"Come on little miss, we need to get a move on, I have an appointment with Maria first thing this morning." Arizona called out from the kitchen as she poured herself a cup of coffee. She was trying to be patient with her child but she was exhausted and this was the second night she spent without her wife. The on-call room didn't really count since they were both awoken three hours later by their pagers. Stirring in the cream and sugar, she took her first drink of the morning, expecting to feel that rush, that feeling that kicks your mind into overdrive and makes your whole body say, 'ahhhhh' and come to life. Instead, she felt her stomach churn, her head spin, and her brain ask, 'what the fuck was that?' causing her to spit it into the sink. Not bothering to look at the date on the creamer, which she assumed had gone sour, she tossed it into the trash, dumped the coffee in the sink, rushed toward the side door and snapped out, "Car leaves in two minutes!" Once she was settled behind the wheel and had her seatbelt secured, she opened the garage door and giggled as her daughter flew into the backseat huffing, "Oh my gosh, you were going to leave me!" Arizona deadpanned, "You would have caught up, I have to stop at the mailbox first." The little girl stared at her mother, unsure if she was being serious or not and muttered, "That's not funny." Arizona returned, "Then maybe you should move when I say move." Sofia noticed her grumpy mood and replied, "Sorry mommy."
While they were backing out, the child noticed Callie's SUV was missing and asked, "Where's mama?" Arizona pulled to the end of the drive, closed the garage door, rolled down her window to collect the mail from the mailbox, and replied, "She was called back shortly after your bedtime. She had a patient who was having a hard time, so she was going to sit with him until his wife made it back into town." Sofia frowned at that and asked, "Did she have to cut something off?" Arizona looked at her daughter in the rearview mirror, thinking that was an odd question for her to ask, until the young girl explained, "Mama always gives those patients extra attention. She said sometimes it takes their families a while to get to them or sometimes they don't have anyone and they don't know what they need or don't want to ask or don't know how to ask for what they need, so she just sits with them and if they talk, she listens, and if they yell, she lets them, and if they cry, she hugs them." Arizona was doing her best to fight the tears threatening to fall and swallowed the lump in her throat to ask, "Did she say why she does that?" Sofia hummed and answered, "Mmm hmm, she said sometimes when it matters most, we don't get it right, so we keep trying until we do. I guess she feels like she got it wrong once and she's trying to fix it now. I think that's what makes you and mommy good doctors, you care so much." Arizona just nodded her agreement; she was afraid if she said any more she would burst into tears.
XXXX
Arizona knocked on the exam room door and heard, "You can come in, I didn't change into one of those stupid gowns. You can see what you need to see by lifting up my shirt." The fetal surgeon laughed, entered the room, looked at her patient and responded, "Well, I can see you are feeling back to normal. No signs of a good mood, no happiness, no smiling for no reason." Miguel sat in the chair by the bed holding his wife's hand and chuckled, earning him a glare that made him shrink in his seat. He shrugged his shoulders and responded, "Come on Maria, you can't pretend she's not right." Maria lifted the corner of her lip involuntarily and responded, "I hate you both." Arizona laid her tablet on the examination table and concluded, "Fit as a fiddle." This earned a chuckle from her patient and the blonde gently commanded, "Lie down please and tell me how you've been feeling…the truth." Noticing the two never let go of the other's hand, she hoped this was a good sign and lifted the Latina's shirt high enough to see the top of the incision and tucked her pants low enough to see the bottom, removed her bandages, looked at the wound, palpated the area and watched for any flinching or signs of distress.
While she was carrying out her exam, Maria explained, "I was kind of out of it for the first day or two. The pain meds you sent home were doozies. I stopped taking those and rotated between Tylenol and Ibuprofen and it helped with pain and also with the nausea that I think was brought on by the other meds. Once I started getting up and around, I was stiff for a while and had to work out the kinks. By Tuesday, I was feeling normal again, eating regularly, back on my sleep schedule, bored out of my mind and feeling little to no pain. But to be honest, I still don't feel 100 percent. We started going for little drives, visited an old friend once a day for about an hour and that helped too." Arizona smiled inwardly, realizing that Maria was telling her they started therapy again. She helped her patient into a sitting position and tapped her responses and observations into the tablet.
Once she was done, she directed, "The site looks good, stitches need another week at least, so I will see you back next Friday." Maria nodded in understanding, she expected this, but she also knew Arizona had to do her job. Arizona continued, "Now the big question, when will you be ready to go back to work?" Maria looked to Miguel and asked, "What do you think?" Miguel took a deep breath, he was a little worried about his wife going back so soon, he knew her job was physically demanding and honestly, he could use a little more time with just the two of them to heal. In the end, it was his wife's job and her body, so he couldn't make the choice for her and responded, "Ultimately it's your decision. It's a lot easier for me to work from home than it is for you. I know you are bored to tears; I just don't want you doing too much." Maria inhaled deeply and thought about her husband's words for a moment. If she were being honest, she felt like she still needed more time, they still needed more time and if they both went right back to work, it might undo all the hard work they just put in.
Arizona could see something was troubling both of them, put her tablet down, took off her white coat and badge, pulled up a chair and requested, "Talk to me." Maria responded, "Jobwise, I know Cal would find me a desk job until I was feeling better, but…I'm not ready…we aren't ready…we need more time." Miguel's head shot up and he spat out, "Maria!" The brunette looked at her husband and asked, "Whose idea do you think it was that we went to therapy the first time? It was Cal's and this time, it was Arizona's. They've been where we are, Cal was in my shoes and Arizona in yours and I trust them because they know what happens if you ignore problems and don't fix them and I don't want to take the chance that we will be lucky enough to find each other again four years down the road. We are getting better, we are building trust, but if we go back to life as normal right now, what will happen? So no, I am not ready, we are not ready!" Arizona nodded her head, put her coat back on, tapped something into her tablet and offered, "Normally we don't want you working so soon with abdominal stitches and after a partial hysterectomy or removal of an ovary. I'm giving you another two weeks and between the two centers, we will find a few hours of paperwork you can do from home daily to keep your mind active."
Maria smiled at her doctor who had also become one of her close friends but she would only admit that under duress and asked, "What about tomorrow? Can we come to Cal's party?" Arizona nodded and quipped, "Oh, if you don't show up, I will hunt you down like a dog and tear you limb from limb so even your boss can't fix you." Miguel laughed and Maria started to move toward the door explaining, "She's not kidding now honey." The man nearly turned white when the doctor grabbed his arm and asked to speak to him. After the door was closed, Miguel half-teasingly asked, "Is this the 'hurt her and die' speech?" Arizona stuck her hands in her pockets, leaned against the exam table, tilted her head to study the man and explained, "Yes and no." Miguel furrowed his brow in confusion and the blonde explained, "I lost a piece of my body, a very visible, very crucial piece that made up who I was and I didn't even realize how important it was or how much it made me who I was until it was gone. I shut everyone out, including the woman who loved me more than life itself. But I hated me so much, I wondered how she could love me. I convinced myself she loved me because we had a piece of paper that said she had to. One day this person came along and played to all my weaknesses and I let her. She wasn't half the woman my wife was. The only thing I remember about that night was the look of devastation on my wife's face. It killed me, ripped my heart from my body and soul. So yeah, if you hurt her, you'll die, but it will be at your own hands. I get it Miguel; you lost a piece of your identity. But honestly, the only person in this world who cares about that, who thinks that this tiny organ matters is you. Don't let it matter so much that you lose the best thing that ever happened to you, because in the end, she's the only one who can make you whole again." With that, she left the man to ponder her words.
On her way down the hall, Max caught up with her and whispered, "I've got a proposition for you." Arizona stopped, looked at the man and claimed, "You know, I'd hardly work as a beard for you since I'm like a walking rainbow." The older man threw his head back and laughed then corrected, "This is actually about Saturday." Arizona looked around, pulled him into a room so no one could hear him and said, "Okay, talk." Max explained, "We own the whole building and we are trying to draw people of all ages and interests. The first floor is rented to a theater company for drama and dance classes, we run the third and fourth floors and we just rented the second floor out to this company and they are ready to open but want to do a few run throughs to work out kinks and take photos for PR and asked if we could help them find a few groups." He took a pamphlet from his pocket and handed it to Arizona who was immediately intrigued. She knew Callie would love this sort of thing.
Max continued, "This is their brochure and from what you've told me about your wife and what I know about you and your group of friends, it sounds like it's right up your alley." Arizona read through it and asked, "Do they have one for kids, say 8 to 18?" Max turned the page and showed her all the options. Arizona scrunched her brow and asked, "How would it work with what we already have planned?" Max explained, since you already sent out the invitations with the start time, we change our end a little and work it in. You all come up, we do the surprise bit, then the first portion, you all go do this activity which takes no more than 60 minutes each, and as people trickle up, they can work on the final surprise while we get ready for the second part, then on with the party." Arizona looked at the pamphlet again and responded, "She would absolutely love this. Everyone would. How much is it?" Max smiled and replied, "That's the best part, if you can get people to sign a media release for PR and fill out a survey at the end, there's no cost. You're doing them a favor." Arizona threw her arms around the man's neck and proclaimed, "You are a lifesaver!" The older man chuckled and replied, "My pleasure."
Since it was nearly lunch time, Arizona went to her office, plopped down on the sofa, and kicked her shoes off. It took another 10 minutes for her to notice the flowers and the salad on the table in the middle of the room. Suddenly feeling teary-eyed, she got up, walked toward the unexpected surprise, smelled the colorful arrangement of gerbera daisies, pulled the card from the plastic holder, sat down in front of her favorite strawberry poppy seed salad, and read the note.
My dearest Arizona,
I know these last two days have been busy and back to back patients for both of us, but I wanted you to know that every single time I had a moment to take a breath, even if it was walking from one room to another, you have been on my mind. You invade my every thought and these little tokens are proof that if I were with you, I would show my love for you and I would take care of you. Enjoy your lunch and take a moment to appreciate the things around you.
Love Calliope.
Arizona could barely read the words through her tears. Callie sent her lunch or flowers or notes or something at least once a week and vice versa, but for some reason she couldn't explain, she could not stop crying. Finally taking a last shuddering breath, she opened her salad, took a satisfying bite, and sent a reply to her wife.
ME: You, Calliope Iphigenia Robbins-Torres are the most wonderful, amazing thoughtful wife in the whole world. Thank you for my flowers and for lunch. I love you.
Wife: I'm glad you liked them. But I disagree, you are the most wonderful, amazing, thoughtful wife in the whole world. I forgot to thank you for my special delivery lunch Wednesday. I'm about to call Aria. Are we sure?
ME: Yeah, I think we should. Sof made some valid points.
Wife: Okay, I hope we know what we are getting ourselves into. Gotta go. Love you.
XXXX
Callie quickly picked up the incoming call and sighed when she heard, "Why the hell do I not know if I'm going to be an auntie or not?" Taking a deep breath, she replied, "Hey Ads." Addison reigned in her excitement and apologized, "Sorry Cal, I should have been more sensitive." Callie explained, "No, it's not that, it's just, well…wehaven'ttakenatestyet." She said all in one breath. The redhead furrowed her brows and asked, "I'm sorry, it sounds like you said you haven't taken a test yet." Callie sat in her office, took a drink of her smoothie and explained, "At first we agreed not to take it on Sunday, to wait until Wednesday because with all the extra hormones she took, we didn't want to be let down by a false positive." Addison nodded her head, turned her rental car into the back lot of her destination and responded, "Fair enough, so what happened?" Callie added, "We had a lunch date Wednesday to do the kit and a blood test and it got thwarted when a local hospital had a gas leak and we got most of the maternity and ortho overflow and things didn't settle down until last night and I haven't even seen my wife for more than 20 minutes since about 6:30 am Thursday." Addison pursed her lips and asked, so why aren't you chomping at the bit here Cal? You sound defeated. Is something going on?"
Callie took a bite of her salad. She really didn't want to speak this into existence, but this was Addie. Finally she gave in, "Maybe I, we're synced now and she was moody all week and her breasts were sensitive, and she was spotting and what if the tests were wrong and she's not fertile but is going into early menopause? I mean Karma hates us Addison. I mean hate with a capital H!" Addison got out of her car, juggled the tray of coffees she just purchased and started to walk toward the building, looking around to make sure she couldn't be seen, and declared, "I'm sure that's not the case, you need to take a test before you start to panic and go down the what if rabbit hole. I'm about to see my next patient, so I have to go, I love you." Callie barely got out a goodbye before the phone went dead. Deciding to think of happier things, she picked up her phone and called her sister.
XXXX
Arizona just tossed the container from her salad in the trash when her door opened and a tall slim redhead holding a tray of coffees slipped inside. Her smile turned into a frown and she raced across the room, quickly closed the door, and scolded in a hushed tone, "What are you doing here?" Addison put down the coffee, hugged her friend, and remarked, "Uh, I was invited to my best friend's birthday party." Arizona hugged her back and responded, "I meant here, here, she could see you." Addie laughed and answered, "I parked in the back and came in through the service entrance." Arizona nodded then smiled and said, "It's good to see you." Addie took a drink of her coffee and responded, "I brought you your favorite, Vanilla Latte, extra whip." Arizona went to the table to grab her cup of coffee and saw the mail she picked up earlier today and started to open it. While she was opening the mail, Addison decided to try to get Arizona's take on the pregnancy issue and asked, "So why haven't I heard if I am going to be an auntie yet?"
As soon as she asked the question, Arizona broke down into tears and her friend rushed to her side. She started to wonder if Arizona knew she wasn't pregnant and was afraid to tell Callie. Then again, she also knew IUI rarely worked the first time and at Arizona's age, they'd probably have to go with IVF. She started to console the blonde, "I'm so sorry, that was insensit…" Arizona cut her off, "No, it's not that, it's this. I never thought…I never even allowed myself to hope and here it is, legal and official and with the state seal." Addison furrowed her brow in confusion and asked, "Honey, what are you talking about?" Arizona shoved the paper at her and the other surgeon smiled as she read the legal marriage certificate of her two friends and looked up to see more tears as she held both of their New York Driver's licenses in her hands with their hyphenated names. She never pegged Arizona for the sentimental type, but here she was crying over a marriage license and a name change. Maybe it was because she thought she'd lost it for good. Handing her friend a tissue, she suggested, "Why don't you sit down, drink your coffee and tell me what's been going on?" Arizona nodded and took a seat.
She lifted the cup to her lips, took a long drink of the tasty liquid, opened her mouth to fill her friend in on the busy week they'd had and ran straight for the bathroom. Addison pursed her lips, recalled what Callie said about her period, considered the quick mood swings, all the tears, now the vomiting, smirked, and just bet herself a pair of Manolo Blahniks that she was about to be an auntie and the mommy, correction, mommies, had no idea. When Arizona returned with a toothbrush sticking out of her mouth, she said, "I shwear, coffee and creamer hash it out for me today." She went into the bathroom, cleaned up, and returned saying, "I couldn't finish my coffee at home because the creamer was sour and it made me sick too." Addison bit back a smile and softly suggested, "Arizona, I think it's time we take a test." The blonde shook her head adamantly, "Nope, not without Callie. I don't find out until she does. Besides, our periods are synced and I was moody, my breasts were sensitive and I was spotting all last week." Addison nodded and asked, "But you didn't bleed?" Arizona bit her top lip and shook her head no. Addison just nodded her head and asked, "And you're a fetal surgeon, best in the country?" Arizona nodded her head and asked, "What does that have to do with anything?" Addison took the lid off her black coffee with light sugar, waved it under Arizona's nose and laughed as she ran to the bathroom and came out a few minutes later, glaring at her friend with a toothbrush in her mouth. Addison smiled and asked, "How about we give Cal the best 40th birthday present she could ever ask for?"
Arizona was still hesitant, then added everything up in her head and knew they couldn't both be wrong. But she still wasn't going to know the actual results without Callie and said as much. Addison agreed and replied, "You don't have to. I'm thinking more along the lines of those gender reveal type things. I run the blood tests, collect the labs, and if you're pregnant, I spring it on both of you. If you're not…" Arizona bit her lip for a minute then thought about something she was going to do and let her friend in on part of the surprise. She took the brochure Max had just given her out of her pocket and revealed, "This is part of the evening's activities. I had this one picked out for me and Callie. You can call this number and set it up with them. If I'm pregnant, put the results in there at the end. If I'm not…" She got up, took an envelope out of her desk drawer and continued, "This is her birthday gift from me, if I'm not…hell, either way, put this in there with it." Addie looked in the envelope and squealed when she realized what it was and complemented, "Damn Arizona you don't mess around!" Arizona giggled and responded, "Not when it comes to my wife." Addison called the number and both women spoke to the manager making plans for the evening and giving him a final count. Addison left the room to speak to him privately and explain what she wanted done for one specific room and even offered to pay but her offer was declined, they made final arrangements and hung up.
When Addie returned, Arizona pulled the syringe from her desk, handed it to Addie who asked, "Are you nervous?" Arizona nodded and answered, "We promised we wouldn't get our hopes up, but God Addie, we want this so much." Then she said a little prayer until the very last drop of blood was in that vial. She hugged her friend then ordered, "Get that to the lab, then get the hell out of here." Addie gave her the one fingered salute which made her laugh, hugged her and stealthily made her way toward the lab. Arizona locked her office door and sat down on her sofa just to give herself a moment to think and make a mental list of what was left to be done for the party. She called Stevie and Jordyn to see if they were still on for tomorrow since they were a big part of making the plan go off without a hitch. Stevie was going to talk Callie into taking the kids on some adventure while Jordyn, Becca, and Jo helped her decorate. Once she finished her call, her mind kept wandering back to her lab results. She really didn't want to be wrong about this, but everything within her told her it worked. Since she was exhausted and free for a while, she lay down, closed her eyes, and tried to take a much needed nap.
XXXX
At exactly 6:00 pm Saturday evening, Callie pulled her SUV behind the old warehouse and turned to Arizona asking, "Is this place safe?" Arizona tried to fight back her laughter because her wife had been questioning 'Maria's' judgement of a venue for 'Julie's party' since they got on the road. Max had given her every backroad and rough neighborhood he possibly could so Callie didn't realize where they were going. If she were given the actual address or even saw the front of the building, she'd know exactly where they were and would start asking questions. Since they were actually in a very upscale area she had no doubt the car would be fine but she had already given the spare key to the valet when she was there earlier to decorate, so she knew there was nothing to worry about. Taking a deep breath, she tried to soothe, "The car will be fine honey, you can come out and check on it if it will make you feel better." Callie found a parking place right under a spotlight, huffed, and muttered, "She couldn't have found something safer?" Arizona rolled her eyes, led them to the back door, sent a text message to let them know they were on their way and pretended she had received one instead and claimed, "Oh, they said the elevator was down and we need to take the freight elevator up." This was a lie of course since the entire building was decorated with red, black, and silver, streamers and confetti and she just didn't want her wife to see it. Callie mumbled under her breath, "Of course it is."
When they stepped into the elevator and hit the button for the third floor, Arizona fixed Callie's red satin tie and tucked it under her collar, straightened her suspenders, ran her fingers over the sides of her freshly shaven hair, kissed her softly and murmured, "If you promise to be good, I promise to give you a special present of your own when we get home." Callie's face brightened immediately, she kissed her wife again and whispered, "You've got yourself a deal Mrs. Robbins-Torres." Sofia giggled at her parents then let out a loud "whoa" when the elevator stopped but nothing happened. Nothing except the lights in the elevator turning off and Callie muttering, "Maria is dead to me." Just as Callie opened her mouth to yell for help, the door opened to a roaring chorus of "Surprise" and a loud round of applause and noise makers. Callie looked around and saw all her friends, her family, her in-laws, and even Addie, then looked to Arizona who was grinning her super magic smile and her sexy dimples were deeper than ever and she knew in that moment who was behind it all.
When they stepped off the elevator, the speakers started booming with "Birthday" by the Beatles and Callie was passed around the group, hugging each and every one of her friends and family members. When she got to Addie she asked, "Where were you when you called me?" Not wanting to give anything away, she lied, "Boarding my plane." Callie shook her head and moved on to Stevie and asked, "So this is why I needed to get out of the house? So Arizona could set up?" Stevie nodded and returned, "Sorry, not sorry." She continued around the group, listening as they all gushed about how they got her good and she didn't suspect a thing and in truth, she had absolutely no idea. When she got back to her wife just as the song came to an end, she exclaimed, "I, you, Arizona…I, this is amazing, beautiful. I can't believe you did all this and I had no clue. My birthday isn't even for another two weeks." Arizona smiled her dimpled smile and bragged, "That's why you had no clue, you didn't expect it yet!" Callie chuckled and pulled her wife in for a long sexy kiss and whispered, "I love you so much." Arizona brushed their lips together and returned, "I love you too, but this isn't even the beginning of it." Callie narrowed her eyes and before she could ask, she was interrupted by her mother who was calling her over, "Calliope dear, come look at this invitation Arizona sent us."
Callie took Arizona's hand and walked over to the display case on the wall where menus are displayed in the higher end restaurants and gasped. The invitation looked exactly like a menu. It was silver with red and black script and at the top were the words 'Celebrate at Cal's 40' underneath was the time and location. She did a double take when she saw the address then looked around the room and decided she'd get back to that in a moment and focused her attention on the menu. Underneath the address was a little red squiggly design then the word STARTERS and under that in the left margin was a place mat with a grainy photo that appeared to be an ultrasound and in the center were the words 'For the first three months, all she would let me eat were oranges and tomatoes. She still loves oranges and won't go near a tomato unless it's in a sauce.' In the right margin was the number 6 mo. gest. Just below that was a photo that appeared to be in a plate of a very chubby very naked and very green baby Callie. The caption next to it said, 'Cados YUM!' and in the right margin it said '1.5 yrs.' She continued on with a couple more baby pictures under the starters portion then moved onto the sides and nearly doubled over laughing.
Aria knew exactly what picture she saw, looked at her mother and sister-in-law and muttered, "I hate you both." Callie looked at the picture that was aptly placed in an oversized ice-cream cone that showed a younger version of herself smashing Aria's sundae into her face and the caption next to it said, 'You can never have too much chocolate.' and in the right margin it said, '11 yrs.' They all laughed and others joined in as they continued on with the menu. When they reached the entrees, Callie nearly swooned when she saw the last one. There was a picture of herself leaning against the bar at Joes' in her red top and black leather coat sitting next to Bailey. She narrowed her eyes wondering how the hell Arizona got that picture, unless she took it while she was on her date with…she looked up and her wife winked, then she read the caption, 'I have experience to give…life experience, like just recently I experienced the joy of cooking, I make an excellent chicken piccata in addition to many other delicious meals that you'd be lucky enough to experience yourself and the fact that you can't open your eyes to see that makes you a little inexperienced.' and in the right margin it said 30 yrs.
Lucia read the last one and asked, "I don't understand why you stopped there, you two have continued to cook and enjoy food for the past ten years." Callie took her wife's hand and explained, "Because that's where it all started for us mom and it was the perfect place to end the menu." Callie kissed Arizona's cheek and whispered, "That was beautiful and I can't think of anything more fitting." Arizona smiled and repeated, still not the beginning." Callie remembered the address from the menu and finally took a minute to look around the room. She noticed the floor to ceiling windows, the exquisite view of the city, the handmade bar that would put any other bar to shame, the fine attention to detail in every piece of furniture and decoration, and finally to her wife's touches of the elegant black and silver decorations, the red tablecloths with silver circular designs which were the exact opposite design of her scrub cap, and hanging from the ceiling were red, black, and silver latex balloons intermingled with giant mylar balloons in the shapes of the number 40. It should look out of place but was all so elegantly done, it was gorgeous. Looking at her wife she asked in awe, "Arizona…do you…do you know where we are…like…WHERE WE ARE?"
Arizona smirked, waved two people over and she could swear her wife nearly bowed when she saw one of the men. Arizona introduced, "Callie, I believe you know Maxwell from the center, this is his husband…" "You…you're…M…M…M" Callie stammered and the man chuckled and held out his hand, "I'm Michael March and it's an honor to have you here tonight." Callie looked to Arizona and explained, "Arizona, people like us don't come to him. People like…like" "Bobby Flay" a voice cut in. Callie nodded "Bobby Flay and Tom…" "Colicchio" another voice added. Callie nodded again and snapped her fingers trying to come up with the name… "Marcus Samuelsson" a voice added, Callie waved her arms in excitement, "YES! Him, they all come here or send their…" She was interrupted by a female voice that said, "Don't forget about Rachael Ray, I hear she comes here a lot." Callie put her hands on her hips and turned to the speaker and asked, "Who the hell could forget about Rachael…OH MY GOD RACHAEL RAY…and, and you…and oh my god…Arizona do you see this? Oh my god are we interrupting your party. Everyone we have to go now. MOVE!"
All the chefs started to laugh and Arizona couldn't hold in her own laughter when Max said, "You weren't kidding when you said she'd lose her mind." Callie started walking in circles speaking in Spanish and her whole group of friends and family just watched as Callie lost her shit. Arizona stepped in front of her and the Torres' physically cringed, Lucia even covered her eyes. The blonde grabbed her suspenders, pulled her into a deep searing kiss until she felt her body relax, then rested their heads together and whispered, "Count to 5, deep breath in, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Honey, this is your birthday party, this is part of your gift. These chefs are here, not to cook for us but to cook with us. They have asked me ahead of time for some of your favorite dishes and we are going to cook them with their guidance. But we can't do that if you are going to go all fangirl and lose your shit." Callie looked at her wife and asked, "I…we…they are going to cook with us, they are going to show us how to cook?" Arizona nodded her head and said, "Happy birthday baby." Callie's entire face lit up and she promised, "Oh you are so getting laid tonight." Arizona chuckled and they returned to their party to find Michael had already begun to explain.
Max, Addie and Lorraine, were passing out boxes and gift bags with their names on them to everyone while Michael explained, for those of you who may not be as into dining out, cooking shows, or even be a foodie like our friend Cal here, my name is Michael March and I am what you would call a chef to the chefs and I am also a cooking instructor for sous chefs for well-known restaurants. This is in fact my restaurant and the place where these chefs come when they don't want to eat their own food." Everyone chuckled at that and he continued, "The chefs behind me are well-known around the world, have their own restaurants here in New York and/or in several other states and each of them currently or have recently had their own cooking show. Tonight, we have asked Arizona to give us several of Cal's favorite dishes from appetizers, breads and salads, sides, and entrees, and we will split you into groups and each group will create those dishes. We have broken it down so that each of the 5 chefs will take a group and we will all make an appetizer and while those are cooking or chilling, you all will move on to a special activity Arizona has planned for you, we will clean up and prepare for the next course and the evening will continue with chefs switching groups so we each get a chance to get to know you. Are there any questions?" Sofia raised her hand and asked, "Can we open our gifts now?" Everyone chuckled and Arizona answered, "You all may open your gifts."
Everyone opened their gifts and laughed as they saw they received aprons with sayings that were fitting to their personalities or careers. Each bag contained a small set of cooking utensils they could use this evening and take home with them. Callie laughed when she saw Steven, Bella, Jess, and Sophia all in an over-sized chef's hat and a white apron that read, 'Stand back, this could get messy!'. She bumped Arizona's arm and cooed, "Oh honey get a picture." She looked at her father and father in law and couldn't have found a better apron for either of them if she tried. Her dad was wearing an apron with a picture of a business suit on the front of it and Daniel's had a large Marine insignia with the words Proud United States Marine written around the sides. But when she saw Addie, she could swear she peed just a little. Her apron had a picture of a body with a pink bikini on the front of it. When she turned to look at her wife she fell in love all over again. Arizona was wearing a black apron with Callie's picture plastered on the front of it and on the top it said, 'Don't you wish your wifey was hot like mine?' She couldn't resist and pulled her in for a long sensual kiss.
Callie looked around and poked out her lip and asked, "Where's mine?" Bobby Flay handed her a box and said, "You needed one with a little heat." Callie opened the box and let out another squeal as she pulled out a black Chef's jacket and on the front was embroidered the words 'Cal's 40' in red and orange to look like flames above a chili pepper and she turned it over to see the back was also embroidered, but with a charcoal grill with smoke and flames rising from it and the words, '40 and still smokin' hot!' Rachael handed her a larger gift bag and suggested, "We figured you'd need something a little classier to cook with. We also signed a set for you along with your brand new set of cookware over there on the gift table." Callie's eyes went wide and she swallowed the lump in her throat and asked, "Um…can I hug you guys?" They all gathered in for a hug and Arizona shot as many pictures as she could get.
Michael clapped his hands together then said, "Okay, let's get started. Group 1 – Steven, Sofia, Bella, Jess, Kim, and Julie, you are with Tom making marinated watermelon salad. Group 2 – Jo, Becca, Maria, Stevie, and Jordyn, you are with Marcus on Wild, Wild Wings. Group 3 – Carlos, Daniel, Miguel, Marco you are with Bobby on Lobster Quesadillas. Group 4 – Dee, Lorraine, Lucia, and Barb you are with Rachael on the charcuterie board. Finally, Group 5 – Callie, Arizona, Addison, and Aria you are with me making Cal's choice." Callie did a little happy dance then asked, "What about Max and Nicole?" Nicole scoffed and asked, "Hmm would you rather I chopped off a finger or burn the place down?" Max piped in, "We are taste testers!" Michael breathed a sigh of relief and responded, "Good answer honey. Okay everyone, upstairs." Callie looked at Arizona and asked, "Upstairs, upstairs? We are going to the same kitchen classrooms where the best chefs of all time learned to cook?" Arizona nodded and said, "Yes fangirl." Callie kissed Arizona again and whispered, "Sofia has to go stay with someone tonight because there will be screaming involved." Arizona laughed and wiggled her brows at her wife. When they stepped off the elevator, everyone finally understood Callie's excitement, the extremely large room looked like 6 complete kitchens with their own appliances, butcher block table, fully stocked pantry and anything else one could dream of and all in stainless steel. Anyone who knew Callie knew she was in ecstasy right now.
While Callie was trying to find a recipe, Arizona kept watching Addie's face for some sort of tell. Something that would give her away, something that would let her know if she was pregnant or not. But she got nothing. That woman had a poker face. Callie pointed to the book and asked, "What about this coffee cured salmon?" Arizona and Addison looked at one another trying not to panic and Arizona suggested, "What about the tiger's milk ceviche we had on that cruise?" Michael looked at the clock and responded, "Given the time we have, that would work out better, but don't forget, our spouses work together so we can get together some other time and I'll show you how to make it. Deal?" Callie smiled brightly and agreed, "Deal." Then she kissed her wife on the cheek and complimented, "Good idea babe." Aria kept poking at the fish and finally asked, "Do you have some gloves or something?" Michael suggested, "How about you help me mix the tiger's milk?" Aria washed her hands and sighed, "Anything that will keep me from touching smelly fish and shrimp." Callie muttered, "Anything that will keep her from doing manual labor." Aria bumped her and quipped, "I heard that." Callie arched her brow and returned, "So."
As the time passed, they heard everyone laughing and talking and having a great time. Hearing the kids burst into laughter, they looked down to see a world renowned chef wearing a watermelon rind on his head like a football helmet. All the adults laughed as well, then Tom went to the sink to wash his head and change his jacket from the juice that dripped down. After a few minutes they heard, "You, put down that knife, no more cutting for you! You work on the dip only!" Arizona looked down the tables and asked, "Jordyn?" Stevie nodded and asked, "Why did you plan a cooking thing when I warned you?" Arizona shrugged and explained, "I thought it would help." Stevie retorted, "What about 'She could burn a salad' did you not understand?" Everyone broke into laughter including Jordyn who piped in with, "They weren't lying, I burned a salad and microwaved toast." Callie shook her head, looked at Arizona and started to open her mouth when she got the look that said, "Do you really want to do that?" and snapped it shut again. As everything seemed to be wrapping up, Michael announced, "Okay, we don't want to put you behind in your next activity, so we will cook the wings and quesadillas, put the rest in the chillers to get them nice and cold, clean up and get ready for our next round. Arizona, I'll leave it to you." Arizona nodded and requested, "Leave your aprons at your stations, wash up and follow me please."
When they got back to the main area, Arizona explained, "Okay, so our next adventure is on the second floor, but I have a favor to ask. They aren't open to the public yet and they are allowing us in to help work out kinks and would like to use our real time photos and responses afterwards in their advertising. So, if you wouldn't mind signing these waivers, then filling out a 1-minute survey at the end, it would really be helpful to them." Everyone agreed then the Colonel asked, "What did I just sign up for?" Arizona chirped, "An escape room." All the parents looked at her in confusion and everyone else spoke their excitement and enthusiasm at the idea. Stevie declared, "We've always wanted to do one but never found one for the whole family, can Steven participate?" Arizona nodded and answered, "He can either go into the one you choose or he can go into the one the girls choose. There's one called, "Once Upon a Time," it's all about fairy tales or one called "Goofy's Playhouse" which is extremely interactive." Arizona continued, "They will explain more when we get down there, but there is one room that is off limits to the rest of you."
The group started to grumble and Aria huffed, "Seriously, you two need to be separated." Addison started to panic and rushed out, "No, no, no, they have to be on the same team, in the same room. I was told they were on opposing teams for some girls' night batting thing and didn't speak to each other for three days." Both women sputtered out their denial and Callie argued, "That's an outright lie!" Arizona nodded and agreed, "It was bowling and only a day and a half." Callie pulled her wife closer, wrapped her arms around her waist and explained we made up the second night." Arizona brushed their lips together and added, "And the whole next day." Callie nodded, rubbed their noses together and suggested, "Maybe that's how they got confused." Aria crossed her arms and muttered, "Fine, but if I like that room, I'm going in anyway." Callie shook her head and looked to her mother for help. Lucia rolled her eyes and muttered something in Spanish making Carlos laugh.
Once they got to the second floor and saw all the options they had to choose from, Callie went straight to a door with a falling curtain with the title "Broadway's Final Curtain" looked at Arizona with puppy dog eyes, clasped her hands together and begged, "Please tell me this is the one you reserved for us." Arizona kissed her nose and replied, "Of course it is." Aria mimicked, "Of course it is…theater geeks. I didn't want that stupid one anyway. Oh look at that, it's all about the Renaissance!" Marco whipped around and asked, "Where?" Aria pointed and they both ran to that room. Once every one was in a group, they were all instructed that they would open the door and find themselves in a small room that would explain their mission. In order to be let into the main room to begin their mission, they had to solve a riddle. Everyone nodded their understanding and the main doors were open.
Callie and Arizona found themselves in a small room surrounded by posters from Broadway shows leading back to the very first show in 1866. When the door closed, they heard a medley of show tunes play, some they recognized and some they didn't then finally a voice came from the speaker overhead and said, "Oh thank goodness you are here. The last detectives they sent didn't know a curtain call from a telephone call." The girls chuckled and the voice continued, "You laugh now, but you won't be laughing in 60 minutes if you can't find the names of all culprits who have been embezzling from the tills for years, each name is hidden in the playbill of the show they worked on. You have to solve each clue attached to the playbill to find the next one. If you fail, it's the final curtain call for Broadway. Are you ready to start your task?" Both women nodded then answered, "We're ready." Callie was buzzing with excitement; she couldn't wait to get started. The voice declared, "In order to enter your room, you must answer this riddle, once you enter the room, you will hear a song from a musical and must find that playbill to find your first clue. Here is your riddle, complete the first line of this song, 'Raindrops on…'" Callie immediately picked up, "roses and whiskers on kittens." Both women squealed and hugged each other when the door opened then listened closely for the next song to start.
After the first three notes, Arizona started looking around the room and yelled out, "Fiddler…Fiddler on the Roof." Callie stared at her wife and asked, "How the hell did you guess that in three notes?" Arizona looked at Callie with her hands on her hips and quipped, "Wrong game show honey, now look for the damn playbill." Callie turned and saw it hidden behind a poster, pulled it out and read the note taped to the back, "Which rock opera did The Who compose? Tommy duh!" Arizona started looking for the playbill and nearly tripped over a makeup chair but found it lying on the makeup counter when she caught herself from falling. She called out, "Found it," then read the clue, "West Side Story is based on which Shakespeare…" "Romeo and Juliet!" Callie called out before she even finished reading, then the two stared at each other and Arizona asked, "So which one are we looking for?" Callie thought for a minute and decided, "Romeo and Juliet, it was on Broadway just a few years before I moved here." Arizona nodded and they started looking all over the place. Callie looked up and saw a dagger sticking out of the wall, ran over to it and pulled down the playbill. She read the clue and furrowed her brow as she asked, "Who won the Tony award for Best Featured Actress in 2005 for her role as Lady of the Lake?" Arizona popped off, "Sara Ramirez, Spamalot." Then started looking for the playbill. Callie stared at her and asked, "How the fuck do you know that?" Arizona looked on a shelf that held a huge golden cup, picked it up and found the playbill underneath and answered, "She's hot, we hadn't met yet, sue me." Callie snorted, pulled her wife in for a long steamy kiss that made her toes curl and asked, "Is she still hot?" Arizona fanned her face and asked, "Who?" Callie waved her hand at the paper and said, "Sara what's her name?" Arizona blinked, looked at the paper and asked, "Oh my god! How much time do we have?" Callie looked at her watch and said, "Shit, 10 minutes, read the clue, hurry."
Arizona read the clue and her heart started racing and her palms started sweating, she knew the answer and because she knew the answer to the clue, she knew the answer to the much bigger question. Trying to keep her voice as calm as she could, she furrowed her brow, pretending not to know the answer and read aloud, "This Broadway hit was later made into a movie and is based on the story of the musical group ABBA." Callie jumped up and down and hollered, "Oh my God, Mamma Mia!" Help me find it. Both women looked all over the place and Callie finally found the playbill sticking out of a drawer and yelled, "Over here honey!" Arizona rushed to her side and wrapped both hands around her arms praying there was an envelope in there from Addison. When Callie opened the drawer, pink and blue confetti fell from the ceiling and the words "Mamma Mia, here we go again," played on repeat and Callie was too busy to notice because she was holding an envelope in her hands that was sealed and across the seal were written the words, "I Addison Montgomery certify that I am the only person who has seen these results."
She looked up at Arizona with tears in her eyes, saw the pink and blue confetti, finally heard the music, let out a deep belly laugh and asked, "Do we even need to open it?" Arizona had tears streaming down her own cheeks, nodded her head up and down furiously and said, "Yes please!" Callie carefully broke the seal, pulled out the folded sheet of paper, looked at the highlighted HCG level and laughed when she saw the arrow pointing down to a note that said, 'that means pregnant bone crusher'. Both women cried tears of joy and held each other tightly whispering, "We're having a baby, we did it, we're having a baby." Arizona looked at her wife and explained, "This gift was kind of impromptu after I laughed, cried, yelled at Addie, hugged her, and threw up at the smell of coffee twice all in the span of about ten minutes. I let her draw my blood but refused to let her show me the results. I said I couldn't know until you knew." Callie laughed and kissed her again and gushed, "I love you so, so much." Arizona caressed her face and reminded her, "Every step of the way, we do it together." She then looked in the drawer and said, "That envelope there, that's your actual birthday gift from me." Callie furrowed her brow in confusion, reached in and picked up the envelope and said, "No fucking way!" Arizona giggled and explained, well obviously there aren't season tickets or anything and I wasn't sure which shows we'd want to see or when, so I didn't buy the tickets, but I bought enough gift certificates for us to see 12 Broadway shows. I was thinking one a month…" She stopped and rubbed her belly then finished, "But we might have to skip a couple months." Callie dropped to her knees, kissed Arizona's abdomen and said, "We will miss whatever we need to for mommy won't we baby? You are going to be so loved."
Arizona smiled down at her wife, ran her fingers through her hair and suggested, "We'd better get back up there." Callie stood up, took a deep breath and asked, "How the hell are we supposed to keep this a secret?" Arizona knew this would be hard, took both of Callie's hands and asked, "Can we wait for the first ultrasound? Please, I just…I need to hear a heartbeat." Callie pulled her wife into her arms and answered, "I know baby, I know. If we need to hide you behind desks and folders and pretend you are at a conference or whatever until you feel comfortable sharing, then that's what we will do." Arizona leaned up, kissed Callie tenderly and whispered, "Thank you." Just before they left the room, the man running the booth called out his congratulations and told them to come back anytime, their group was a blast to work with.
Realizing they must be the last ones, Callie and Arizona got on the elevator and Callie pushed the button then stood behind Arizona and wrapped her arms around her middle, splaying her hands across her abdomen. Realizing they were in an elevator and finding out what they just found out, the blonde just couldn't help herself, Callie's done it too many times and now it was her turn. She stopped the elevator, turned in her wife's arms wrapped her hands around her neck, and something about her wife's expression told Callie what was coming and she knew…she KNEW she deserved it, so she let her have her moment. Arizona smirked then revealed, "I just found out I'm pregnant with Mark's baby." Callie burst into laughter, picked Arizona up, spun her around and exclaimed, "Yes you are!" She pushed the button to restart the elevator then drew her wife in for a long sexy kiss.
Neither of them heard the ding nor the door opening, but they did hear Aria say, "It's a good thing you don't have the right parts or one of you would be pregnant by now! Hey what the hell?" She turned and looked at Addison who spit the wine she was drinking all over Aria's arm. Addie quickly got a napkin and cleaned her up and apologized, "Sorry, must have gone down the wrong tube." Aria looked down and said, "Oh my God those shoes are so cute are those Manolo Blahniks?" Addie smirked and replied, "Yup, won 'em in a bet." Seeing everyone had returned, Michael took everyone back up to the kitchen classroom and the teachers each switched groups and worked on breads and salads with their new groups. As the night wore on, the kids pooped out and Max took them along with Kim and Julie and Becca who needed to get off their feet to a separate room. Callie eyed them suspiciously but didn't say anything. As the kids returned, Max borrowed a couple more people at a time and Callie became more and more curious but continued cooking because she was learning so much and she loved the fact that Arizona was learning right along with her and asking just as many questions as she was. The next time she looked up, only two groups were left, her group which now consisted of Stevie instead of Aria, who were working on the entrée with Bobby and Michael, and the group of men who were working on sides with Rachael and Marcus. Tom had taken to cleaning up and began plating the appetizers. Once everything was nearly finished, the chefs excused the party goers to join the party and started serving the appetizers.
Everyone complimented each other on their dishes and they all discussed their escape room experiences and Jess said, "We were so happy we chose the Goofy room because there were ball pits and slides, and easy questions we could answer and Steven was a lot of help because he watches Mickey Mouse Club House every day." The adults laughed and Callie asked, "What room did you go into dad?" Carlos finished chewing, wiped his mouth and responded, "I joined Daniel in The Fight for Freedom Escape Room." Daniel nodded and bragged, "We made it out in 30 minutes flat. Arizona chuckled and asked, "Where did you go mom?" Barb chuckled and replied, "Lucia, Lorraine, Dee, and I went into the Glamorous Escapes room. Good thing I went with them, I couldn't find my way out of a paper bag." Everyone laughed then oohed and aahed as the breads and salads were brought out. As the conversation about the rooms continued, Maria asked, "How was your room? Did you solve the puzzle in time?" Arizona and Callie shared a secret smile and Callie responded, "We did actually and I found out why only we could go in that room. Arizona hid my birthday present in there." Lucia put her hands together and proclaimed, "Oh that's so sweet, what did she get you dear?" Callie took the envelope out of her pocket and shared, "She got us enough gift certificates to see 12 Broadway shows. She knows I've always wanted to see one and I've never gone. She loves the theater as much as I do." Maria and Lorraine both leaned back in their chairs and huffed, "Oh thank God!" Callie stuck her tongue out at them and retorted, "I'd rather go with my wife anyway."
When the meal was all finished, the chefs came out and everyone clapped for them and thanked them for such a lovely evening. Callie stood and hugged each of them and couldn't help but gush over how she loved each and every one of them and their work. Tom was the first to speak up, handed her a gift bag and said, "This is my latest book, I wrote a little note in there for you and there's a certificate in there for you and your wife, when you call to make reservations, just give them your name and the number on the back of the card. Happy birthday and thank you for letting us be a part of it." Bobby stepped up next, shook his head and claimed, "He's always got to outdo me, "Here's a copy of my book, also signed with a note for you, and rather than a free meal, there's a box over there from me with all my secret spices, rubs and sauces, just to kick it up a notch." Callie shook his hand and thanked him again. Marcus handed her yet another book and suggested, "You two look like you'd enjoy a speakeasy, so there's a certificate in there for Ginny's Supper Club, you just call the number on the card and they'll hook you up." Rachael stepped up last and said, "I kinda gave my gift away at the beginning, but there's a whole new set of cookware and utensils over there for you as well as some of my own secret ingredients and one of my favorite books. I've really enjoyed myself and I loved your chosen family, you all are beautiful people." Callie and Arizona both hugged her again and watched as she walked away.
Michael cleared his throat and offered, "I know I quoted Arizona a price, but I cook to bring people joy, to bring people together, to make them happy. When I saw your reaction today, when I saw how you truly understood what we do and why we do it, how truly grateful you were to receive this gift and how happy it made Arizona to give it to you, I can't in good conscience take your money. You and your family brought us as much joy as we brought you. As doctors, I'm sure you know, sometime we need to be reminded why we do what we do and tonight, your family and friends and your reactions reminded us of those things. So this was my gift to you, to both of you. I have an evening staff to clean up and a security staff to watch over you, I know there are a few more things left to do, so stay as late as you need. Have a good evening." Arizona and Callie both had tears in their eyes and thanked both men and walked them to the elevators to wish them goodnight.
As they were walking back, Callie asked, "There's more?" Arizona smiled and asked, "It's your birthday, haven't you noticed something is missing?" Just then, they heard a noise from the kitchen and Senator Erin Gavin appeared and Arizona rushed over and hugged her saying, "I'm so glad you came for this part at least." Callie arched her brow in question and Arizona returned to her side and stated, "I know you noticed people disappearing all night." Callie nodded and Arizona explained, "Well, when I told Erin about the party, she got me in touch with her cousin Jeffery and he and his friends came down to help out." Callie asked, "Uhh, help out with what?" Erin looked through the kitchen window, nodded, and several people holding trays loaded with cakes entered the dining room and delivered small individual cakes or cupcakes to each guest. Callie walked around and noticed the three girls all made rainbow and unicorn cupcakes, Steven made alien cupcakes, Julie and Kim made Harry Potter cupcakes, Aria and Marco both made small cakes decorated like the galaxy, of course Daniel made a camouflage cake, her father made a cake that looked like a tree stump with his and her mother's initials carved in it, Maria and Miguel made the same cake as her father, all of the older women made a cake with some sort of floral design, Jo and Becca made their cake together and it was a pink baby shark since they just found out they were having a girl, and Jordyn and Stevie made a cake with different decorations that looked like scissors and curling irons and other salon type things, then of course Addie had to go fancy and make a geode cake.
Callie looked around at all the cakes very much like she did the aprons and pouted, "It's my birthday, where's my cake?" Arizona nodded to Erin and she called out, "Jeffery Adam can you bring out the birthday cake please?" They heard a muttering from the kitchen and Erin retorted, "Nope, it's part of the surprise." Someone dimmed the lights and Erin started singing Happy Birthday and the others joined in, then the door swung open and a man backed the cake out of the kitchen on a cart and when he turned to face Callie, she let out a scream that would shatter glass and cut everyone off right in the middle of the third verse before they even got out 'dear Callie' and hollered, "YOU'RE DUFF GOLDMAN!" The man smiled, looked at his cousin then back at Callie and answered, "Try telling her that!" Arizona looked at her wife and whispered, "Honey, blow out the candles." Callie looked at the top of the cake and saw a small 40 and closed her eyes to make a wish and realized she had everything she ever wanted so she wished for that little seed she just found out about to grow into a mighty oak. Opening her eyes, she finally took a good look at the cake and just kept saying, "Oh my God, Oh my God"
Everyone gathered around and Carlos said, "Well, will you look at that." Callie started at the bottom, the cake plate was silver, made to look like a surgical tray with a stethoscope made out of modeling chocolate in different colors surrounding the bottom tier which was covered in black fondant and had white skeletons dancing around it in different poses. The second tier was slightly larger and must have been sitting on some sort of base that was being held up by scalpels made of chocolate and airbrushed silver. That tier was airbrushed to look like the skylines of Miami, New York City, and Seattle, the three places she called home, and the top tier was her 57 T-bird in the exact shade of blue with figures of her and Arizona in the front seat and Sofia in the back and the teeny tiny license plate read, NYC 40. She just couldn't get over the detail. She couldn't get over the fact that Duff Goldman made her a birthday cake. This whole evening was like every dream she ever had all rolled into one and came true at the same time. She looked up at the creator of this magnificent cake and asked, "Um, can I, will you take a picture with me with the cake?" Duff smiled his signature smile and quickly agreed. Callie rushed to his side and every one held up their phones and took their picture. He glanced at Arizona and looked to Callie and said out of the side of his mouth, "I think we need to include the wife or I'm going to be wearing a cake it took me three days to make." Callie laughed, held out her arm and Arizona ran to her side and kissed her cheek.
When it came time to cut the cake, Callie literally wanted to cry. Duff could see the dilemma; he'd seen it a hundred times. He went behind the bar, pulled out two boxes, carefully removed the car and placed it in a box, then the second tier and placed it in a box, then looked at Callie and asked, "We good now?" Callie smiled brightly and nodded then happily cut her cake and when she saw her favorite red velvet inside, she muttered, "Why can't you all eat your own cakes?" Aria crossed her arms and huffed, "She never did like to share." Callie glared at her, pointed the very sharp cake knife in her direction and snapped, "Not my first boyfriend!" Arizona carefully took the knife from her hand and said, "Hi, wife here." Callie stuck out her bottom lip and pouted, "Sorry." Arizona tapped her cheek and demanded, "Prove it!" Callie's lips turned into a little smile and she kissed her wife's cheek and giggled when Arizona turned to the other side making her kiss that one as well, then she caught her chin and kissed her on the lips and whispered, "I love you." Arizona asked, "Are you going to play nice and not cut your sister?" Callie looked up to the ceiling and asked, "Are the kids still awake?" Arizona chuckled and responded, "Barely, but yes." Callie grumbled, "Fine, I'll play nice." The blonde passed the knife back and Duff asked, "Are they always like this?" Everyone in the room responded, "Worse!"
The baker chuckled, patted Callie on the back, wished her a happy birthday, and Arizona followed him into the kitchen. She handed him a check to cover the costs for all the cakes and thanked him for fitting them into his busy schedule. He tucked the check into his pocket, looked toward the kitchen door and explained, "Erin, she's been like my older sister since I can remember. Those babies mean the world to her and that means they mean the world to me. She said you're the only one who treated her right and talked to her like she meant something and wasn't just another case. That makes you good people to me and your wife's reaction, I don't get that a lot so when I do, that means the world to me too." Arizona walked him to the door and went back into the dining room to find everyone cleaning up. All the kids were asleep now, Dee and Lorraine were helping Duff's staff put everyone's cake into boxes, all the men were carrying the extra food, gifts, and Callie's cake to her car which they had the valet bring around, and Stevie offered to take Sofia home with them since they were pretty certain there wouldn't be much sleeping in the Robbins-Torres household tonight. Callie immediately agreed and Arizona asked, "What are we agreeing to?" Stevie responded, "We're taking mini-me with us tonight." Arizona snorted and responded, "Damn straight you are." All three of them broke into a fit of giggles.
Callie took Arizona's hand and called out, "Thank you all for making this the best 40th birthday ever. I love you all, but don't call us before 1:00 pm because we won't answer." They both hugged everyone on their way out the door, made arrangements with Aria to come over for dinner tomorrow evening then finally made their way outside. Once they got in the car, before they could put their seatbelts on, Callie reached over, cupped the back of Arizona's neck and pulled her in and murmured against her lips, "I have no idea how you pulled all that off, but that was the best birthday I have ever had. Hell, that was the best birthday anyone has ever had." Arizona ran her tongue along Callie's bottom lip and it was quickly granted entrance. The two engaged in a slow sensual kiss, taking their time and finally enjoying a quiet moment alone. Callie took a deep breath and started the car then put on her seatbelt and declared, "As much as I was enjoying that, I would enjoy it much better at home, naked, in our bed." Arizona pulled out her phone, pulled up her playlist, connected it to Bluetooth and said, "Agreed." Callie was so focused on the road; she wasn't paying attention to what her wife was doing and started cracking up when the song "Birthday Sex" started blaring through the speakers.
A/N: Thank you as always for your dedication and reviews. Well? Were you expecting any of this or were you as surprised as Callie? I mean, it may seem a little out there, but like Nicole Herman said, you just need to know the right people. I know this was my longest chapter yet, but I couldn't find the right place to cut it off for a second chapter and also wanted to add a little more detail then, they cooked and went home.
Also, I have searched high and low and I really can't find any truth to this rumor other than other fan pages, so let's cross our fingers and toes. If you have other sites besides AO3 that you prefer, please let me know just in case.
I have no rights nor permission to use any of the celebrities I named in this story, so if anyone knows Tom Colicchio, please don't tell him he put a watermelon on his head to entertain fictional children.
Up next, birthday sex!