Arizona climbed out of the passenger seat of the family van, a bouquet of flowers in her hand. She was still supposed to be taking it easy, but this was something she wanted to do, and now that Paige was three weeks old, it was overdue. Callie helped all the kids out of the car, picking up their youngest daughter last, who was still sleepy since she had been asleep for most of the car ride.
They were at the cemetery- where Tim was buried. Arizona had wanted to go visit her brother on the anniversary of his death, but, life had other plans for her on that day. Thus, now more than ever she felt she needed to go. She felt like Tim and her youngest baby had some sort of connection because of the way time fell- Paige was born on the same day her uncle had passed away many years ago.
The young mother walked ahead of her family- her kids all being quiet- they understood where they were. Why they were there. Callie and Arizona made sure the children knew about their uncle and the seriousness of the situation.
Arizona kissed her hand and bent down, running that hand over her brothers name. "Hey, Timmy." She whispered, tears in her eyes.
Callie stayed a few feet away with the children, Arizona needed a minute alone, and she knew that. It was always so sad to come here, to see Arizona like this. But she knew Arizona loved to visit him, even if it made her incredibly sad.
Arizona took a second to compose herself before she stood up, turning to her children. "Do you wanna give Uncle Tim some flowers?" She asked them, wiping a tear that had fallen down her pink cheek. Arizona started to give her children the flowers, dividing them up so they each got two, leaving a few for her and Callie as well.
"Can I give Uncle Tim the pink one Mommy? That ones the prettiest, he'll love it!" Olivia said with a smile.
Arizona laughed sadly at her daughter and handed her the pink flower. "Of course, he will love it. You're so thoughtful" The mother praised, her children going up and placing their flowers at Tim's grave. Arizona stood back, holding the remaining flowers and watching, tears streaming down her cheeks.
"Here you go Uncle Tim! Pink one!" Olivia cheered, trying to lighten the mood. The young girl didn't like all the sadness.
Callie shifted Paige to the opposite arm and wrapped her newly freed arm around her wife, pulling the crying woman close and kissing her head. She stuck to silent comfort, like the couple always did. There wasn't much to say- 'it's okay' didn't seem fitting when the other had a dead sibling.
The cool fall air blew around them as the children strategically placed their flowers, Callie just holding Arizona close.
"We should get going" Arizona whispered. She knew the family had plans to be at Callie's parents for their first family dinner since Paige was born.
"Take all the time you need." Callie whispered, letting go of her wife so she could go put down the rest of the flowers.
Arizona took the plastic off the last two flowers, handing one to her wife. With a reassuring smile from the brunette, Arizona stepped forward again and kneeled down. She stayed that way for a while, tears streaming down her cheeks. Callie had placed her flower, and the kids were waiting by the van, the brunette keeping an eye on them to make sure they were safe.
"Oh, Timmy" Arizona's voice broke and she started to cry- her tears no longer silent. "I miss you, Tim." The woman whispered through quiet sobs. "God, I wish you could've met them. You'd love them" She placed down her flower. "I love you." She kissed her hand and again rubbed it over his name. "So much." She took a breath and wiped her tears, standing up.
Callie had a sympathetic look on her face as she offered her wife a hand, which Arizona immediately took. The two walked to the car in silence, Callie doing the lifting and helping their children back in, since Arizona definitely couldn't do that yet.
The car ride was mostly quiet, Arizona trying to compose herself, especially because she would not only be around her kids, but around her in laws, nieces and nephews for the rest of the evening- she didn't want to cause a scene. When they finally got to their destination, the children excitedly ran into their grandparents house, forgetting about their mothers and the fact that they could use helping hands bringing the desserts the kids had spent their afternoon baking.
"Well, there goes all our help" Callie laughed as she got Paige from her car seat. "You take the baby, I'll grab the cookies and cake."
Arizona smiled and took Paige in her arms. "Hello my sweet girl. This is your first Torres family dinner- I think you'll love it!" She whispered as she waited for her wife.
Once ready, the couple followed the path to the front door of Callie's parents house, their children already inside, probably playing with their cousins- typical.
"There you two are! Oh, and there you are, hello cuteness!" Lucia immediately took Paige away and was cooing to the baby, leaving the wives alone in the front entry way.
"Well..." Callie shrugged, laughing a little.
Arizona smiled, shaking her head. "I'll go put these in the kitchen." She took the tupperwares of dessert from her wife and headed off, Callie trailing behind her. The couple said their hello's to Aria and her husband, Michael, knowing the children were long gone and playing- they would see them later.
Callie had been waiting for a minute alone with her wife since after the cemetery, so with their kids-even the baby- being watched, Callie pulled her wife into the hallway, away from her family. "Are you okay?"
Arizona nodded, feeling Callie take both her hands in her own. "Yeah, I'm fine."
"You sure? Do you need a minute?" Callie knew Arizona had to be feeling emotional after going to the cemetery, and she didn't want those emotions pushed away because they were with her family.
"I'm sure, Calliope. Thank you, but I'm okay... it was, it was nice that we got to go. I'm glad, and the flowers were sweet, thank you for getting them."
Callie nodded, kissing her wife softly. "Of course. If you need to step out and... be alone... or if you need me, just tell me. Okay? I get it."
Arizona smiled at her wife's concern. "I know." She said quietly, giving Callie's hands a soft squeeze. "I promise, I'm alright."
"Okay... Okay. I love you."
"I love you too." The blonde replied before moving out of her wife's gentle grip and letting go of her hands, heading back to the living room, where Lucia and Aria were gushing over Paige.
"Arizona, she's just absolutely perfect!" Lucia said when she saw her daughter-in-law come back in the room.
The blonde woman sat down and smiled. "That she is." And there was no doubting it- Callie and Arizona's little girl was perfect. As if the mothers would argue- they thought all their children were perfect.
The mother leaned back, just staying quiet as Lucia and Aria talked to Paige, a smile on her face. Arizona soon felt a small body sit next to her, and looked over. She smiled when she saw Summer had come sit with her.
"Hey baby, how are your cousins?" Arizona wrapped her arm around her daughters shoulders, hugging her softly.
"They're good!" Summer hugged her mother back. The young girl had seen her mother cry earlier, and had wanted to make sure she was okay. She knew anything involving her Uncle Tim was rather upsetting for her mother. The oldest child was very protective and liked to make sure both her parents were okay- especially after something like this.
"Awesome. Are you having fun?" Arizona loosened her grip, but kept her arm around her daughter, not at all minding the hugs.
"Yeah, we are" The girl smiled at her mother, keeping her head rested on Arizona's shoulder. "I think Uncle Tim really liked our flowers, Mom" She whispered.
Arizona looked down at her daughter again and kissed her head. "I hope so, baby. I really do." She whispered back.
Summer wrapped her arms around her mothers waist again as her aunt looked up at them.
"Oh did you guys go visit Tim?" Aria asked.
Arizona nodded and brushed her fingers through Summers hair. "Yeah, we did. We brought some new flowers, haven't been there in a while so... it was nice."
Callie's family knew about Tim, Arizona mentioned him often, to keep the memory alive. It was as if they had known the man himself- and they all wished they had. Tim had been well known in the Torres household- he was family, even if he wasn't there with them.
"That's great, I'm glad you guys were able to get over there" Aria was now holding Paige, and gave her sister-in-law a loving smile before looking down at her niece again, wanting to soak up all the newborn time she could get. Chances were, this baby was going to be the last for both Callie and Aria, so, Paige was making her rounds of cuddles every time her relatives were around.
Arizona looked down at her daughter. "Where'd your mother go?"
Summer shrugged. "Maybe she's with Grandpa."
The blonde nodded, assuming she had probably got involved with helping cooking the meal. Carlos and Callie made a great duo in the kitchen- it was always a good meal when they made it.
"I'm gonna go play" Summer said after a while, releasing her mother from her arms.
Arizona smiled at her. "Have fun, baby."
Summer smiled back before getting up and rushing away.
Arizona knew her daughter had just sat with her to make sure she was okay, and it was sweet. Summer had always been very caring, it was a quality Arizona admired about her daughter. The young girl had a huge heart. It made her happy to know they had raised such a loving girl.
"Uh, sorry one minute I gotta answer this" Arizona interrupted her conversation with Aria, her mother had called her two times in a row now, and the blonde was confused. She got up, going down the hallway slightly so it was quieter and she could hear. "Hello?"
"Arizona! Oh, Arizona!" Barbra was crying.
"Mom? What's wrong? Why are you crying?" Arizona leaned against the wall, her confusion growing.
"Arizona!" The woman cried into her phone.
"Mom, what is it?!" Arizona tried not to get frustrated.
"Honey, I am at the hospital, your father, he passed out! And I thought he was just sleeping! But, now he is in surgery, they said something with his... his brain ... honey, I-" The woman spoke in a jumbled mess of cries and confusion.
Arizonas eyes widened and she felt like she was going to fall over. "Mom, what?!"
Barbra cried on the other end of the line.
Arizona walked into the bathroom, closing and locking the door. "Mom, when did this happen?"
"A few hours ago, he has been in surgery for... a while. I haven't heard anything. The doctor- he didn't seem too confident."
"Is it something with his tumor?" Arizona knew her father had a brain tumor, but she didn't know much else beyond that.
"Yes, honey, it's spread too much. The surgeon was going to do whatever he could, but he-" Barbra broke down crying again. "He didn't know if he would make it."
"Oh..." Arizona said quietly. She didn't like to hear her mother cry, or hear that her father might be dying- even if he had been horrible to her, she would never wish death upon him.
"Honey, I need to go, I need to see if there's any doctor who can tell me what is happening." Barbra was a mess.
"Okay... um... let me know if you hear anything, Mom. I hope everything will be okay."
"Me too, Arizona, me too." Barbra hung up.
Arizona sat there, wide eyed. What the hell. Was she supposed to go to the hospital? No, that didn't make sense. If he had woken up, her being there would cause more harm, she didn't want to upset him. Having her mother update her was good. Arizona leaned against the bathroom counter, just trying to process. She didn't know what to do. Callie would know. She needed Callie.
Eight Years Ago...
"Baby, we can go home if you need. Everyone will understand." Callie said softly, rubbing her wife's back. They were at her parents house for dinner, something they did often. Summer was happy to play with her cousin- Aria's child.
Arizona was absolutely sick to her stomach. She was pregnant. Only two months in. They didn't want to tell anyone yet- just Arizona and Callie knew. But, it was getting harder to hide. Arizona was sick, all the time.
"No, no it's fine I just..." Arizona sighed. "I wish I brought a toothbrush or something my breath... smells so bad." Arizona had just throw up, and luckily Callie had followed her when she stood up. The two of them were currently in the bathroom, Callie beyond worried about her wife.
"I have mints in my jacket pocket?" Callie offered.
Arizona laughed. "Yeah that... yeah. Please."
"Of course. Are you sure you want to stay though?"
Arizona nodded slowly. "Yeah, I'll be fine babe."
Callie helped her wife stand up and flushed the toilet, then pulled Arizona into her arms. "If you get sick again we're going home. I want you in bed, resting, not pushing yourself."
"Calliope, I'm okay." Arizona reassured.
"I know, I want to keep it that way. We'll get you some mints and water and you'll sit down, yeah?"
Arizona nodded at that.
"Do you think you'll be able to eat dinner?"
"I'll try. If not, we might just have to announce the pregnancy right then and there. Aria is already suspicious." Arizona giggled, lightening the mood.
"Really?" Callie pulled away a little to look at her wife.
"Oh yeah." Arizona nodded. "She's like the pregnancy police." Arizona laughed. "I mean... it's easy to tell."
Callie rose an eyebrow.
"Pregnant women have this aura. A sick, throw-uppy 'I can't eat this because it smells' type aura."
Callie laughed, but then looked at her wife, realizing she was serious. "What?!"
"Yup. How do you think I knew Teddy was pregnant before she said it?" Arizona asked, a smile on her face.
"I dunno I just..."
"Pregnancy aura" Arizona whispered, shaking her head in amusement from her wife's obvious confusion. "Now, mints please. I'm stinky."
"Not too stinky to kiss." Callie said sweetly, kissing her wife gently. "Ok maybe a little too stinky. Mints!"
Arizona rolled her eyes playfully, laughing at her wife's silliness. Callie always made her feel better.
Back to Current...
Callie had been in the kitchen, cooking with her father when Aria came in.
"Calliope?" The woman leaned against the counter, watching her father and sister cook.
"Yeah?" Callie didn't look up.
"Arizona's been in the bathroom for like... twenty minutes. I was gonna go check on her but... I don't know. I don't wanna make her uncomfortable."
Callie stopped what she was doing. "It's been that long?"
Aria shrugged. "Roughly. She took a phone call and then went into the bathroom. I just... I didn't... ya know..."
Callie nodded, understanding. Aria and Arizona were close, but Aria was still a little hesitant. She never wanted to push too far, and she didn't know if maybe Arizona was upset, since she knew they had just gone to the cemetery. She felt like maybe it wasn't her place. Though, that didn't stop her from being worried.
"I'll go check on her. You okay in here, Dad?" Callie washed her hands.
"I've got it under control, sweetheart." Carlos said with a nod.
Callie smiled before drying her hands, and going to check on her wife.
"Arizona? Babe, open the door. Are you alright?" Callie whispered, knocking on the door. "Aria said you've been in here for a while. She was worried.." Callie heard the door unlock and stepped back as it opened. "Hey, you okay?"
Arizona stepped into the hallway, biting her cheek. "My dad's in the hospital..." She whispered.
Callie looked her wife up and down, trying to read her body language. "Why?"
"I don't know, something with the tumor... my mom called me, she was freaking out."
"What'd she say?"
"She was crying and crying" Arizona started to cry herself- she didn't like hearing her mother crying. Despite all the troubles the mother and daughter had been through, no girl wanted to hear her mother cry. Arizona had hated hearing her mother cry.
Callie pulled her wife into a hug. "Honey."
"She said..." The blonde wiped her eyes. "I guess he like... passed out. But she thought he was sleeping? Then she must have realized something was wrong... They're at the hospital, he's having surgery. She said it's been a while and she had no updates and it... it wasn't looking too good." The blonde still had tears streaming down her cheeks, but she managed to compose herself for the most part.
"Should we... Do you wanna go to the hospital? We can go... If that's what you wanna do..." Callie wanted to help, she didn't know what to do.
Arizona shook her head. "I don't think that's a good idea" She sniffed. "If he wakes up... it'll just do more harm than good. He won't wanna see me."
"So what do you wanna do?"
"We just have to... wait I guess. I told my Mom to update me."
"You're okay with that?" Callie didn't want Arizona to feel like she couldn't go to the hospital.
"That's all I can do, Calliope." Arizona whispered.
"Okay..." Callie reached up and wiped her wife's tears away. "I'm sorry, baby."
"It's okay... I'm sure he'll be fine... I just. My mother, she was crying and crying."
Callie frowned. "It sucks, I know." She whispered, pulling Arizona into another hug and rubbing her back. "Do you wanna go home? We don't have to stay..."
Arizona shook her head as she pulled out of the hug, Callie moving her hands to the blondes hips. "No, the kids are having fun, and we promised your parents we would have dinner with them tonight. I don't wanna ruin the night."
"Baby, you won't ruin the night. It's understandable."
Arizona shook her head again, "I'm fine, Calliope."
"Okay... Do you want me to say something to my parents?"
"No, let's just... it's fine." Arizona didn't want to make a scene.
The brunette nodded. "Okay... stay with me, at least?"
Arizona gave her wife a small smile. "Sure."
Callie was pleased with that. "You ready?"
"Mhm" The blonde hummed, feeling Callie's hands slide off her hips, one soft hand wrapping around one of hers. Arizona walked with her wife back into the kitchen.
"Here, sit down, Arizona" Callie pulled out one of the bar stools.
"Thank you" Arizona said quietly as she sat down.
"Is everything okay?" Aria asked. She had still been waiting, wanting to make sure.
"Yeah, thank you Aria." Callie gave her sister a smile as she washed her hands again, ready to get back to helping her Dad cook- while keeping an eye on her wife.
Arizona kept checking her phone, trying to stay focused on the conversation she was having with her father-in-law, but it was hard. Her mother still hadn't said anything. Arizona couldn't help but wonder if maybe she should go to the hospital. Maybe that was why her Mom had called. Her Mother was there all alone, and was probably scared. The blonde tried to think about something else- she didn't want to go to the hospital. Of course she wanted her father to be okay, but she didn't want to cause any trouble, and showing up just seemed wrong, in a way.
Arizona's unusual behavior didn't go unnoticed by their family- especially Aria, who had already been confused- but, Callie had promised not to tell everyone. The brunette kept her mouth shut as the large family finally sat at the table in the dining room. Arizona was holding Paige again, since she was awake, and the blonde didn't want to just lay her in a crib if she was awake. Arizona didn't mind holding her as she ate anyway.
Unlike many years ago, Arizona and Callie were sat next to each other- that had been normalized after a few months of Torres family dinners. Carlos always sat at the head of the table- his wife next to him, and Michael on the other side. Aria was next to her husband, and Callie and Arizona sat next to Lucia. The children's positions always changed, based on who was getting along at the moment. But, on this night particularly it didn't take the young children as long as usual to get themselves to a point where everyone was happy in their seat.
The family shared a wonderful meal, falling into casual conversation. Arizona hadn't checked her phone while they ate- she didn't want to be disrespectful. Towards the end of their meal, though, Barbra called Arizona again. It had been over an hour since their last phone call. The blonde looked at her wife. "I'm so sorry, I have to answer, it's my Mom. Can you take the baby?"
"Of course. Hi Pumpkin! Come here my pretty girl!" Callie cooed to her daughter.
"Don't apologize, Arizona, take your time" Lucia said to the woman, not at all bothered. They knew Arizonas unique situation with her parents, and if Barbra was calling, Lucia wanted her daughter-in-law to answer. She knew Arizona wanted a relationship with her mother.
Arizona smiled thankfully before stepping away, answering as she rushed down the hallway. "Mom? Have you gotten an update?"
"Arizona!" Barbra wasn't even just crying, she was sobbing.
Arizona was taken back. "What happened?!"
"Arizona you need to come to the hospital."
The blonde bit her cheek hard. "Why? What happened?" She was beyond confused.
"You need to come to the... you need to come..." Barbra was just sobbing, and getting absolutely nowhere in breaking the news to her daughter.
Luckily, there had been a doctor in the room, who offered to explain the situation. She took Barbra's phone.
"Hi Ms...?"
"Torres. What happened?" Arizona didn't need formalities, she needed to get to the point.
"Ms. Torres, I am one of the doctors on your fathers case. As you know, he had a tumor, which could not be treated, and was slowly taking over parts of his brain. Tonight, your father reached a point where his brain can no longer function because of the tumor. We did everything we could in surgery, but, your father has no brain activity."
"What?! How does something like that happen so quickly?!"
"Well, your father was very sick, he had refused all possible treatments to keep him comfortable, it was slow, progressive, it didn't happen over night."
Arizona really hadn't known much about her father's state- and it had been well over a month since she saw him last. But, she was still shocked nonetheless. She didn't know what to say. "Uh..."
"I'm so sorry." The doctor sympathized.
"I'll... I'll get up there soon. Is he...?" Arizona didn't want to ask 'is he dead' but that's what she meant.
"He is on life support."
"Okay... um, yeah, I'll be there soon. Mom, you hear that?"
Barbra was still crying in the background, but couldn't compose herself to speak.
"She heard you" The doctor said, understanding Barbra was upset.
"Okay.. yeah." Arizona hung up- she didn't know what to say, and she needed to go. She wanted to get there before her father was taken off- if that was what her mother planned on doing. Arizona truly had no clue.
"Calliope... can you come here for a minute?" Arizona whispered when she got back to the dining room. She was trying to hold herself together.
"Yeah" Callie got up, still having Paige in her arms. The brunette followed her wife into the kitchen, out of ear shot.
"We need to go to the hospital... like... right now."
"Is he awake?"
Arizona shook her head, tears now forming in her eyes as she realized what was happening. It hadn't felt real until then.
"Is he...?" Callie didn't want to say it.
"Brain dead, basically, I think." Arizona whispered, her voice breaking.
"Oh, God." Callie immediately grabbed her wife, side hugging her with her free arm. "Okay, yeah, we gotta get up there. My parents can watch the kids."
"What about the baby?" Arizona rubbed her eyes, no matter how upset she was, her children were her first priority and the mother in her did not want to leave her three week old baby.
"We'll take her with us." Callie knew Arizona wouldn't leave the baby, and she didn't want Arizona to regret not going because of it, so she would figure it out, hopefully Paige would just fall asleep by the time they got there.
"Calliope? Arizona? Is everything okay in here?" Lucia had gotten up from the table, the adults at the table had figured something had been going on, and they wanted to know, so they sent Lucia.
Arizona pulled away from her wife, rubbing her eyes still, trying to stop crying.
"Arizona and I have to go up to the hospital. Her, her father isn't doing very well."
"Oh, no, dear. Do you need anything? We can watch the kids if that makes it easier" Lucia immediately offered.
Callie nodded. "I was gonna ask if you could. I think we're taking Paige and will just head up there now, I don't really know how long we'll be..." Callie shifted the baby in her arms, glancing at her wife.
"You two take your time, the children can stay the night here no problem."
"They... they have school in the morning. Crap!" Arizona was stressing herself out, and it was obvious.
"I can take them to school, honey." Lucia wanted to help, she was assuming the worst since her daughter in law was a wreck.
"Their stuff is at home."
"Arizona, I'll figure it out. I can get their things and get them to school. You need to go see your father, sweetheart. Don't worry, I've got it under control" Lucia stepped towards Arizona, placing her hands on the woman's shoulders, frowning as she saw the red circles around her eyes, very apparent due to the woman's fair skin.
Arizona looked into Lucia's eyes for a second before the two hugged. "Thank you" Arizona whispered as she cried.
Lucia rubbed her back soothingly, just wanting to make her feel better, even though she knew she couldn't. Arizona had become her daughter, despite their rough beginning. Lucia cared about Arizona just as much as her daughters, and the two women had an incredibly strong bond, especially because a lot of the things a woman would do with her mother, Arizona had done with Lucia- not her real mother. Lucia would always have that calm, motherly affect on Arizona because of that.
"Of course." Lucia whispered after some silence. The two pulled away and Arizona took a deep breath.
"Let's say bye to the kids, baby" Callie said once the two made eye contact.
Arizona wiped her tears and nodded, following her wife. The family had finished dinner, so the kids were off playing again, the adults still carrying on their conversation over the table. Arizona just tried to compose herself- she didn't want to upset the kids before leaving.