2
"Calliope"
It's true when they said a home is not a place you live in but rather the people you love cause when she heard her name slip out from Arizona's lips just like how she calls her the only way she could, it felt like home to her.
This view with Arizona carrying Sofia in her arms has always been her home. An overwhelming surge of emotions built up from her insides. It has been 2 crazy years of roller coaster rides in New York and here she is again in Seattle, in front of her ex-wife who she admittedly missed. Fighting her best to keep her emotions at bay, she managed to say a little "Hey" to the blonde and turned her gaze to Sofia.
"Mija, what did I say about being carried?" The way she shot her eyebrows up, Sofia already knew that she needed to follow whatever her Mama was trying to remind her.
As she remembered a certain rule she had run with her Mama during their plane ride, she shot her goofy face up and wriggled herself out of her Mommy's arm.
"I'm sorry Mommy, was I heavy? Did I hurt your leg?" She sweetly asked her Mom once she was standing on her own.
"Oh it's okay honey, I just missed you so much but you did get really big Sof, can you slow down for Mommy, please?" Arizona said in her sing song voice as she lowered herself to attack her daughter with her kisses. Her sadness from a while back was definitely already washed over by this surprise. Sofia really has a way to replace all her sad to happy by just her mere presence.
This little brunette has been saving Arizona's life since the day she heard her heartbeat for the first time. Her smile grew even wider as she remembered the day Callie was freaking out about her pregnancy that she decided to camp out her OB's testing room for hours. It drove Arizona crazy but it sent Mark over to his limit that it made her laugh to see his face turn red with frustration. That was the moment she realized that she was in it. That she couldn't live without their crazy family, Her, Callie, The Baby and surprisingly that day, she has accepted that Mark would come with the baby too. There was a heartbeat and she suddenly had insights in her future with the people she was willing to spend the rest of her life with. Looking back made her realize a lot of mistakes she did in her lifetime but one thing's for sure, Sofia will never be one of those.
"Thank you Calliope." She muttered.
Callie saw a glimpse of sadness in Arizona's eyes. Sure she was smiling right now but she just knew the woman so well. She cried, maybe right before they even came to see her. And she must have been crying hard cause the crease on her forehead and on both sides of her nose were still visible.
"Arizona, are you okay?" She couldn't stop herself from worrying.
"I am. I am okay." The woman stood abruptly, brushing off Callie's question, and wiped the non visible tear from her eye. She didn't even bother staring back at Callie who knew better, she didn't want to be caught lying.
"I'm just so happy that Sofia's here. Which makes me wonder why. Shouldn't I be getting her next week? Is everything okay in New York?" Now it was her turn to ask.
After the Sofia mishaps in Seattle which was just a few months ago, Arizona came up with the most selfless decision, she allowed Sofia to be with Callie. She changed their rotations. Now Sofia is staying in New York with her Mama and she will stay there, no more switching schools in Seattle. She just wanted Sofia for some holidays and all of her school breaks and she promised to visit New York from time to time just to be with Sofia. She remembered Callie crying over the phone as she was saying her thank yous. Arizona would do everything for Sofia even if it means breaking her own heart.
"I-I know, but I have a conference in the next three days here in Seattle and while I'm here, Bailey wanted me to do a consult on one of her patients so I've decided to just tag Sofia along with me. You get her a little early. I hope that's fine with you but if you already made plans that's fine too. She can stay with me at Mer's." Callie was babbling.
"No! No plans! Callie this is amazing. I'm always happy to have Sofia. Nothing's too early with her." She said as she hugged her daughter.
"Are you staying til Christmas?" Arizona asked.
"Uhm, yeah. I'll be at Meredith's. You can come there too with Sofia, I mean, she said it's an open house. But then again if you already made plans that's okay too." She said really fast, Arizona didn't say a word, she just smiled at her as an answer. And Callie got the hint.
"Oh. She already invited you. And you're coming cause that's how Christmas is in Seattle." She almost laughed at herself and Arizona nodded with her.
"See you Christmas Eve then." She told the blonde. She could feel her ice cold fingers inside her pocket.
"Arizona— Sofia, baby girl." A voice with thick italian accent passed through the door right behind Callie. When she followed the voice she saw a hot brunette in her pink scrubs, the lady was gorgeous and effortlessly sexy and the way she called Arizona's name was definitely hotter than she ever called her ex-wife. Wait... was she comparing? Was she feeling insecure? The Calliope Torres has insecurities? She gulped when the woman went straight to kiss Arizona on her lips and bent down to hug Sofia. So this is the girlfriend.
"Auntie Carina!!!" Her daughter excitedly squealed. Her daughter likes the girlfriend too. How perfect.
"Uhm. Carina. Honey, this is Callie. My-uhm-Sofia's Mama. Callie, this is Carina."
"Oh hi! Yes, Dr. Calliope Torres. The ex-wife." Carina said as she motioned her head towards Arizona. The audacity of this woman. She thought to herself. And Calliope? How dare she?
"I've heard so much about you." She winked at her and before Calllie's eyebrows reached the ceiling, Carina pulled her in for a hug. "Don't worry they're all good things." She whispered in her thick sexy accent.
Was that flirting? Was she flirting? God, this woman's sex appeal is oozing.
Callie stared at Arizona and she saw the latter's uncomfortable smile.
"A Badass surgeon, a badass mom and a badass ex-wife not to mention how gorgeous you are in person too. I'm in for a tough competition huh?"
"Carina." Arizona whispered for her to stop. Carina could be really blunt and playful at times, this was her normal, Arizona knew but Callie may not be used to it. And for Callie to be this quiet still, she knows it's not a good thing.
"What?" Callie said almost the same time as Arizona.
"What? Oh I'm sorry. What I'm saying is it's really nice to finally meet you Calliope." Carina explained.
Arizona felt Callie wince by the mention of her first name for the second time. Callie hates it.
"Callie." Callie suggested. Arizona saw that coming.
"How about, we all have dinner tonight?" Arizona suggested to clear the awkwardness in the air.
"Sure! Perfect! I'll be off early. And I know a certain lady too who would want to grab ice cream after dinner." Carina hinted at Sofia.
The little lady gasped. "Yaaaaay!" The young brunette hugged Carina's leg.
"Callie, you should join us." Carina suggested.
"Oh, no. It's fine. You guys could go. I have a meeting with Bailey." No you don't.
"But Mama." Sofia ran to her side and grabbed her hand.
"You promised me that if I was a good girl during the plane ride we would both have dinner with Mommy. I was a good girl wasn't I?" And then here's Sofia tugging her heart. She gulped, hoping that Arizona didn't get what Sofia said.
Carina's gaze went to Arizona who didn't even bother looking back, her eyes were glued to Callie and Sofia, clearing her thoughts, she might have just seen a smile from Arizona's lips that she's never seen before.
"We can wait after your meeting, Callie. You should come join us." She just said. Carina followed Arizona's gaze and cleared her throat.
"See you later, Callie?" Carina tried to clear whatever's in the air.
"How can I say no to this?" Callie answered looking at Sofia and squeezed her daughter's cheek.
"You wait for Mama okay? Be a good girl." She told Sofia and gave her favorite girl a kiss. Sofia nodded in excitement.
"I'll go ahead to get this meeting over and done with. See you both later." She told the older women.
"And Carina, it was nice to meet you." She smiled at the other brunette who now has her arm around Arizona's waist.
Right when she stepped out of Arizona's office, she heard Carina whispered with concern.
"Honey, I heard what happened. Are you okay?"
"I am, now that you and Sofia are here." She heard Arizona say and pretended not to see the way Arizona quickly planted a kiss on her girlfriend's lips with Sofia smiling at them.
Callie's heart clenched like it did when she found out Arizona had cheated on her, only worse cause now she really isn't Arizona's person anymore. She isn't the person Arizona calls on her bad day, she's no longer the one she runs to when she needed to be home. So she know's she couldn't put a fight on this one.
With that she clenched her bag's handle over her shoulder and held her breath. Walk tall, Torres. As if she heard Mark's voice inside her head. Walk tall, except she couldn't. 2 years ago she would have exchanged an ugly banter with Carina and she's pretty sure she would end up fighting with Arizona over it but she isn't that Callie anymore. That badass Calliope Torres has been long gone.
...
"Torres, you're too early for tomorrow."
"I know, Bailey. Can't I say hi to a friend?"
Bailey stood from her desk with wide smile and gave Callie a hug. Callie went straight to the Chief's office after her Carina and Arizona encounter. She lied, there was no meeting to attend to.
"Oh okay, I figured you're not here as a Doctor." The shorter woman said with angst.
"Nope. I'm not. Oh look at you playing Chief of surgery, Miranda." She teased her.
"Oh stop it. How have you been doing Calliope Torres? You look... well... you look... hella exhausted." Miranda being Miranda, she was still very straightforward.
"It was nice to see you too, Bailey." She answered as she invited herself on the couch near Bailey's office desk.
"Where's little Torres?"
"She's with Arizona."
"Oh... so that explains the face." Bailey commented.
"What face?"
"The- I just saw my ex-wife and maybe her new girlfriend too-face."
Callie just sighed.
"So you did meet Carina."
I did. But she didn't say anything back.
"Pretty hot isn't she. I'm sure I'm not into vaginas but I would turn gay for that lady any day."
"Miranda!" Callie gasped.
"Have you seen her?" Miranda answered as if it was the most obvious thing.
"I did." Callie said in defeat.
"Then you know what I'm talking about... what the hell happened with your hand Callie?" Miranda switched the topic when she noticed the gauze covering Callies hand.
"Accident." She quickly hid it and smiled at Bailey.
"Which is why I can only do consults and not surgery. Not at least after 2 weeks... or maybe three... depends." She answered.
"You better have insured those million dollar hands." Bailey sarcastically said. Callie just rolled her eyes at her.
"I have to go now, I'll leave you in this office. I'm guessing you're just here to hide after seeing the ex-wife—"
"I'm leaving too Bailey. You know where Meredith is?" She cut her off.
"She's in surgery. OR 3, go hide your ass in there."
"Bailey, when you see Arizona and she asks why you're not in a meeting with me, just tell her you're rescheduling it tomorrow." Wider smile was plastered on her face after seeing Bailey's reaction.
"I'm resche—Torres, you are a hot mess."
"Please?" She asked her friend once again.
Bailey just nodded in response, her gaze went from Callie's face to Callie's injured hand and tried to get a hold of it after seeing how sloppy it was covered, Callie may be an Ortho goddess but covering your own injuries would always look this nasty. The doctor in her wanted to inspect her friend's hand.
"Leave it, Bailey." Callie said as she withdrew her hand away.
"I'm letting you go today but I'm checking that hand tomorrow, in a meeting which I rescheduled." Bailey said in her scary sarcastic tone and threw Callie a meaningful look.
Damn it.
