A/N – *Sigh* I cannot believe some of you think Callie is selfish and only thinking about herself when it was clear that Sofia is the only one Callie is thinking about, as it should be, but I'm glad at least some of you understood why Callie didn't want Arizona to move back in right now. Calzona fandom is so difficult to please LOL... I'm building things up people ;-) some things are necessary in order to get where I want the story to go otherwise it would not be realistic that Arizona was one day out of the apartment and then back in just because they are married, and without any development of their relationship… The way I write, what happens in one chapter is closely related to what goes on in the next ones and these things need to be connected and developed for the story to work…
Anyway, an important note, I am not following the exact timeline of Grey's Anatomy as there is something I wanted to include in this story and I don't want to write 100 chapters to get there LOL ;-) Let's see if you can figure out what it might be before we reach it in this chapter ;-).
CHAPTER 14
FRIDAY
Arizona couldn't sleep properly, she tossed and turned most of the night, her thoughts constantly going back to Mark. She couldn't fully understand why she felt this way but she felt so angry that Mark got to spend so much time with Sofia when she didn't. Around 4 a.m. she finally fell asleep only to sit up in bed suddenly half an hour before her alarm was supposed to sound as if she was woken up by a nightmare.
"How dared he!" she screamed in anger, jumped out of bed and stormed off into the bathroom. She took a shower as her anger kept on rising and rising. She quickly got ready and banged on Alex's door, "Get up Karev!" she yelled and went downstairs into the kitchen. Half an hour later Alex was grumbling in the kitchen while chewing on a piece of toast.
"Alex let's go!" Arizona said impatiently standing at the door.
"What's up with you this morning?" Alex asked, "One day when I get to sleep in a bit and you are yelling since the early morning!"
"Nothing! I just want to get to the hospital as soon as possible," Arizona replied her arms crossed on her chest.
Twenty minutes later when they approached the hospital, Arizona strode inside resolutely, leaving a confused Alex behind.
"What's up with her?" Cristina asked.
"Beats me," Alex commented and turned towards the coffee cart. He got his regular coffee and a bagel and then headed into the building. He stepped inside just in time to witness Arizona storming towards Callie and Mark who were standing next to the elevator. Mark had just escorted Sofia to the daycare and came down to meet Callie who had started her normal morning shift two hours before.
"You told me I was nothing! How dared you tell me I was nothing to Sofia!" Arizona shouted as she slammed her palms against Mark's chest and pushed him with all her force.
"Whoa! Hold on! We were arguing, not nice things were said! I apologized! We made peace! Calm down Robbins!"
"What is she talking about?" Callie asked looking at Mark with a confused expression on her face.
"Oh crap!" Karev commented and quickly went the other way, Cristina following behind him, both knowing better than to get caught in this crossfire.
"Nothing Torres, just a misunderstanding we had," Mark said as he straightened his shirt.
"A misunderstanding!? You told me I was nothing!" Arizona screamed again.
"Okay seriously you need to stop yelling, you only remember one part of it, I said it in the heat of the moment, we were both freaking out, you called me a sperm donor, we yelled at each other, we both said terrible things but we made up. We apologized and made peace Robbins. So stop yelling at me!"
"Will someone please tell me what the hell you both are talking about?" Callie asked, confusion still completely covering her face as she watched the exchange before her.
Arizona's pager sounded and she looked at it, "Dammit! Well, since obviously I do not remember the whole story I'll let Mark fill you in!" Arizona said her voice still raised. She turned around and rushed to NICU.
"You don't! You remembered just the bits of the whole story, so stop yelling at me!" Mark fumed as he watched Arizona walk away.
"Mark, what the hell!? What was that all about?" Callie asked following Arizona with her eyes and then directing her questioning look at Mark.
Mark sighed heavily, reluctant to speak.
Callie grabbed his arm and dragged him to the nearest on-call room.
"Torres, let go of me!" Mark protested.
"No Mark! You need to fill me in, because I am clueless here and Arizona almost bit your head off! What the hell!?"
Mark sat down on the bed and looked at Callie. "We fought… really bad… When the car accident happened… There was a moment when we needed to consider taking Sofia out to give you better chances of survival. Arizona was worried that Sofia wouldn't make it if they took her out so early and I said we should do it to give you the best chance, and that you and I could just make another baby. We fought about it, she told me it wasn't my decision because it was you and her, and I was just a sperm donor, I told her that I was the father and that it was my family and that she didn't get a say in it, that she was basically nothing to you and Sofia."
Callie sat down her mouth open wide, speechless.
"I'm sorry, I apologized to her, we were both scared and we didn't know what to do, it was stress and fear coming out of our mouths, but we made up, I swear Callie we talked it out, we made peace, and you know we made it all work later, we were great at co-parenting, we were all one big happy family. She just doesn't remember that part," Mark explained and looked at his hands. "Dammit, this amnesia thing really sucks!"
Callie laughed sarcastically, "Yeah, tell me about it!". She took a deep breath and stood up. "Why did you two hide it from me?"
"We didn't want to upset you when you were still recovering, and once we sorted things out we pretty quickly fell into the co-parenting thing, don't you remember how we were fist bumping each other switching between your room and Sofia's room?"
"Yeah, I remember…" Callie whispered a soft smile finding its way across the worried face.
"It was ten minutes of crazy yelling at each other and first we made a pact not to bother you with it but later we just put it behind and moved on, I never even thought about it again, there was no point in telling you when things were going smoothly."
Callie sighed again and ran her hand through her hair. "I'll go find Arizona…"
"Okay, I'll be in Lexie's room, I don't have anything until that surgery at 11."
"God this day hasn't even started properly and I'm already exhausted," Callie mumbled and opened the door.
"Everything will be fine Torres, this is just another storm that we need to get through, this one's a mild one compared to the previous ones," he winked and Callie laughed.
"Thank God the weekend is coming," Callie commented and stepped outside.
Mark stood up and straightened his shirt again. He put a smile on his face as he headed towards Lexie's room making a mental note to himself that he should maybe talk to Arizona again, to clear some heavy air that he noticed was present between them.
Callie walked to Peds ward and looked for Arizona. She found her in NICU, inspecting a baby.
Arizona noticed Callie approaching and felt a bit embarrassed to face her.
Callie came closer and dipped her head lower searching for Arizona's eyes.
"Can you talk?" she asked.
"I have to check on this baby…" Arizona whispered.
"Is the baby dying?" Callie asked as she looked at the chart.
"No, of course not," Arizona admitted.
Callie lifted the chart, "You've already filled the data in."
Arizona didn't reply and continued being focused on the baby.
"Arizona, please talk to me…" Callie whispered.
Arizona took a long breath, "I just… there are so many things… I don't have time…" she started explaining and shook her head.
Callie grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the on-call room. She turned her head towards Alex who was checking up on another baby, "We need a few minutes," she informed him.
"Fine by me," he said waving his hand.
"Callie, I have a lot of work…" Arizona protested.
"No, Arizona! This is important, we will talk now!" Callie insisted and opened the door to the on-call room.
Arizona sighed heavily and stepped inside.
"What's going on?" Callie asked softly.
"What do you mean? I remembered what he said to me and it made me angry," Arizona replied as dryly as she could, hoping Callie would not read anything else behind it.
"I know you Arizona, something else is going on and not just this sudden memory that disturbed your morning," Callie explained looking at Arizona waiting for her to tell her what was really wrong.
Nice try Robbins, of course your wife knows you well, Arizona thought to herself.
"Is it about last night?" Callie continued softly, "I thought you understood that it was the best thing for Sofia," she whispered.
"It's not about that…" Arizona whispered back, "I mean it is in a way…, mixed with a lot of things…" she admitted.
"But the main issue is…?" Callie pushed but Arizona stayed silent not sure she wanted to reveal to Callie that she felt threatened by Mark's presence.
Callie sat down next to Arizona and took her hand "Arizona, I know you too well, something is bothering you, three days ago we agreed to go on dates, we were gonna have dinners with Sofia, spend more time together and now suddenly you seem like you are spiraling out of balance completely."
Arizona nodded her head. "It's Mark," she whispered.
"Mark?" Callie repeated with surprise, "What about Mark?" she asked.
"I saw you on Wednesday morning coming together to the hospital and you were so happy together…" Arizona explained as her eyes fell to the floor.
"I…" Callie opened her mouth in surprise and sighed, Karev told me she had issues about Mark and I brushed it off, she scolded herself in her head and lifted Arizona's chin up gently "he's Sofia's father," she started, "we spend a lot of time together, he lives across the hall, he's my best friend, he's become your friend as well…"
"I just… I don't remember all that… so I'm just still getting used to the idea of him being constantly present, especially when he gets to spend so much time with Sofia lately and I don't…"
"Arizona," Callie said softly, "at one point Sofia had two of her three parents in the hospital, you were both fighting for your lives and he almost didn't make it, and after he did, he spent every hour by Lexie's side, fighting for her life, he was a mess, and our little girl not only missed you, she also missed her dada who always goofs around with her and makes her laugh. Sofia is used to having three parents, it's been the three of us since the beginning, and it's been working well. I promise you, you are getting along with him. At one point I even had to kick him out because the two of you were cooking together and bonding so I got jealous because I felt like he was stealing my precious time with you. The memory you had was ten minutes of you both freaking out because I was in critical condition. He said you two talked it out and apologized, he said you made peace, and I believe him because I never knew about this, I never suspected something like that happened."
"Did I really call him a sperm donor?"
"Apparently yes," Callie said with a grimacing grin.
"Yikes, that was not nice…" Arizona admitted.
"Well, you both said some awful things…" Callie said, "and I can't believe you made a pact not to tell me, now what was that about!?" Callie asked and looked at Arizona with a fake stern expression on her face.
"Don't look at me, I have amnesia," Arizona said and shrugged her shoulders as a small smile appeared in the corner of her lips.
Callie chuckled and smiled. "So are we good with Mark?" she asked.
Arizona nodded her head and smiled softly, "I'll work on getting used to him."
Callie sighed heavily and leaned back. "I can't believe we are dealing with the Mark issue again, I thought we had left that behind… If I had known one night with Mark would cause this much trouble I would have never…"
Arizona placed her finger over Callie's lips, "We wouldn't have Sofia then," she said with determination.
Callie smiled feeling like a heavy burden had fallen off of her chest, "Oh so, now you're saying that you don't mind me having slept with Mark?" Callie asked in surprise.
"Umm, I am not sure my non-amnesia self would agree with that statement so I'm pleading the Fifth here," Arizona said playfully.
Callie laughed out loud. "I love you, you know that," she said and placed her right hand on Arizona's left cheek as her lips kissed her right one. Arizona felt her body blush as her own I love you too danced on the tip of her tongue but she swallowed hard instead and smiled softly feeling her heart thumping fast inside her chest.
"I'm bringing Sofia to the barbecue tomorrow and Mark will probably be there too," Callie informed observing Arizona's face to see if she was okay with that.
"Oh right, Alex told me. Speaking of that, you can't keep me up too long tonight, Alex forbade me to take a nap on Saturday afternoon so I have to go to bed early tonight."
"Whatever made you think I would keep you up late tonight?" Callie teased as Arizona blushed and Callie laughed softly.
"Pick you up at 7?" Callie asked with a smile.
"Yeah, that's fine," Arizona confirmed and met Callie's smile quickly getting lost in her deep brown eyes. She started leaning forward slowly when a loud knock on the door startled them both.
"Jesus!" Arizona breathed out placing her hand on her chest.
"Dr. Robbins we need you, Maya's heart rate is going up rapidly!" they heard Wilson through the door.
"Coming!" Arizona shouted and stood up. She quickly walked to the door and opened it, "See you tonight," she said with a smile.
Callie was already on her feet as well, "See you tonight," she repeated and smiled at Arizona who simply said "Okay," and rushed out of the room.
Callie took a deep breath and smiled, "Okay, that went well," she whispered hoping the rest of the day would end up being much calmer.
It was late afternoon when Arizona dragged her feet into the on-call room. She let her body slump on the bed, she was exhausted. Her sleepless night paired up with another busy day at work took a toll on her body. She looked at the time and decided that it made no sense to go back home. She took her phone and quickly typed a message to Callie.
~ I had to stay longer. Can you meet me at the hospital, I'm gonna take a nap in the on-call room, I'm gonna fall asleep on our date if I go home now. ~
Arizona sent the message and closed her eyes. A few seconds later her phone chimed.
~ Sure :-), get some rest, I'll see you soon. ~
Arizona set the alarm on the phone and curled up, sleep overcoming her eyes even before her head sank deep into the pillow.
An hour later Callie slowly opened the door to the on-call room and smiled seeing Arizona curled up on the bed, facing the door. She tiptoed inside and quietly closed the door. She observed Arizona's body rising up and down with each breath, a stray of blonde lock gently falling over her left cheek and Callie fought the urge to walk over and tuck the hair behind Arizona's ear. She stood there wondering what to do. She didn't want to wake Arizona up, it was clear she was in deep sleep and it meant she was exhausted. Watching Arizona sleep so peacefully she actually wanted only one thing and she debated silently if it was a good idea or not. I could snuggle right next to her and take a nap with her, just feel her close and hold her for a bit, it shouldn't be an issue, we are married, there's nothing wrong with a short nap, her thoughts wandered as another part of her kept her standing at the door.
While Callie was going back and forth in her head, Arizona turned to the other side leaving perfectly enough room next to her for Callie to slide in. Callie smiled and quickly decided that this was a sign to do what she longed to do. She set the alarm on her phone and placed it on the small table next to the bed, she took her shoes off and slowly slid her body next to Arizona's. Arizona stirred and pressed her back more into Callie making her smile and wrap her right arm around Arizona's body. She inhaled Arizona's scent and closed her eyes. The shifting of the bed interrupted Arizona's sleep and her eyes opened slowly, she felt warm bodily presence next to her and saw the tanned hand in front of her eyes.
"Calliope?" she whispered.
Callie opened her eyes, "Yes, it's me," she whispered back.
"I don't think I can get up just yet," Arizona said still half asleep.
"It's fine, go back to sleep, you don't have to get up," Callie explained softly.
"Okay, just a few more minutes…" Arizona mumbled and pulled Callie's arm tighter around her own body.
An hour had passed when Arizona turned again and buried her head into Callie's neck, she adjusted her body to make herself more comfortable and wrapped her left arm around Callie's waist. Callie wasn't in deep sleep, she had dozed off on several occasions but she was mostly just reveling in the sensation of having Arizona close to her.
"Mmm… what time is it?" Arizona mumbled.
"Around 8 p.m. maybe," Callie responded.
Arizona took a deep breath and stretched her body a bit. She looked up into Callie's eyes and whispered,
"I'm so sorry..."
"For what?" Callie asked with a smile.
"Falling asleep on our date…"
"I don't mind. This was the best second date I could have imagined, I've held you in my arms, I thought it would only happen in my dreams today and not for real..." Callie replied, now smiling broadly.
Arizona smiled and snuggled closer into Callie's body. A few seconds passed in silence and then Callie spoke.
"I miss you too…" she whispered and Arizona lifted her head. She inspected Callie's eyes and saw apologetic gaze staring at her.
"I'm not mad about yesterday," Arizona said. "You were right, Sofia needs to come first."
Callie smiled softly and nodded her head.
"I did feel bad though, after I left your apartment," Arizona admitted.
"I can imagine, I felt bad too, I'm sorry," Callie whispered.
"It's fine, I feel much better now, you have just made it up to me," Arizona smiled and winked at Callie.
Callie chuckled and lightly rolled her eyes jokingly.
"So, since I will continue to feel miserable in my lonely room without you and Sofia, how about we make this nap time a regular thing?" Arizona suggested.
Callie lifted her eyebrows, "Miserable? You're being overly dramatic," she teased.
"Very miserable and I think you have to keep on making it up to me," Arizona emphasized making a sad face.
Callie laughed, "Okay, I think that can be arranged, once a week?" she offered with a smile.
"Umm, twice a week," Arizona corrected and Callie laughed out loud. Arizona smiled broadly as she felt her body react to the beautiful sound of Callie's laughter filling the room.
"Anything else?" Callie asked playfully as she stared into Arizona's eyes.
Arizona held the gaze feeling the energy flow between them. "How about this as well?" she asked as she leaned forward and pressed her mouth against Callie's lips.
Callie closed her eyes and let her right hand go inside Arizona's hair while her left hand pulled Arizona's body closer. She felt Arizona's fingers brush along her neck before they settled on her left jaw. She gasped when Arizona's teeth caught her lower lip and pulled on it just before she felt Arizona's tongue brush lightly over the space between her lips. Callie moaned loudly and opened her mouth inviting Arizona in, waiting in anticipation to feel the warm and slick touch of her tongue. Their lips touched gently as their tongues brushed lightly against one another, both enjoying the soft exchange and simply savoring the moment of intimacy.
When their lips parted Arizona sighed contently and buried her head next to Callie's neck again. She smiled as her fingers caressed Callie's arm.
"This is the best second date ever," she said in a dreamy voice.
Callie lightly ran her fingers through Arizona's hair and smiled.
"Yes it is," she agreed and let her hand go up and down Arizona's back.
"Mmm, you're gonna put me to sleep again with that move…" Arizona mumbled.
"So sleep, I'll wake you up in an hour and drive you home," Callie said and kissed Arizona's forehead softly.
"Mhm, okay…" Arizona whispered as Callie heard her breath even out again. She smiled and continued caressing Arizona's back, feeling happy she was able to have Arizona in her arms and listen to her breathe so close to her.
SATURDAY
"Arizona, your girls are here!" Alex yelled from the door, bringing a new set of glasses outside. "She's in the kitchen," he informed Callie and smiled at Sofia. "Hey little warrior, I haven't seen you in a while, your mama is inside and excited to see you."
"See mama," Sofia grinned and pointed her hand to the house.
"Yes, let's go find mama baby," Callie said softly and soon met a broad grin on the blonde's face as Arizona appeared in the hallway.
"Hiii baby girl!" she exclaimed happily as she took Sofia into her arms.
"Mama!" Sofia screamed with joy and wrapped her arms around Arizona's neck as Arizona leaned forward and placed a kiss on Callie's cheek.
"Hi," she said softly with a smile.
"Hi," Callie replied and let her fingers roll down Arizona's back.
"Oh, I'm so happy to see you two," Arizona said with excitement as she bounced Sofia in her arms. Sofia giggled happily and started pushing her body down.
"Down!" she instructed and Arizona laughed as she placed Sofia's feet on the floor and took her hand. "So fast, I haven't even held you for a minute," Arizona commented with surprise.
"Lately she just wants to walk and explore, I really miss the times when I could hold her for hours," Callie said with a touch of melancholy in her voice.
Sofia pulled Arizona's hand as she took a few steps, "Oh, you wanna take a tour?" Arizona said with a giggle as Sofia let go of Arizona's hand and started walking towards the stairs.
"Slow down," Arizona laughed and hurried after her, Callie following behind them smiling broadly.
Arizona caught both Sofia's hands and let her climb the steps holding her safe as she slowly lifted one foot after the other screaming with joy at this newly found adventure making both Callie and Arizona laugh out loud.
Sofia continued leading them across the hall and directly into Arizona's room.
"Well aren't you like a little Sherlock Holmes, how did you know that was mama's room?" Arizona commented with amusement as they entered the room and Sofia headed straight for the bed.
She tried climbing on it but it was too high so Arizona helped her up and sat down next to her.
"Mommy here," Sofia called stretching her hands towards Callie.
"Do you want me to sit down too?" Callie asked.
"Yes," Sofia said with a giggle.
Callie smiled and sat down. Aren't you a little matchmaker, she thought as she glanced at Arizona who was focusing her eyes on Sofia but her body language gave out sings of slight fluster.
When Callie sat down Arizona leaned forward towards Sofia and started to tickle her. Sofia started moving away and Arizona moved up on the bed making her hip lean onto Callie in an attempt to catch Sofia who was now screaming with joy.
"More," Sofia screamed happily and Arizona continued, enjoying the sensation of the touch of Callie's body at the same time. Callie observed the exchange and soon joined them placing her fingers on Arizona's waist starting to tickle her.
Arizona's giggle caused another joyful scream from Sofia who now discovered that she could do the same thing and she crawled closer to Arizona as Callie took Sofia's hands and helped her tickle Arizona's skin.
More giggles and happiness filled the room and then Arizona called a time out needing to catch her breath.
Callie took Sofia in her lap as Arizona let her body slump on the bed.
"Not fair, it was two to one," she protested as Callie laughed out loud.
"More," Sofia demanded and Arizona laughed.
"No more Sofia, mama needs a break," she said as she sat up, the way Callie was eyeing her body not escaping her. She looked up and their eyes met.
"Robbins, no making out, we need help down here!" they heard Yang yell from downstairs and Callie laughed out loud.
"Leave it to Yang to disrupt the perfect family moment," she joked.
"She's a real charm sometimes," Arizona commented as she reluctantly got up. She stretched out her arms towards Sofia.
"Come on Sofia, your godmother needs help," she said and took Sofia into her arms.
Callie got up and suddenly stopped, "Arizona, how do you know Cristina is Sofia's godmother?"
Arizona turned around, "Oh, ummm…," she paused and thought about it.
"Have Yang or Karev told you?"
"Umm, no, we didn't get to talk much lately, it was mostly work stuff…"
"So you remembered?" Callie asked with a smile.
Arizona smiled back, "I remembered…"
"Seriously Robbins! Get your ass down!" another call came from the downstairs.
Arizona rolled her eyes "Now if only I could remember whatever possessed you to make that choice…," she commented and headed out the door.
Callie laughed out loud, "I blame it on the hormones…" she said and followed them downstairs.
When they came down they heard Alex and Cristina arguing over the barbecue.
"Okay, seriously Cristina this is not how you do it, step away from the barbecue!"
"Oh come on, it's a piece of meat that you grill, you turn it around a few times and voila!"
"It's not supposed to catch fire!" Alex yelled and stormed inside.
"Torres, you're the cooking master, please come help me out because Cristina will ruin all the meat!"
Callie chuckled. "I guess I should save this or we won't have anything to eat," she whispered to Arizona and gave Sofia a kiss before she headed out.
"Mommy is going to help uncle Alex with the barbecue, let's see what the two of us can do," Arizona said and smiled at Sofia as they walked over to the kitchen.
Arizona prepared some snacks while Sofia roamed around the kitchen freely. Arizona took a plate and opened the kitchen door with intention to place it in the hallway and come get Sofia to take her outside. She turned her back and within a second Sofia followed and immediately headed for the stairs. Arizona put the plate on the small table and turned around and her mouth opened wide as Sofia was already on her third step giggling happily as she climbed on her own on her hands and knees.
"How did you get up there so fast?!" Arizona exclaimed in awe as she hurried towards Sofia, "Come here you little trouble maker, you can't climb the stairs on your own." She took Sofia in her arms and headed outside.
In the meantime Mark had arrived and was now standing next to Callie and Cristina involved in a casual chat with them.
"Even Derek is on board with you being with Lexie, if you ask me, he wouldn't be opposed to wedding bells either," Cristina informed nudging Mark with her shoulder.
Mark chuckled, "Let's get her out of the hospital first. I am taking it one step at a time."
"I'm actually impressed at how well you've been handling this whole situation Mark," Cristina said, surprise evident on her face.
Arizona stopped in the doorway, her eyes catching the moment when Mark put his arm around Callie's waist and pulled her closer.
"Torres here kept me sane. Without her I think I would have definitely flipped."
Callie smiled and wrapped her arm around Mark as well, "We kept each other sane."
Mark smiled but suddenly felt like someone's eyes were burning a hole in his back so he turned his head and froze for a second when he was met with Arizona's cold gaze. He immediately let go of Callie.
"Will you excuse me, I'll be right back," he said and walked over to Arizona who had now sat down on the bench under the kitchen window.
"Hey," he said as he approached her.
"Hi, Mark," Arizona said and watched with pain as Sofia stretched her arms towards him and called happily,
"Dada!"
"Hey, my little mighty oak, are you enjoying your time with mama?" he asked softly as he sat down next to Arizona and placed Sofia on his knees.
Sofia giggled happily, "Mama!" she said and pointed at Arizona.
Arizona took her hand and caressed it as she smiled at Sofia.
Mark lifted Sofia up and threw her into the air a few times making both Arizona and himself laugh at Sofia's screams of joy. After a few rounds Mark placed Sofia back on his knees and looked at Arizona.
"I'm not a threat, you do know that right? We're just friends, me and Torres, there's nothing more between us, and neither of us wants more. I love Lexie, I am in love with Lexie, I want to create a family with her one day, and I'm sorry to say you will have to get used to spending Christmases and Thanksgivings with us and our kids too because I want to be there for Sofia all the time as well. But that doesn't mean I want to play house with Torres, okay? Sofia was a huge surprise for all of us, we didn't plan this but I am so happy she happened because honestly without her I think I would probably already be six feet under..."
Arizona rolled her eyes, "How do you manage to ruin such a great speech with such a morbid ending?"
Mark laughed out loud. "Oh I can't wait for those Christmas mornings, it will be fun bickering with you."
"I'm sorry I attacked you like that yesterday," Arizona said sincerely.
"Bygones, we should actually celebrate because you remembered another new thing," he said with a smile.
He glanced at Arizona and noticed she smiled too but her body was still quite stiff.
"We were a good team, you and me, when Torres was in hospital we switched between her and Sofia's room, never leaving either of them alone."
"I don't remember that…" Arizona whispered with tears in her eyes.
"We made pictures, you have loads of the ones I sent you."
Arizona shook her head, "Apparently I have all my photos on some cloud type of thing and it's asking for a password…" she shrugged her shoulders, "and I can't remember it…"
"Hmm, now what kind of photos do you keep on that cloud that they need to be password protected Robbins?" Mark teased and made Arizona laugh out loud.
"Oh I can see now why Callie likes you," she commented.
Mark smiled, "I'm very charming," he said and handed Sofia to Arizona. "Hold on," he said and reached for his phone when Arizona took Sofia with a confused look on her face.
Mark took his phone out and scrolled on it for a few seconds and then handed it to Arizona as he took Sofia back into his arms.
"Scroll to the right," he said as Arizona looked at the photo in front of her and her eyes watered.
"Oh my God…," she whispered, "she was so tiny…" she commented looking at the photo of herself sitting next to the incubator holding Sofia's hand through the access opening.
She scrolled to the next images and saw numerous photos of herself with Sofia, Mark with Sofia, and several with both of them smiling at their little girl.
Arizona swiped left again and there was a photo of herself holding Sofia in her arms, outside of the incubator.
Mark leaned in and commented, "That was the first time you held her in your arms, we both cried that day, we laughed and cried," he explained, "it was a mess," he chuckled and turned to Sofia.
"Yes, Sofia, you made your dada cry, but it's okay because I was happy," he said as he lifted Sofia up in the air and she giggled happily.
Arizona kept on looking at the photos as she wiped her eyes. She turned to Mark and smiled at him.
"Thank you," she whispered and handed him his phone back.
Mark just nodded his head and looked up, his eyes meeting the worried look from brown eyes across the yard. He placed Sofia on his side and turned to Arizona again.
"She loves you so damn much, and you love her, so get your shit together Robbins and get your girl!"
Arizona lifted her head and looked in the direction of Callie.
"Well I tried on Thursday, I wanted to get back to the apartment and she blew me off, I mean she was right but still, I'm a bit at a loss here..."
"She's afraid that you will leave again, that took a big toll on her, but just stick around, take her out on dates, hang out with her and her guard will go down, besides she has a double guard for herself and for Sofia…"
"Right…" Arizona mumbled as her eyes met Callie's as well and she watched her walk over to them.
"Everything okay here, I don't need to call for Peacekeepers, do I?" she asked half joking half being serious.
Mark laughed, "Everything's fine, we are bonding," he said and stood up, he gave Sofia to Callie, "I'll go mingle, leave you three to some nice family time," he winked at Callie.
"See you later Robbins," he said with a smile.
Arizona smiled at him, "Thank you Mark," she said when he had already turned around. He waved his hand in a no-need-to-mention it kind of way and continued towards Derek and Jackson.
Callie looked at Arizona. "Thank you for what?" she asked cautiously.
"He showed me pictures of me with Sofia in NICU," Arizona said in low voice as she caressed Sofia's hand.
"Are you okay?" Callie asked.
"I'm fine," Arizona said and brushed off another tear that appeared in her eye, "just a bit emotional." She paused and then spoke again, "I like Mark," she said with a shy grin and Callie laughed out loud.
"Well I'm glad there won't be any more yelling and biting each other's heads off," she teased.
Arizona laughed and looked at Callie "Do you have any plans for tomorrow?" she asked.
"Oh, good that you reminded me, I was gonna ask you… my dad is flying in tomorrow, he has some business on Monday and Tuesday, would you like to have dinner with us tomorrow?"
Arizona thought for a few moments, "Oh, umm…" she hesitated feeling a bit intimidated by the man, "…how about we do that some other time when I feel more like myself," Arizona suggested.
"Sure, no problem," Callie replied with a smile, knowing the effect her dad could have on other people and she didn't want Arizona to feel awkward now that they have started getting closer.
Arizona looked around the yard and pointed her head towards the fence.
"Who's that man talking to Mark?"
"Oh, that's Derek, haven't you met him?"
"No, not yet, I mean not again."
"Come on, let's go talk to him," Callie said and took Arizona's hand.
"Derek, hey, Arizona mentioned she hasn't re-met you yet," Callie said as they approached Derek and Mark.
Derek extended his hand, "Derek Shepherd, nice to meet you again," he said with a smile.
"Shepherd? Oh you are Amelia's brother," Arizona said as her face revealed the surprise from the sudden realization.
Derek laughed, "Usually it's the other way around," he said with amusement, "But I'll forgive you since she's done such a great job replacing me."
"Oh right you're a neurosurgeon too, I've heard so much about you!" Arizona said.
"Don't trust anything Amy said about me!" Derek replied loudly on purpose.
"I heard that!" Amelia shouted from behind him and Arizona laughed "How's your hand doing?"
"Excellent, I should be back to work soon, your wife is a miracle worker!"
Arizona smiled, "Indeed she is."
"How are you doing?" he asked, "Any new memories?"
"Actually yes, they have been appearing more and more."
"Careful Derek, I hope you don't have any moments when you stepped on Robbins's toes because she might storm to bite your head off next," Mark teased.
"Oh, I'm sure biting the head off is only reserved for you Sloan," Arizona snapped back with a smirk and Mark and Derek laughed out loud. Callie on the other hand stiffened slightly and Mark leaned into her and whispered "Relax Torres she's joking, it's a good sign."
"That's excellent! Your brain has started repairing the connections, it's really great news," Derek explained with a smile.
They continued to chit-chat and laugh over food and drinks until the dark started falling over the city. When it was time to go Callie took the bag with Sofia's things and walked with Arizona to the gate, Sofia already asleep on her shoulder, tired from all the excitement of the day.
"My father is flying out on Wednesday morning, how about dinner in the evening with Sofia?" Callie suggested.
"I would love that!" Arizona smiled and kissed them both goodbye. She was a bit sad to see them leave but she was happy that they got to spend the wonderful afternoon together. Callie felt the same, not being able to stop the broad smile from covering her face and as she felt Sofia sleeping soundly in her arms she couldn't help but look forward to Wednesday evening when they would spend more nice time together again.
Callie and Sofia spent Sunday with Carlos and had dinner with him on Monday and Tuesday. Arizona visited Sofia in daycare both days and had lunch with her so the little girl was happy all the time getting the attention from all her parents and now even her grandpa. Mark joined Arizona on Tuesday and shared a twenty-minute break with her and Sofia. He sensed Arizona was starting to feel a bit more relaxed around him so he suggested to do lunches together occasionally like they used to, and give Sofia more reason to be happy. Arizona agreed, seeing Sofia happy was what she wanted the most. Callie made sure to stop by the Peds on both days, exchange a few words with Arizona and check how everything was going. Even though the three days flew by, they were both impatiently waiting for Wednesday evening to finally have their family dinner with Sofia.
WEDNESDAY MORNING
Arizona was standing in the cafeteria putting some extra sugar in her coffee when she heard an unfamiliar voice next to her.
"I'm Lauren," the voice said.
Arizona looked up and met the woman's eyes.
"Umm okay, hi Lauren?" Arizona replied focusing on her coffee.
"No, I mean Lauren," the woman said and pointed at the coffee cup, "as in Lauren on the coffee you are way over-sugaring."
Arizona looked at the name on the cup, "Oh, I'm so sorry, I wasn't looking, let me get you another coffee, what is this?" she asked.
Lauren reached up and took another cup that the waiter put on the counter.
"That's fine, really, is this you?" she asked.
"Yeah, that's me," Arizona said looking up to face the intruder.
"Arizona…" Lauren read the name and took a sip of the coffee. "Mmm, well now it's me," she said and stepped back. "See you around I hope," she added before she left.
Arizona squinted her eyes and observed her leave. There was something about the woman that rubbed her the wrong way. She shook her head to brush it off and proceeded to the Peds ward.
Later in the morning Arizona decided to take a short break and go spend some time with Sofia. She pressed the elevator button and waited for the door to open.
"Hey, I was hoping I'd run into you again today," the same woman from the morning greeted her as she entered the elevator.
"Hey, how's your day going?" Arizona answered politely.
"It's going great, I like it here."
"Are you lost, do you need help getting somewhere?" Arizona asked.
"Oh no, I'm here to do a procedure on a patient," Lauren explained as she closely observed Arizona.
"Oh ok, well, if you need anything let me know," Arizona turned around and looked in front of her waiting for the elevator to stop.
"You have pretty eyes, Arizona Robbins," Lauren said and smiled.
Arizona exhaled slowly, knowing exactly what the woman was doing as she had done it herself numerous times with the women she was trying to seduce, and she really was not in the mood for this game, she just wanted to see Sofia.
She turned around to face Lauren.
"You're surprised I know your full name? I've done my research," Lauren continued.
"If you've done your research, well than you also know that I'm married, to a gorgeous woman so you can stop whatever it is that you are doing. I'm not interested," she answered as politely as she could.
"I don't see a ring," Lauren stated, a seductive smirk covering her face.
"What?" Arizona asked in surprise.
Lauren nodded her head towards Arizona's hand.
"I don't see a ring," she repeated with a smile.
Arizona looked at her hand. "Whether or not I am wearing a ring doesn't matter because I just told you that I am married and not interested, so really, you can stop wasting your breath on me," Arizona said and turned to face the door again.
"Oh I wouldn't mind wasting some more of my breath on your skin," Lauren said and Arizona rolled her eyes.
"Oh please," she commented with disdain and stepped off the elevator, she wasn't going to waste any more time with this woman.
After lunch a meeting was summoned to present the options for the procedure on a baby boy with encephalocele. Arizona entered the room and was surprised by the number of people inside as she immediately noticed the dark hair in the crowd. She smiled and made her way towards Callie.
"Hey, I had no idea you would be here as well," Arizona commented.
"Oh, I had to be here, you see these, like, never! Brain on the outside, it's so exciting!" Callie replied, her eyes sparkling with excitement.
Arizona looked up and was surprised when she saw the woman from the elevator getting ready for the presentation. Lauren caught Arizona's eyes and winked at her.
Argh, this woman again, she is really starting to annoy me, Arizona thought and immediately disliked the idea of having to work with her on Tyler's operation. She forced herself to be professional and stay put when in all honesty she wanted to simply step out of the room. She decided to focus on Callie's body standing next to her and she immediately relaxed. Boswell introduced herself and then explained the approaches she was considering, showing in detail all the bits and pieces needed for the surgery to go smoothly and Callie watched in awe as the images flashed in front of their eyes.
Callie leaned in towards Arizona, "I'm a little bit in love with her," she whispered and Arizona stopped breathing. She looked at Callie in disbelief and observed her watch in awe at what the woman in front of them was presenting. Very soon the meeting dispersed and Callie went to talk to Dr. Boswell, Arizona watched her giggle and smile at the woman and her blood was boiling. When Callie finally decided to leave the room she came closer to Arizona.
"I have a surgery in an hour and I still need to check on a few patients, see you later for dinner?"
"Sure," Arizona nodded.
"Great," Callie said with a smile and left the room.
Arizona thought for a second and then rushed after Callie.
She quickly caught up with her, "Things are not great!" she said walking side by side.
"Umm, what? What do you mean?" Callie asked and stopped walking, her face completely puzzled.
"You are married!" Arizona stated firmly.
Callie chuckled, "Umm, yes I am aware of that, Arizona what…"
"You flirted with her!" Arizona pointed out.
Callie raised her eyebrows.
"In front of me! You flirted with her! And you even said you were a little bit in love with her! How could you say that!?"
"Arizona, what…" Callie started but Arizona interrupted her.
"I'm your wife! You can't just casually mention that you are in love with someone else to your wife, that's just wrong!"
Callie looked at Arizona a bit confused, processing all the words she had said and then suddenly her face formed a broad grin.
"Why are you smiling, I am being serious!" Arizona protested.
"You are jealous!" Callie stated with a huge smile on her face.
"Yes, okay, I'm jealous, of course I'm jealous! You're my wife and I don't want to hear that you are in love with another woman!"
"Oh, okay, well what would you rather hear?" Callie purred a broad smile still covering her face.
"Robbins!" Alex yelled from across the hall, "Change of plans, Tyler is crashing!"
"Shit!" Arizona muttered and hurried towards Alex. "What the hell happened!?"
"No idea, but we need to go in now!"
Callie watched in a haze as Alex and Arizona disappeared from her vision, a broad smile still covering her face. "She's jealous…" Callie whispered before she turned around and went on her way towards Ortho wing unable to stop the happiness radiating from her heart.
A/N – I think I know exactly what reaction you all had at the "I'm Lauren" line LOL ;-) but I hope you like the twist I did on that part of the TV Show :-).