A/N: The streak… has been broken! I thought I would take a little break to really fully comprehend what I want to write and if I like where I am going… Plus two of my favorite works were updated and I was having a blast reading and rereading them!

Alright, back to Erica :)

Chapter 6

The car ride from the hospital was absolute hell. I could sense my mom trying to break the silence with how she commented on trees and buildings but then would immediately shy away when she thought she said something inappropriate. At this point of time, I don't want to be coddled. I want my old life back. My mom was never cautious around me. Neither of my parents were, but now, it was like they were scared to set me off.

I looked down at a text I received.

'Lexie and I are going to get our finances sorted today. Did you talk to Callie yet?'

It was a text from Mark. While I requested to be sent to a hospital in Boston, the rest of them went back to Seattle. Of course I would have gone too, but my parents were here and I thought that they could look after me for a bit, until I got the courage to face my wife. Little did I know that she moved to Boston too.

Is she my wife?

I was away for six years, that has to count to some sort of separation right? What if she moved on and has a wife? I couldn't just waltz back into my wife's life and show up unannounced. My world was rocked, I didn't want that for her.

I looked down at my left hand. I didn't have my ring anymore. Between crashing and moving around to survive, the ring slipped and I lost it. I think it was sometime between the first few months we were struggling to survive, with the weight I lost, it's possible that it simply slipped off of my boney finger without me realizing.

My boney fingers, I needed to gain all my weight back. I hate myself. It took everything I had not to look at myself from the rearview mirror of the car. They might have put me in human clothes, cut and dyed my hair back, but I was far from feeling like myself.

Will I ever feel like myself?

'I haven't talked to her yet' I texted him back.

I pulled my sweater over my hands because I couldn't stand to see myself. I hated what my body had become. Just a shell of the femininity I had. I tried to focus on something else, everything else. Like Mark!

This was another thing that had changed. I didn't realize how codependent I had gotten on Mark during our time there. We would never text each other before, literally never! If I wanted something from him, I would tell Callie and she would make it happen. But right now? We were texting constantly, sure it was mostly about my daughter but still.

Oh god Sofia! What would she have to say about me? Will she even recognize me? Does she even remember me at this point? I could feel my heart shuddering at the thought.

'I want to meet Sofia so please talk to her! ASAP' he texted.

I rolled my eyes and put my phone away. I cannot deal with him right now.

"Zozo, honey?" I looked up and saw my dad trying to get my attention. "I know it is too soon, but have you thought about suing the hospital?"

"Dad, can we not-"

"Honey, it's not just about the money. The hospital gave up on finding you guys after a week. One week! And they raised their hands in defeat and officially declared you dead."

"Which was the right thing to do!"

"That's bullshit and you know that! It was Carlos and I leading search parties to find you guys, to get any information about anything. We have photos, videos, heaps and heaps of evidence in our favor."

"You should have just let me die there," I whispered.

My father took that as a hint and stopped talking. Did I really believe that? Well, somedays I did. Somedays I wanted to give up, because it was too difficult. I know that I should be grateful that I survived, but… I just had these thoughts from time to time.

"Sweetie, should we go to the store to get you some more clothes?" My mom asked.

"I'll wear whatever is at home," I replied as I brushed her off and looked outside of the window. It was a bit overwhelming to see skyscrapers and people and anything but woods and creeks.

"And home is?" She asked.

Damn you mom! You got me again. They were really pushing for Calliope to at least text her or warn her before she read it on the paper or saw it on the internet, but I couldn't. I couldn't face myself let alone her.

After about thirty minutes the car came to a stop.

"Did you move? I thought you said that you loved the house. What are we doing here?"

"No, we didn't move Zozo, but you're home," my mom said.

"What? I don't-" and that's when I looked at the mailbox.

'Torres'

"Seriously! Mom? Dad? I tell you I'm not ready, that I need some time and you drive me to her house, what is wrong with-"

"Stop right there little lady!" My dad said in his Colonel voice. "I did not raise a coward! I raised a strong confident woman who didn't give up in the face of adversity, but welcomed them head on! I know what I'm doing wrong, just forcing you to make decisions that need more time, but this is not one of them. You don't want to talk about suing the hospital, fine! But you are not going to run away from your family! That is not an honorable thing to do. So get your butt out of the car and walk, tall soldier! And don't even think about coming home, you have no idea how to get there, you have no cash so might as well ring the doorbell and talk to her. You hear me?"

I looked at mom. "Are you going to let him do that to me?"

"Zozo, it's first woman you told about Tim, the first person you ever saw raising a family with…"

"You are no help either!" Angrily I got out and slammed the door shut. "Fine, I'll do what you want." I took a few steps and stood in front of the house.

There was a car in the garage. Does that mean Callie's home? Or is that her partner's car? Or maybe it's Sofia's? Wait, Sofia is twelve, I don't think that's her car.

Fuck! Sofia is twelve! I took a deep breath. I need to do this. I silently thanked my parents for pushing me to do this. I would never tell them this, but had they not pushed me I don't think I would have ever been ready.

I took a few steps forward and rang the doorbell. Here goes nothing.

"You are not my sister!" There was a boy at the door. He looked at me as if he wasn't sure what to do about me. Clearly, I am not his sister, that is just not possible. Who was this little guy? The mailbox read Torres so this has to be Callie's house, right?

Oh, my heart sank. This could be her partner's son? I looked back and saw that my parents had already left. Great. Looks like I needed a ride to get back.

"Umm, is your mom or umm dad home?"

He nodded before taking off. I need to stay calm, I need to stay calm, I need to stay calm. Nothing good is going to happen if I get myself worked up. It's good that Callie moved on. I wanted her too.

Suddenly, I heard a gasp on the other end of the house. There she was standing with a hand to her chest while the kid was hiding behind her legs.

"Umm, hi?" I started as I watched her walking towards me. The boy ran behind her and went to the other room. Well that made things easier.

"Is it really you?" she choked as I saw her eyes filling up tears.

"Yeah," I offered her a small smile.

She took a few more steps forward before she stood in front of me. The years have been kind to her. She had a bit of smile lines around her eyes but other than that she looked just like herself. My Calliope, or well…

"Would you, do you want to come inside?" She asked to which I nodded.

I followed her in and took a seat across her on the couch. I don't know why but I felt too nervous all of a sudden.

"I know you have a lot of questions but they found us about a week ago. I was at the hospital and I just got cleared and here I am."

I could see that she was still trying to process everything I had just said.

"All of you are… Is everyone okay?"

"Yeah, well Jerry, the pilot died and Dr. Chang did too, but other than them all of us are fine."

"You're fine?" She repeated.

"I'm fine."

Never in a million years did I think that on a random weekend my wife would just walk back into my house like nothing happened. Like she never left and all that heartache was nothing. She was just sitting there on the couch as far away as she could looking so confused, so lost, so unlike herself.

"You umm have a nice house."

"Yeah, the apartment was starting to become a bit cramped after Enzo came along."

God, she was still so beautiful. Still the same woman I have always loved.

"Enzo?" She asked. "Is he your partner?" I could see her face falling. I could tell that she was picturing me being with someone else.

"Actually, you just met him."

She looked at me like she didn't understand what I was saying. "Enzo, sweetie, could you come here please?" I called out to my son.

A moment later a flash of blonde dashed around the couch before I caught him in my arms and pulled him onto my lap. "Do you know who that is?" I asked as I pointed at Arizona. He took a second to look at her before turning back to me and shaking his head no. "Of course you do sweetie, think harder" I encouraged. "I have shown you pictures and videos and told you stories about her."

I glazed at Arizona and could tell that she was nervous. "Is that, Mama?" he asked.

I smiled at him. "Yeah, that's Mama."

"That's so cool!" He said before leaping off of my arms and running towards her and asking to be picked up.

Arizona scooped him into my arms. Enzo snuggled into her arms before hugging her tightly. "I missed you."

"I think I missed you too."

Was this a bit too much for her? Should I have warned her before introducing Enzo to her? What was wrong with me? She was god knows where, lost in the forest and here I am forcing her son on her. But then I saw Arizona closing her eyes as a tear escaped her eye.

Looking at them, I didn't know I felt my heart swell up to twice its size. Blonde on blonde, dimples on dimples, my family was finally complete.

"Mama, where were you?" He asked.

I saw Arizona conflicted, not sure how to come up with an answer for that question.

"Enzo baby, why don't we let Mama relax a little bit and then get ice cream together? What do you think?"

"Awesome! Do you mind if I go watch some TV Mama?" He asked Arizona instead of me, I see I'm already being replaced ashis favorite parent.

"Yeah, sure," she replied as Enzo hopped off the couch and ran out.

I don't think he understands what just happened, "I'm sorry, I didn't know how to answer that question."

"That's fine, I thought you were umm… dead. So I told them that. I don't think he understands how death works, though."

She laughed, oh god, I have missed that sound so much. "We had a boy?"

"Yeah."

"And umm, where is Sofia?"

"She's out with friends, I can call her back if-"

Before I could finish she cut me off. "Um no, it's fine. I don't think I'm ready for that yet."

I nodded, it could be overwhelming to come home after such a long time and by the way she asked about Enzo, I'm pretty sure she thought that I was involved with someone else. I saw her looking at my hand on my ring finger and saw the absence of a ring there. For a moment, I saw her smile before her face fell. I wanted to tell her that I couldn't wear it anymore, that it's on my necklace, but I held back.

"Mark?"

"He's fine, he and Lexie are in Seattle."

I nodded. Not only was it hard to deal with losing my wife, but knowing that my wife was gone too, I was just divested.

Suddenly, Arizona clapped her hands and stood up. "I should get going?"

"Oh, do you need anything?" That's when I realized something. "Oh god, I should probably call Barbara and Daniel, they will lose their mind when they find out that you're back."

I took out my phone and Arizona put her hand up. "They know, they umm have known for a week. They dropped me off here."

"Oh." She was in Boston for a week and I didn't know. Her parents knew and they didn't tell me. "I asked them not to tell you."

I nodded. Maybe that's what they were doing in the city.

"Actually, do you have any of my stuff, some clothes or something?" Did I have anything that belonged to her, yes, yes I did. I almost wore them to the point that they had lost their smell. But why did she need them? "Also, if you don't mind, could you drop me off at my parents house?"

No, she was finally home and I was not ready to let her go yet.

"I could take the couch and you could sleep here, we have a lot of space."

"I just need to be at my parent's house for a while. I hope you understand?"

I tried not to be hurt by that. That my wife came back from the dead and didn't want to be with me. But I guess her parents missed her more, that he wanted their daughter close. But god damn it, I needed my wife. But I kept myself in control. I know that one thing she didn't need was an outburst from me.

"Come for dinner tomorrow? Sof would want to meet you, call Mark . I'm sure he wants to see her too?" Arizona nodded.

My wife was back, I should be thankful that she was back. Of course she's going to be a bit more reserved. Being by herself all this time has definitely done things to her.

The two of us walked towards the front door. I saw a car I recognized with Daniel driving it. I wasn't sure if I should be mad at them or go and cry on Barbara's lap because of all these emotions going inside of me.

"Oh, my parents are here."

"Yeah."

"I guess, I'll see you tomorrow?"

I tried to find my voice, to say anything but a one word syllable. "Could I umm, can I hug you?" I asked.

"I shouldn't keep my parents waiting." I nodded and tried to ignore the fact that she didn't want me touching her, that she wanted nothing to do with me, that she was known to run away.

Just then my son came running to the window and leaped into Arizona's arms. "Are you leaving Mama? Will I see you again?" He asked.

"Yeah buddy, I'll see you tomorrow?"

"You promise?" Arizona nodded as Enzo hugged her.

Never have I ever been jealous of my own child and seeing him hugging her did it. Sure, this is the first time he's meeting her, but she doesn't mind hugging him. I swallowed all my negative feelings, I didn't want her to see me like that, she just got back. Whatever it is, she'd tell me right.

"Awesome!" He said as he hopped off of her arms and hugged my leg. "Mommy, clear my schedule for tomorrow." Trust my son to make a tense situation fun. This is just a bit we did together where I was his assistant.

"Yes sir."

I looked back up at Arizona. "I'll let Mark know."

"Tomorrow 6:00 pm, is that okay?"

"Yeah."

"And umm you can invite Barbara and Daniel too, if you want."

"Sure, they'd love to come."

The two of us smiled at each other, not knowing what to say. I didn't want to say bye. The last time I said bye to her, I didn't want to think about it.

"I should get going," she said before she left.

What the fuck is wrong with me! She asked me for a hug. My wife had to ask me for a hug and I couldn't even do that. I couldn't wrap my arms around her. I let my insecurities get to me that I couldn't let her touch me. I couldn't let her feel that I was no longer me.

Enzo.

Oh my god, I had a son.

For some reason I kept on picturing a baby girl that I completely overlooked the possibility of ever having a daughter.

I made my way into my parent's car before slamming the door shut.

"So?"

"I hate you both so much for making me do that!"

"And?"

"Thank you for making me do that."

I smiled at them. They knew that I needed a gentle nudge to face her. But now all I could think about was Sof.

"So you met all of them?"

"I met Enzo."

"Yeah? And?" My mother asked.

"Why didn't you tell me she had a boy? God I thought that she was dating someone named Enzo and then this tiny little ball of energy leaped into my arms and he cuddled with me and was calling me Mama."

I didn't know when but I had huge tears making their way down my face. "And Sofia?"

"She wasn't home. But Callie invited us tomorrow for dinner."

My parents looked at each other. "Do you- you want us to come?"

"Yeah, she invited Mark too."

"So you need us to be there as a buffer?"

I angrily folded my arms. "Well you forced me to go visit her, so the least you can do is be there for dinner." my parents smiled as my dad started driving towards their house. "She asked me to stay over."

"Zozo, what did you do?"

"I turned her down and before you even ask me why, the two of you have seen my nightmares. Dad had to hold me down because I kept hitting myself, I can't let my kids see that, I can't put Callie through that!"

"So instead you are going to hide out at our house?"

"Until the nightmares stop."

My mom looked thoughtful as if she wasn't sure if she should say what she was thinking.

"And what if they don't?"

A/N: That was sooo… I don't even know what emotions I felt there. But I made sure this chapter was a bit longer? I didn't want to leave you guys on another cliffhanger, but I think I managed that well?

The next chapter is going to be about dinner, how do you feel about that? Should it be dramatic or just your regular awkwardness? Also Sofia has not met Arizona yet, what do you think here reaction would be?