthia to scramble after her again. The two women entered the conference room and Aria made a beeline to stand next to Drew who took one look at her face and immediately put his arm around her.

"Good. Everyone is here." Chang shot a dirty look at Cynthia, who shrugged in apology. "First, I wanted to update everyone on the staffing changes within our department with the latest acquisition of Seattle Pres. We are officially welcoming Drs. Torres, Mitchell, and Franklin to the Seattle Grace Orthopedic team as surgeons and researchers as of this weekend." Cynthia watched as Drew squeezed Aria against his side and Shelly smiled and nodded at the smattering of applause that welcomed them to the team. "Dr. Frankie Russo, who you may have met, is staying on at the hospital as a General Surgery resident. Dr. Kelly Warren has been reassigned to work at the nearby Harborview Medical Center."

Aria glanced over at Shelly and mouthed, "Reassigned?" Shelly shrugged her shoulders and shook her head in confusion.

"These five doctors have done some very important research that will be continued within this department and led by Drs. Torres, Mitchell, and Franklin. This brings me to my second announcement. Chief Grey has decided to hold a Seattle Grace Donor Dinner in honor of this new discovery, which the entire orthopedics department will be required to attend."

The doctors in the room all groaned except for the three from Seattle Pres who looked around, confused. "A Seattle Grace Donor Dinner?" Shelly asked the group.

"It's practically a gala," one of the other doctors answered. "It's a ridiculous display of wealth where Grey gets us all to beg for money and parades her best doctors around to show them off to a bunch of rich socialites who don't know a thing about medicine."

"I'll remind you," Chang interrupted forcefully, "that Chief Grey has managed to restore and revitalize this hospital under her leadership. The dinner will be held next week and we will be drawing names out of a hat for who has to work that evening and cannot attend. Of course, Torres, Mitchell, and Franklin will be excused from work as they will be presenting their discovery at the dinner." Aria's stomach dropped. "They'll be joined by Dr. Russo and Dr. Warren, who have both agreed to be part of the presentation as well."

"Kelly is going to be there?" Aria muttered.

"That's all. Go back to your patients." Chang clapped his hands once and left the room.

The other doctors all slowly left the room, until just Aria, Drew, and Shelly remained.

"Frankie is a general surgeon now?" Aria asked.

"They gave him the option. Chang didn't have enough slots here, but told Grey that he was too good to let go. There was an opening in gen, so he took it," Shelly answered. "He's happy with it. Annie just found out that she's safe here too, so they'll get to keep working at the same hospital."

"Are we going to ignore the fact that they're saying Kelly got reassigned instead of fired?" Drew asked.

"Yeah, what's up with that?"

Shelly shook her head. "I have no idea. Maybe they're trying to stay on her good side so she'll present with us?"

"Why do we even need her?"

"I'm with Drew," Aria said. "She barely helped with any of it. She just got lumped into our project because no one else wanted her and it was a way to keep her out of surgeries."

Shrugging, Shelly agreed. "You're right. But it sounds like we're stuck with her for one more evening. I can't believe we have to present our findings to a bunch of rich guys who aren't going to have any idea what we're talking about."

"Aria, how do you feel about presenting?"

"Like I want to throw up." She shook her head, trying to ignore the panic that the idea of public speaking brought up in her. "This week just isn't getting any better, is it?"

Ever the optimist, Shelly spoke up. "Well, the three of us have jobs at a really great hospital and we were able to create cartilage out of thin air. Plus our love lives aren't so bad either, right?" She hugged Drew and looked over at Aria before noticing the scowl across the other woman's face. "Uh-oh. Right?"

Aria waved a dismissive hand in the air. "We got into a fight."

"Honey," Shelly turned to Drew, "I'm going to need my steel-toed boots. I have some kneecaps to kick."

Aria laughed and shook her head. "No. Thank you, Shelly, but no. It's fine. I'm better off alone anyway, right? I'm focused on my career and I'm taking care of Rosa and I'm there for Callie and her kids. No time for dating anyway." She sighed. "I've gotta get back to Rosa. Let's find time tomorrow to work on our presentation, okay? One of you will have to reach out to Kelly for her input-I'm not doing that."

Aria left the room, leaving Drew and Shelly staring out the door after her.

"She really does protest too much, don't you think?" Shelly asked.

"I like them together."

"Me too."

"I think they'll figure it out."

"I hope so."

"California! Wait up!"

Callie had just left Rosa's new room in the Cardio wing and paused as Cynthia jogged up to her. "What's up?"

"I have a strange question."

"Is it about my sister?"

Cynthia paused. "No?"

"What's the question?"

"So, I took Spanish in high school but I'm extremely rusty and I wasn't very good in the first place." At Callie's nod, Cynthia continued, "What does 'fue' mean?"

"Fue? Use it in a sentence."

"Um…'Ella fue mi novia'?"

Callie tilted her head to the side and squinted at the other doctor. "Where did you hear that sentence?"

Cynthia looked sheepish. "It's how Aria introduced me to Rosa. Can you please just tell me?"

"It means was."

Cynthia sighed. "That's what I was afraid of. 'She was my girlfriend'-that's what it means, right?"

Nodding sadly, Callie confirmed, "That's what it means."

"Dammit."

"Calliope!" Arizona turned the corner and walked up to the other doctors. "Hey."

"Hi, Arizona." The two doctors smiled at each other as Cynthia rolled her eyes.

"You guys are gross. Get a room."

"You're just jealous," Arizona teased her friend. "Anyway, Calliope, I just heard that we're being forced to go to another Seattle Grace Donor Dinner next week and I was wondering if you would like to go together."

"Like, as a date?"

Arizona nodded. "Like a date."

"Uh...yes, absolutely."

"Wonderful! I'm looking forward to it!"

Arizona continued on her way and Cynthia looked up at Callie. "Why does your face look frozen?"

"Excuse me?"

"Like, you look happy...but you also look terrified. Why is your face doing that?"

Callie sighed and rubbed a hand over her face. "Are you just going to run and tell her whatever I say?"

"Do you tell your sister everything I say?"

Taking a moment to regard the other woman, Callie sighed again. "I really like her. And I really like kissing her. But I'm just a little freaked out to be dating a woman. Especially in public."

"And this is a work event."

"And this is a work event! With all our coworkers! And probably my husband!"

Cynthia clapped her hands together. "Okay. Well, at least the good news is that we are both absolute messes when it comes to our relationships."

"That's not good news."

"Sure it is. We can be messes together. Drinks tonight? I think we both need some venting and talking time."

"That sounds good to me." The two doctors made plans to meet later in the evening. Callie got pulled into a consult and just as Cynthia was turning to leave, she caught Rosa's eye through the window and the older woman gestured for her to come inside.

Peeking her head in, Cynthia asked, "Do you need something, Mrs. Gutierrez? I can call a nurse for you."

"Don't be silly; I'm fine."

"Where's Aria?" Cynthia stepped into the room and noticed it was empty other than the woman in bed.

"I finally convinced her to go home when they moved me here from ICU. She needed a real bed and a night away from this hospital. She doesn't take care of herself when she's taking care of other people. You'll need to know that so you can look out for her."

"Oh, um...I'm not... That is, Aria and I aren't…"

"I've known that girl for a very long time, and I can tell when she's conflicted. Now, I don't know what happened between you two, but I can see how her eyes light up when you come in the room or when Calliope mentions your name."

"Ah, that's very nice to hear. But I don't know if she's going to forgive me."

Rosa waved a dismissive hand in the air. "The girl is stubborn and skittish. When she sees danger in love, she runs. Come here, child." Rosa patted the bed next to her. Cynthia went and sat next to the older woman, perched on the edge of the bed. "Aria needs to know that someone," Rosa gestured to Cynthia pointedly, "is going to stay. If she gets the slightest hint that they might not, she runs to protect herself. There are very few people in her life who have given her stability. I will never forgive her parents for that. But I hate watching her pay for their sins."

"So she leaves before she can be left?"

Rosa nodded. "I may not know you very well, but I like you. I like the way you look at her when she's not looking back at you. I've seen you lurking outside my room, keeping an eye on her. I like that."

Cynthia sighed. "I like her."

"So tell her. And keep telling her. Don't tell Calliope, but Aria was always my favorite. She put me through my paces when she was a teenager, that's for sure, but that girl deserves the world."

"Can you put in a good word for me?" Cynthia asked hopefully.

"Ah, child. She's never listened to my advice. That's why I'm talking to you. If you're willing to put in the work, she's worth it."

Nodding, Cynthia stood up. "I agree."

"Good. Now leave me be, child. I haven't had a moment to myself since my heart attack." She grabbed the remote off the side table and turned on the TV. "I have telenovelas to watch."

Cynthia grinned. "Yes, ma'am."