A/N 1: I am not too proud to admit that I know absolutely zero Spanish other than what I learned on Sesame Street and Dora the Explorer. Therefore, rather than offend anyone, make myself look ridiculous for getting things extremely wrong, or make this chapter super long with Spanish phrases and translations, we are going to assume the family and friends are speaking English, though possibly broken and in thick accents, for Arizona's benefit. I understand if you don't see the point in me taking them to Mexico if I didn't intend to use the language, which initially I did, until I started and it became extremely daunting and after running it through two different translators and getting extremely varied translations, I decided to go this route.
Once they finished eating and showering, for the third time that day, Callie went to the closet where she was told they would find their clothes for the fiesta. She almost dreaded opening the door because she just knew there were two dresses hanging in there and she didn't know what she was going to do because she couldn't bring herself to wear a dress. It wasn't who she was anymore. Taking a deep breath, she put her hand on the doorknob and felt Arizona's arms wrap around her from behind. Arizona could tell from the moment Callie's aunts told her their clothes were upstairs that Callie worried they'd picked a dress for her. She worried a bit herself, but she trusted Lucia when she said she'd spoken to her family about it. Arizona rested her chin on Callie's shoulder and informed her, "When I asked your mom if she could contact the family and set up a visit with them, I asked her under two conditions, the first was that your family accepted us as a married couple and the second was that they accepted you for who you are now." Callie nodded and asked, "What did she say?" Arizona kissed her cheek and answered, "Pretty much the same thing Uncle Berto said, it wasn't them." Callie smiled slightly and prepared herself for whatever was behind that door.
Using an action very much like her wife's, Callie nodded once as if she were building up courage, opened the door, breathed a sigh of relief, reached into the closet, and pulled out the white linen Guayabera traditional men's shirt with the hand embroidered red and blue floral design on the collar, the cuffs, and a two inch strip running down the length of the left side and a pair of white linen pants, turned in her wife's arms and murmured against her lips, "Thank you for loving me just as I am and for defending me." Arizona kissed her softly, whispered, "Always," then clapped her hands and demanded, "Now hand over my dress!" Callie laughed, pulled out a white linen dress with a rounded neckline and the same embroidered pattern along the neckline, the short sleeves, the waistband, and each of the three ruffles of the knee-high dress. It wasn't anything like Arizona would typically wear, but it was gorgeous and it was part of Callie's culture and she absolutely loved it. Once they were both dressed, Arizona fixed Callie's collar and sleeves and told her, "You look absolutely amazing." Callie smiled at her, put her hands on her waist and returned, "I love seeing you like this, having you here."
Arizona looked at both of them, she could tell by Callie's expression how happy this made her, how important this was to her and realized that this wasn't just a pretty outfit her family had picked out for them, but it was some sort of tradition or cultural thing. Taking Callie's hand, she led her to the end of the bed, sat them down and inquired, "Tell me about this, tell me what to expect, what do these clothes mean?" Callie smiled and explained, "In older Mexican tradition, the groom used to wear very ornate suits much like those you've seen on a Mariachi and the bride would wear long flowing colorful dresses usually with floral patterns on them. As times changed, tradition changed in some families or some parts of the country and the clothing is more traditional but at the reception, the bride and groom usually change into a matching outfit much like this so they still stand out from the guests. Since we've already gotten married, these are like our wedding clothes. This will make us stand out from everyone else." Arizona smiled brightly and asked, "So this is like a second wedding reception? Not just a welcome party." Callie nodded, listened to all the noise from outside which sounded like people had started arriving and responded, "Seems like it."
Arizona nodded and asked, "What else can I expect?" Callie squeezed her hand and answered, "Depending on how far into tradition they go, there is El Lazo in which my God parents who are Uncle Berto and Tia Marta would wrap a large rosary or silk cord around us to represent unity while a prayer or blessing is read by another member of the family or a priest. Then we keep it in our home as a sign of our unity and eternal love." Arizona smiled and sighed, "That sounds beautiful." Then she asked, "Why haven't you incorporated any of this into our weddings?" Callie shrugged and explained, "It's not just cultural to me, it's also familial, it's something my family does and I didn't think I had their blessing to do it." Arizona kissed her cheek and suggested, "Well it sounds like you do now." Callie's smile was beautiful and breathtaking as she stood up, held out her hand, and answered, "Yes it does. Shall we go Mrs. Robbins-Torres?"
As they left the room to go down to the party, Callie grabbed Arizona's arm and said, "Oh my God, there's going to be drinking, like lots and lots of drinking." Arizona shrugged and replied, "It's okay if you drink honey, it's a celebration and this is your family." Callie shook her head and was almost in a panic as she explained, "No Arizona, it's OUR celebration and OUR family and they will expect US to drink." Arizona just stared at her then said, "Oh!" Keeping her mouth in the shape of an 'O' a bit longer than necessary. Callie ran her hands through her hair and asked, "What do we tell them? We can't tell them why you aren't drinking; my mom will know in ten minutes and your mom will know in fifteen." Arizona pursed her lips and replied, "Tell them I'm on medication and if I drink I'll have a horrible reaction." Callie nodded and responded, "Okay, yeah, that might work."
They started down the stairs again and Callie stopped and asked, "Medication for what?" Arizona huffed and asked, "Seriously?" Callie nodded and waved her arms, "Hello, this is my family we are talking about. Nosey, in your business." Arizona waved her arms in exasperation and answered, "I don't know, anxiety from flying." Callie nodded and responded, "Okay, that will work. I'll just make sure we get a pitcher of non-alcoholic sangria." Arizona took Callie's hand and offered, "Calliope, this is your family, our celebration, this isn't like before, you haven't seen them in years, drink, have a good time. If I feel like you've had a little too much, I'll tell you, okay?" Callie smiled, brushed their lips together and nodded. Then they proceeded down the stairs. Arizona had no idea what she was walking into.
As soon as they walked through the archway, the Mariachi band started playing, which lead to a huge round of applause, whooping, hollering, noisemakers, and other noises she couldn't quite describe, coming from both inside and outside of the house, drowning out the music. Apparently when they first arrived, the decorating had just begun, because aside from what they had seen earlier, there were now tablecloths on each table with colorful runners with vivid designs meticulously placed down the middle of each table, huge colorful paper flower bouquets placed strategically as centerpieces staggered with candles, lights were strung on the outside of the house, in the courtyard, in the front of the house and several pinatas were hung at various points around the yard and house including one shaped like a heart above a table which she assumed to be the table that was reserved for her and Callie. Aside from that, there were two huge tables of food to be served buffet style inside the house and two large tables of drinks and liquor outside in the yard. To top it all off, Arizona could swear she had never seen so many people in her entire life.
Callie felt Arizona's grip tighten on her hand and looked down to see bright blue eyes darting back and forth drinking everything in. She could see the slight wariness in her eyes, but only from facing the unexpected, the smile on her face told her she was pleasantly surprised by everything she was seeing and the fact that this was all for them was a little overwhelming to her. It wasn't until that moment that Callie realized Arizona didn't grow up with this, they never had large family or community gatherings because they were always deployed, the closest she ever got to something like this was the village she had built in Seattle and the one they were building in New York. Thus, her propensity to avoid surprises and large gatherings. Looking down at her wife she whispered, "Are you okay?" Arizona nodded, smiled her brilliant smile and responded, "As long as I'm not expected to remember any names." Callie laughed, took her wife's hand and started moving through the crowd to find her uncle. She wasn't exactly sure how traditional they planned to be since some of what she mentioned normally took place during the actual ceremony, but she knew her family were firm believers in some rituals. She knew there would at least be an introduction of the couple, the blessing of food and drink, the toast, then they would eat, drink, and dance until the early hours of the morning until the last person finally stumbled home singing some sad Spanish ballad about lost love.
As they fought their way through the crowd, both women received hugs, kisses, and well wishes in both English and Spanish. When they finally found her uncle and tias and made it to the makeshift stage Berto had concocted from stacking pallets together, she was pleasantly surprised to find he finally caught up with the times and bought a microphone and sound system, as dated as it may be. He let out a loud whoop into the microphone to get everyone's attention and they all finally settled down and turned in his direction. Just as they got quiet, someone from the crowd called out, "The prodigal one returns!" and everyone started clapping again making Callie blush. Arizona took her hand and just looked out at the sea of people. She noticed that Berto was wearing a suit very much like the one Callie described, Tia Rosa was wearing a long flowing red dress, Tia Marta was wearing a similar dress in blue, and Tia Ana in Yellow.
Uncle Berto silenced the crowd once again and began, "Our Calliope has indeed returned to us and with her beautiful bride Arizona." He was cut off with a loud round of applause and whistles and Arizona could see by the expression on Callie's face, this acceptance meant the world to her. Berto began again, "So we gather tonight not only to celebrate Calliope's visit, but to celebrate and bless her marriage." He looked at Callie as if she knew what to do, which she did and she turned to face Arizona, took both hands and mouthed 'El Lazo'. Arizona nodded her understanding and the two stared into one another's eyes while Tia Ana approached the microphone and Tia Rosa stood beside them holding a beautifully carved wooden rectangular box and opened it revealing a gorgeous beaded rosary. Uncle Berto removed the large string of beads from its case and Tia Marta took the other end. Tia Ana began to speak into the microphone as Callie's God parents wrapped the delicate string of beads around them in the form of an infinity knot.
Tia Ana read, "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 1st Corinthians 13 verses 4 through 8." She then turned to them and said, "Calliope, Arizona, may your marriage always bring glory to God, joy to one another and blessings to your family for many generations to come. May love and laughter fill your hearts and your home for all the days of your lives. May you face every challenge hand-in-hand and side-by-side knowing that with God's grace, you'll conquer all obstacles together. May the world be forever a better place because the two of you fell in love. In Jesus' name, Amen. These are the words of Dave Willis, but they are no less true for you." When she was finished speaking, each member of the family kissed both women on both cheeks as a symbol of their blessing, removed the beads, placed them back in the case, and handed the box to Arizona and the crowd burst into cheers once again. Berto went back to the microphone and declared, "We have the traditional first dance, then we eat, we drink, and we celebrate!"
Arizona looked to Callie and whispered, "The first dance?" Callie turned to Berto, told him what song she wanted played, he nodded and the two women made their way to the large circle in the yard that was formed for them by the surrounding group of people. Callie took Arizona's hand and whispered, "This tradition is the same." Arizona laughed when she heard 'All of Me' by Jason Mraz come through the speakers. While the two women danced, Arizona said contemplatively, "This was beautiful, it's all so amazing, so…different from what I know, anything I've experienced." Callie smiled; she was happy her wife had seen this part of her world. Arizona lifted her head from Callie's shoulder and proclaimed, "I want to bring Sofia here. I want her to know this part of her culture…and the twins. I want them to grow up like you did. I never had any of this and it's so much a part of who you are. Now that I've seen it for myself, I feel like we would be cheating them out of such a rich part of their heritage." Callie leaned in and kissed Arizona, it was a long, slow, languorous kiss, one of appreciation, one filled with love. She pulled back, smiled brightly and responded, "We will make that happen." Arizona returned the smile and nodded. When the dance finished, she sighed in relief and proclaimed, "Not that I didn't love dancing with you, but I am starving." Callie laughed and answered, "Me too! Thank goodness we get to go first." Both women headed straight for the food.
As they sat down to eat, if there was one thing Arizona was grateful for, it was that these people didn't play when it came to their food. No one interrupted them to wish them well or congratulate them or ask for pictures or make a toast; everyone just sat and ate. Feeling Callie's eyes on her, she looked up and asked, "Why are you staring at me?" Callie shook her head and asked, "How are you even eating some of that? This conchinita pibil is made with habanero peppers and you've had two helpings, you don't even like spicy things. I couldn't even finish mine." Arizona took a drink of her alcohol free sangria and answered, "I have no idea but it's really good." Then she added, "Oooh taste this! It has pomegranate seeds and poblano peppers." Callie smiled, she knew exactly what it was, it was one of her favorite dishes that her Tia Ana made. Though it was quite spicy. Thinking about how Arizona was tolerating all this food and the way she was eating those pickles and then the things she craved during her own pregnancy, Callie narrowed her eyes, looked around and whispered, "Do your tastebuds change? You know when you're…" Then she moved her hand up and down Arizona's body. Arizona tilted her head, thought about it for a moment then thought about the studies she read and things her patients have told her and responded, "Yeah, they do. I guess mine are changing quite a bit." Callie laughed and asked, "Ya think?" Arizona shrugged and just kept eating.
Once the meal was finished, the Mariachi's started up again and Callie taught Arizona several traditional dances, taking breaks in between to rest her leg and to cool down. Both women were offered drinks and shots and the majority of them were left on tables, accidentally spilled, or tossed in the grass when no one was looking, though Callie did consume her fair share of them. After a while, Uncle Berto announced it was time for the money dance and Callie had to quickly explain that people paid to dance with each of them and they got to keep the money for their honeymoon or to help them with their house or whatever they chose to spend it on. Arizona nodded in understanding and agreement but had no idea that this meant she would practically be dancing with the entire town of men and/or women for the next hour or so. She also didn't know that if some people preferred not to dance, they paid to buy a shot for the happy couple (even though the liquor was free which made no sense to her). But that meant a whole lot of shots for Callie, which also ended up being disposed of or shared with others.
Once she finally sat down, Arizona was feeling the effects of the entire day and exhaustion was starting to set in, though she was having so much fun, there was no way she was ready to leave yet. She also loved watching Callie interact and reconnect with people she hadn't seen in over half her life. She was so busy watching her wife dance and enjoy herself with her cousins, she didn't notice the person who sat down beside her and startled when she heard, "You never take your eyes off each other." Arizona smiled, looked to her left and found Tia Ana in her gorgeous yellow dress that complemented her dark skin tone perfectly. When she looked in her dark brown eyes, she saw the same golden flecks and responded, "I find her miraculous, I can't help but watch her." The older woman nodded while looking at her niece now and said, "The moment you took your eyes off her, she turned to look at you." Arizona turned and locked eyes with her lover, her soulmate, both of them smiled slightly and just that brief glance said a thousand words. The blonde turned her attention back to the older woman and Ana explained, "We all knew about Berto and we had our suspicions about Calliope. Aria, all the other girls in the family and in town played with dolls, experimented with makeup, chased the boys, sneaked into our closets and played dress up. Calliope, she was happy cooking with Mami but she loved working on cars and building things with Papi." Arizona smiled then and answered, "I told her I thought that's where she got it, her ingenuity, her ability to look at the human body and rebuild it." Ana nodded and continued, "My sister, she's always been the literal one, following the letter of the law, maybe that's why she's such a good lawyer, but in doing so, she's missed out on so much. She ignored the obvious, hoping it would go away and when it didn't, she just shunned it. We are told you are a big reason she and Carlos changed their minds and hearts." Arizona blushed and replied, "I don't know how true that is, but I do know how important family and this place in particular is to Calliope and how happy she is to have that back. I'd do anything to keep that smile right there on her face forever." Ana looked over to her niece, she knew the smile the blonde was talking about without looking but she loved seeing it as well, turned back and said, "That's what love is about and we are happy to welcome you Arizona." She enveloped Arizona in a strong hug and then left to join the party.
Callie waited until her tia left then went to join her wife. The minute she sat down, she pulled her into a long sensual kiss and could feel her body begin to tingle. Her wife looked so beautiful sitting here under the twinkling lights, the moonlight reflecting off her pale skin. All she could think about was being alone with her and showing her how much she appreciated this amazing gift. Arizona recognized right away that Callie was at the horny handsy state of drunkenness and would swear her wife grew two extra pairs of arms because her hands were everywhere, not helping her already hormone fueled libido in the least. When Callie leaned into her, placed one hand around her shoulder to pull her closer, put one hand on her knee and slowly slid it up the inside of her thigh, started kissing down her jaw line, licked her neck, nibbled on her pulse point, then nipped at her earlobe she was an absolute goner. When Callie whispered in her ear, "Follow me," she did as she was told, took Callie's hand when it was offered and the two stealthily made their way to the back of the large estate.
Though they could still hear the music, the talking, and the laughter, if it weren't for the white clothes and Arizona's blonde hair, they wouldn't be able to see one another as it was so dark. Callie pushed Arizona against the cool stucco wall and immediately started kissing and licking her neck while her hands went straight to Arizona's sensitive breasts, pinching and rolling her already hardened nipples. Callie licked up the side of Arizona's neck and asked, "Are you wet for me? Do you want me to fuck you?" Arizona visibly shivered; she knew what was coming and her entire body hummed in anticipation. When Callie had been drinking, she was in the mood for a hard, fast, and dirty fuck. She wanted to talk dirty, she wanted Arizona to tell her what she wanted and in return, she wanted Arizona to be rough with her, she wanted to feel through the haze of the alcohol, she wanted biting and strong hard thrusts. Biting down on her pulse point, making her whimper, Callie demanded, "I asked you a question Arizona. Are you wet for me?" The blonde's knees nearly buckled, she was so wet already, but she wasn't going to make this easy on her wife, she knew how to play her when she got like this and returned, "Why don't you see for yourself?" Callie's nostrils flared, she knew Arizona was challenging her, she could tell by the smirk on those luscious lips. Keeping one hand on her wife's plump breast, pinching the nipple just a little harder, she ran her hand down Arizona's right side, lifted the hem of her dress, skimmed her hand up the hard muscular thigh until she reached her curvaceous hip and felt the fabric of the poor excuse for panties her wife was wearing, gave two hard tugs and grinned in satisfaction when she heard the rip of material. She lifted her hand between them, held up the torn white silk thong, and bragged, "I'm starting quite a collection," before stuffing it in her pocket and asking, "Where was I, oh that's right. You were making me answer my own question."
By this point, Arizona was indeed so wet she could feel her own arousal dripping down her thighs. When Callie reached between her legs, both women moaned and the brunette whispered, "Is this all for me? Do I make you this wet?" Arizona bit down on Callie's shoulder knowing she would leave a mark, making her wife groan and responded, "It's all for you. What are you going to do about that Calliope?" Callie licked her fingers clean and asked, "What do you want me to do about it? Do you want my fingers inside you Arizona? Do you want me to take you up against this wall? Do you want me to pound into you until you scream my name and come so hard you can't stand up?" Arizona reached up, grabbed a handful of Callie's hair, yanked her head back, bit and sucked on her pulse point, then commanded, "I want you to fuck me Calliope, I want you to claim me. I want your fingers so deep inside of me it's almost painful." She barely got the words out before she found herself flat against the wall with three of Callie's fingers thrusting in and out of her so hard and fast she could barely catch her breath. The sound of the music, the laughter, the talking all became an echo, background noise, because all she could hear was the pounding of her own heart as Callie fucked her against the wall of her family home with literally hundreds of people on the other side not 50 yards away.
Callie's arm was burning she was moving so fast, she lowered her free hand to grip Arizona's ass, licked up her jawline, the shell of her ear and whispered, "Is this what you need baby?" Arizona was moaning and gasping for breath, at this point she could do nothing but feel, yet she still wanted more. Keeping her grip on Callie's hair, she lowered her other hand to the hand on her ass and guided it to where she wanted it to be, hoping her wife understood. She realized she did when Callie whispered, "Oh you want to play dirty tonight don't you?" Callie moved her free hand to gather the excess arousal from Arizona's sex and slowly began entering the puckered opening of her ass. Arizona hissed, "Fuck! Yes!" She then moved both hands down to grip Callie's ass to steady herself and set a strong steady rhythm that she knew would send her over the edge in a matter of minutes.
Just hearing the sounds her wife was making, feeling her arousal, knowing the pleasure she was bringing to her, had Callie on the edge of her own climax. She lifted her head, looked into navy blue eyes and Arizona could see the need, the pleading for release in onyx eyes full of lust, moved her hands around to quickly unfasten Callie's pants, stuck her hand down the waistband of her boxers and wasted no time at all entering her and quickly matching the pace at which she herself was being fucked. As soon as Callie felt Arizona enter her she wanted to come right then and there, it was such a relief to be touched and she had herself so worked up. She cried out when Arizona's thumb started making circles around her clit indicating she was close and wanted them to come together. Callie whispered, "More," and Arizona obliged adding a third and fourth finger, picking up the pace. Both women dropped their heads to the shoulders of the other, panting, hearing nothing but their own moans of pleasure, their own heartbeats, the sounds of their fingers moving in and out of the other, at nearly the same time, their legs started to tremble, their arms started to falter, and their low moans became loud cries as they each fell apart in one another's arms, shaking and trying to bring the other down from their intense climax, while trying to hold each other up.
Finally coming back to their senses, they held each other a little longer and shared a long languorous kiss allowing their tongues to glide against one another and enjoying the intimacy. Arizona could taste the bitterness of the alcohol on Callie's breath, but it wasn't unpleasant, just unfamiliar to her now at this point in their lives since either of them rarely drank. When they finally broke apart, they both looked at one another and started giggling. While Arizona helped Callie fix her clothes, Callie said, "I think I'm the only one who has never slipped away from one of these fiestas and done that. I figured since this one is for me, it's the least I could do." Arizona laughed, smacked her shoulder and teased, "Oh so I was just a conquest eh?" Callie shrugged and quipped, "It only took 40 years and we are married, so I'm not sure that counts as a conquest." Arizona laughed and started to walk back the way they came and Callie pulled her in the opposite direction suggesting, "Let's go through the kitchen so we can wash up." Arizona nodded and followed her wife around the house.
Once they got inside and washed their hands, they also straightened each other's hair and looked for visible marks. Just as they started toward the courtyard, Callie's cousin Louisa approached them and said, "You'd better make up a good excuse, Tia Marta has been looking for you to cut the cake and break the pinata." Callie's eyes grew wide and her cousin patted her on the back and whispered, "It's been a long time coming…pun intended." She nearly cackled as she walked out of the kitchen. Callie just shook her head, waved her arm in her cousin's direction, looked at her wife and exclaimed, "SEE!" Arizona laughed, pulled Callie to the courtyard and suggested, "Just tell her you were showing me around." Callie nodded, she knew her tia wouldn't buy that, but she didn't want to argue. When they stepped outside, everyone started whooping and hollering and Arizona realized everyone knew exactly what they were doing. Tia Marta glared at the two of them, stomped toward them, grabbed them both by the sleeve like little children and dragged them to the table where the large four tiered wedding cake decorated with colorful flowers stood waiting for them to cut into it. Arizona leaned into Callie and asked, "How much trouble are we in?" Callie shrugged and responded, "Not as much trouble as if she would have grabbed us by our ears." Arizona nodded, smirked at her wife and whispered, "Totally worth it though." Callie smiled back, winked, and returned, "Totally."
Once they had cut the cake and fed each other a piece, still choosing not to smash it in one another's face, it was time for them to bust open the pinata. Arizona looked around and asked, "Why are there so many?" Callie explained, "Those over there, shaped like animals are for the kids, they are filled with candy and small toys. Those, on the other side shaped like sombreros and the sun, they are for adults and are filled with small bottles of liquor, chocolate shots and other adult type things. Everyone will line up and take their turn hitting it with a stick until it is broken then everyone scrambles to get what they can off the ground. That one over there, shaped like a heart, that is for us. It has two strings for us to pull at the bottom in case we want to save it. It is filled with things for newlyweds. Normally money, candles, small figurines to bring luck, prosperity, fertility, things like that. Once we have opened ours, they can open theirs." Arizona nodded and the two went to their table, took their places under the heart, counted to three, then both squealed as money, coins, and other tiny gifts rained down on them. Everyone cheered then quickly formed lines around the other pinatas to get their own turn and collect gifts.
When they finished gathering all of the items that fell from their pinata and placed them in the basket Tia Rosa gave them, the two women sat at the table enjoying their cake and watched as everyone else participated in the longstanding tradition. Callie looked up when her Uncle Berto walked toward her with a man who appeared to be about the same age as he was and said, "Calliope, Arizona, I would like you to meet my husband Juan. It was because of the two of you that I finally had the courage to tell my family. Well, in all truth, it was because Calliope outed me in an argument with her father, but it appears that Carlos and Lucia were the only ones who were surprised by this news." Callie turned beet red and apologized, "I'm sorry Uncle Berto, I was just so…" The older man held up his hand and replied, "There is nothing to be sorry for Calliope, we have every right to be who we are and it is those who are too closeminded to accept that who are missing out. I lived my life in hiding for too long and was actually grateful when it came to light." Juan held out his hand to Callie and offered, "I too am grateful, my family knew and I thank you for being brave, even though it hurt you and kept you from your family." Callie looked at Arizona, lifted her hand to her mouth, kissed the back of it and replied, "I had my family right here." Both men hugged them, explained they had to be up early to work the land and said their goodnights.
As the evening progressed and the crowd thinned out, many of the family members began cleaning up. Despite the multiple offers of help, Callie and Arizona were told to sit and enjoy themselves. By this point, Callie had switched to water, having had enough liquor in her system and not wanting to spend her first full day of their honeymoon hungover. Arizona had also switched to water, simply finding the sangria she had been drinking, along with all the desserts, far too sweet. While the two women sat at their table, various people came up to Callie and asked her about her parents, what she was doing now, both women showed off their beautiful daughter, Callie asked the same questions and the evening continued in the same manner. After a while, Callie could feel Arizona's weight leaning on her, looked down and found her wife dozing off. "You should take her up, you two have had a long day. Everyone will understand." Tia Rosa said as she cleared off the table in front of them. Callie nodded and asked, "Would you like me to come back down and help?" Rosa looked at her niece, scowled and asked, "What part of what I said did you not understand?" Callie smiled, thanked her tia, kissed Arizona on the crown of her head and whispered, "Come on honey, let's get you into bed."
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Once they got upstairs and got changed into their sleep clothes, Callie helped Arizona remove her prosthetic and could see that it was already a little swollen and her wife was half asleep. She searched all of the suitcases, the front pockets, inside pockets, the carry on luggage and couldn't find a compression sleeve or the blue wrap anywhere. She knew Arizona was going to be in a great deal of pain without one of those things tomorrow. She hated to do it, but she woke Arizona up and asked, "Honey, where's your compression sleeve?" Arizona furrowed her brow as if she didn't know what Callie was talking about then the brunette asked, "Did you bring the silicone wrap?" Finally Arizona sat straight up and was wide awake and muttered, "Fuck! I haven't needed them. I didn't even think about it. Callie, I'm going to be a mess tomorrow." Callie went to their toiletry bag, took out two Tylenol, filled a glass of water from the bathroom then stated, "I have an idea, I'll be right back." Arizona nodded and started massaging her residual limb which was already throbbing.
Callie ran down to the kitchen and tried to think of a few things that might work. Once she reached the kitchen she started with the obvious first and asked, "Do you have an ace bandage?" When everyone just stared at her she said, "envoltura de compression (Compression wrap)." All of her tias shook their heads then she went to the refrigerator, grabbed a bag of frozen vegetables, looked around the kitchen, saw the plastic wrap sitting on the cupboard, grabbed it, and declared, "I need this." Before anyone could say anything, she was back up the stairs and in her room. When she walked in, she could see Arizona's leg was starting to swell more. She opened their suitcase again, found one of her socks, then sat on the bed next to Arizona and teased, "We're gonna MacGyver this thing." Arizona laughed then watched as her wife wrapped her leg in saran wrap, stretched out her gym sock then slipped it over her thigh and finally placed the frozen vegetables on her leg securing them with another layer of plastic wrap. Arizona grabbed the front of Callie's shirt, pulled her toward her and captured her lips in a sweet chaste kiss. When she broke the kiss, she declared, "I love you, now come hold me so I can fall asleep in my wife's arms." Callie kissed her nose, turned off the lights and made her way to her side of the bed in the dark.
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Callie was awoken in the middle of the night by a fist pounding on her chest. She caught it midair just as it came at her again along with the words, "Stay with me damn it! We can't lose you. She can't lose you. You promised me you'd fight for her. Wake up. Wake up Mark." Callie looked into bright blue eyes but they were unfocused, unseeing, they weren't here with her, they didn't see her, they were stuck on a mountain in Idaho. This had never happened before, usually there was just screaming or whimpering. She took both shaky pale hands in hers and spoke softly, quietly, "Arizona, look at me baby, I need you to look at me. Listen to my voice and come back to me. We're in Mexico honey. You are safe in bed with me." Arizona blinked and though her voice was no longer panicked, it was hollow, monotoned, as she repeated, "Mexico, safe." Then with more inflection, worriedly asked, "Calliope, Sofia, are they safe?" Callie took a deep breath and looked directly into Arizona's eyes and said, "It's me, Calliope, I'm right here, I'm safe, you're safe, Sofia is at home with your parents and she is safe too. Look at me baby, come back to me." She brought Arizona's hands to her face hoping that allowing her to feel her would bring her out of this fog, bring her back to reality. She nearly cried when Arizona let out a sob, pulled her face toward her and smothered her with kisses whispering, "You're okay, you're safe, you're okay, I love you so much."
Callie pulled back, looked in her eyes and could see that Arizona's focus had returned, her pupils were no longer dilated and she was able to follow her fingers when she moved them. She asked, "Are you okay?" Arizona curled into her side, cuddled close and whispered, "I had a nightmare. I haven't had one in so long. It was about Mark." Callie nodded and asked cautiously, "Did you…um…did you have to keep him alive?" Arizona furrowed her brow and asked, "Why are you asking me that?" Callie brushed her hand through tousled blonde curls and answered, "Because you woke me up pounding on my chest telling me not to die." Arizona sighed and nodded her head. She thought Callie would continue to ask more questions, she was slightly surprised when the only question she was asked was, "Do you need more Tylenol?" Arizona shook her head no then asked, "Can I be the big spoon? I need to hold you, to know you're here, that you're safe." Callie kissed her softly, nodded, then turned and waited for Arizona to snuggle into her back. While she lay awake listening for her wife to go back to sleep, she thought about what Arizona just said. In the past when her wife had nightmares, Callie always took the role as the big spoon, the protector, she never gave Arizona a choice. But after what she said on the plane about being afraid that she'd find herself in the woods again with one leg unable to protect others and what she just said about wanting to know she was safe, she realized that was a big piece of who Arizona was…she protected the ones she loved and she felt she couldn't do that anymore. Before long, Callie heard the soft snores coming from behind her and that lulled her into her own deep sleep.
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Callie awoke to the sun shining in her face and the sound of laughter emanating from somewhere in the house. For a moment, she almost forgot where she was. She smiled when she remembered that her beautiful amazing wife had planned this incredible surprise for her and she was once again in her family home in Mexico. She yawned and stretched, hoping to give her wife a proper thank you, only to turn and find the bed next to her empty and the sheets cool, indicating her wife had been up for some time now. Looking around the room, she was relieved to see the plastic wrap and sock must have worked because Arizona's prosthetic was gone, the sock was on the bedside table, and the plastic wrap was in the small garbage can near the bed. Sitting up, she realized one of the laughs she heard was Arizona's and wondered what in the world her family was telling her. Quickly rushing to the bathroom to wash up and at least make herself presentable, she rushed downstairs to find her worst fears had come true. Arizona was sitting at the small kitchen table with her Tia Ana looking through one of the old family photo albums. Arizona pointed to a picture and exclaimed, "Oh my goodness, is this Calliope?"
Callie didn't care which picture it was, to her they were all probably embarrassing and immediately said, "No!" She went straight to the coffee pot, poured herself a cup of coffee, noticed Arizona was drinking a cold cup of horchata, kissed her cheek and asked, "Do you like it?" Arizona rolled her eyes and asked, "Why have you never made this for me?" Callie shrugged and responded, "I don't know, never thought about it I guess." Arizona pushed the album at her, pointed to a picture of a little girl who couldn't be more than 4 years old, wavy black hair up in two pigtails, wearing a pair of bib overalls with no shirt on, sitting on an older man's lap, who also had no shirt on steering a tractor and declared, "Tell me again this isn't you!" Callie lifted her mug to her mouth, shrugged and claimed, "It's not me." Tia Ana, Tia Marta, and Arizona all scolded, "Calliope Iphigenia Torres!" Though Arizona through the Robbins in there as well. Callie threw up her free hand and asked, "Is no one on my side?" Just then Tia Rosa came into the kitchen, looked at the book and recalled, "Ahh, I remember that day. Calliope was out in the field with Papi and Berto and when they took off their shirts, she took her shirt off as well. Carlos just laughed, but Lucia was livid. She said, 'Young ladies do not act in such a manner Calliope.' Calliope put her hands on her hips looked Lucia in the eye and said, 'But farmers do and when I grow up I'm going to be a farmer like Papi!' So everyday she followed Papi into the field and when he took his shirt off, Calliope's came off right along with it." Arizona howled with laughter. Marta shook her head, laughed, pointed her thumb at Callie and said, "This one's been giving her mami fits since she could talk."
Callie drank the last of her coffee and said, "Okaaay, isn't it time you all got to the restaurant or something?" Ana laughed and responded, "We sold that years ago and after our husbands all passed, we moved back home to help Berto and Juan. We sell at the street market four days a week and often rent out the place for parties and do catering just for something to do." Callie plopped down next to Arizona and muttered, "Great." When the three women started working on breakfast using some of the left over food from the night before, Callie leaned in, kissed Arizona on the cheek and whispered, "Good morning beautiful." Arizona smiled brightly, brushed their lips together and replied, "Good morning my gorgeous sleepy head. Your MacGyver skills worked amazingly well. No pain today." Callie smiled, studied her wife's face and was surprised when Arizona pecked her on the nose and proclaimed, "And I am perfectly fine, it was probably just the plane ride and exhaustion. That's the first trip without any anxiety meds. I'm good. I promise you." Callie could see she was telling the truth and asked, "So what are our plans for the day?" Arizona shrugged and informed her, "we are only here until tomorrow morning, then we will be back early Saturday to spend the whole day and night here and Uncle Berto will take us back to the airport. So, I'd like to see more of the town, more of the place you call home." Callie arched her brow and asked, "Where are we going?" Arizona shrugged and responded, "Guess you'll find out when we get there."
After breakfast, Callie got the keys to one of the ATV's from her uncle and took Arizona on a tour of the land and showed her all of the fruits and vegetables they grow as well as the livestock and horses. Arizona absolutely fell in love with the horses and Callie offered to saddle one up for her but that was an area where she just didn't feel comfortable with her leg. She'd only ridden a horse one time as a child and was more afraid of being thrown off and hurting the babies than anything else. Callie understood and didn't push it, for which she was grateful and they continued with their tour. After lunch, they ventured through the town and Callie pointed out the restaurant her tias used to own, the docks where her other uncles used to work and she drove her out to the old farmland where she used to work on the t-bird every summer and was sad to see that the man's family had let it deteriorate. He was such a proud man and kept it in pristine condition. Now it just seemed to be abandoned land. Arizona could see the sadness in her wife's eyes, she knew that feeling, remembering something one way and seeing that it had changed so much.
When they returned to the hacienda, Berto was hanging out of the front of his jeep cursing in Spanish. Arizona didn't know much, but she knew the curse words. When he looked up from the hood of the jeep, he smiled and hollered, Calliope, get over here. Callie kissed Arizona and suggested, "Go on inside, get something cool to drink. I'll be right in." Arizona watched as Callie approached her uncle, already removing her outer shirt leaving her in just a tank top and swallowed thickly. She really wanted to sit and watch her wife but was half afraid she'd embarrass herself. Going into the house, she found the three sisters in the kitchen about to start dinner and asked if they would teach her to make something she could make at home for Calliope and Sofia. Of course this thrilled the women and they all hovered around the blonde and gave her detailed instructions of exactly what to do.
While she was cooking and listening to the women, she started to understand why and how this was so special to Callie. Her mom was a great cook and she enjoyed cooking with her now that she knew how, but this was a completely different experience, this was just as Callie said, this was cooking with love, cooking out of enjoyment. There were no measuring cups or teaspoons or tablespoons. Everything was a pinch of this, a dash of that, a handful of this, one of those, two of these. There was no timing of things either, her mother always cooked something for 30 minutes or 45 minutes, but Tia Ana said to wait until it was golden brown and Tia Rosa said turn it when it started to sizzle. Everything was by senses, intuition, emotion and if she had to use three words to describe how her wife did things, it would be those words.
Arizona had no idea how much time had passed, all she knew was before Callie made it into the house, she had three dishes on the table and several recipes to take with her. She learned that when Callie was six, she ran away the night before they were supposed to go back to Miami and after looking for her for nearly 6 hours, they found her well after midnight in the rafters of the stables eating the carrots for the horses. She also learned that by the time she was 10, her Papi would completely dismantle a tractor and Callie could put it back together again within 12 hours. She needed help with the heavy lifting, but she knew where the parts went. Arizona knew her wife was gifted and it was clear to her family that she was gifted as well. She decided to brag on her wife a little herself. Looking at the three women, she shared, "I don't know how much you know about me, but I was in a plane crash and I have a prosthetic leg." All three women looked at her bare legs and started laughing, thinking she was joking. Shaking her head, Arizona pushed the area on her knee that would release her leg and suggested, "I'm almost positive if Papi hadn't shown Calliope how to work on cars and put tractors back together, she couldn't have done this." The three women looked at her in awe and Marta asked, "Our Calliope did that?" Arizona nodded and blinked back the tears as she explained, "She did, it took her five years and several tries, but not only does it look and feel real, it allows me to feel things as well. She created sensors that connect to my nerves and when something touches this leg, it sends a message to my brain just like it would if something touched the other leg."
All three women had tears in their eyes as they stared at the robotic limb and Arizona continued, "The more stories you tell me about Calliope and the things she did and learned here, the more I understand what made her the amazing person and surgeon she is today." Hearing a noise, Arizona looked up into a fourth pair of watery brown eyes, smiled, put her leg back on and chirped, "I had stories to share too." Callie just looked at Arizona, she only heard the last little bit of what she said, but when she walked in and saw that her wife had her leg off and was showing it to her family, she was flabbergasted. She honestly had no idea what to say, so she just stood there until her Tia Marta went to her, hugged her and declared, "Papi would be so proud. Now go wash up, you're filthy and your wife prepared a lovely dinner that is getting cold." Callie looked at the amazing dishes on the table that looked just like her tias would have made then looked at Arizona and asked, "You made this?" Arizona smiled brightly and for the first time saw the grease and dirt on her wife's shirt, face, hands, and strong forearms and immediately stood up and answered, "I did, so let's get you washed up so we can eat." Just before they left the kitchen, Rosa, who recognized the look in the blonde's eyes, grabbed Arizona's ear, pulled her back to the table, clucked her tongue, and ordered, "You just sit right here. She's perfectly capable of washing herself up." Arizona plopped down on the chair, crossed her arms and pouted. Callie crossed the kitchen, kissed her nose, and said, "Welcome to the family honey," and laughed all the way up the stairs.
A/N 2: Glad you all liked the last chapter. I just wanted to answer a couple of questions from the comments.
May38, according to any of the official Grey's sites I have read, Callie is only described as Hispanic/Latina. I have read a few fics where she was described as Cuban. But because I found nothing definitive on the Grey's sites, I went with Sara's history.
Inarush17, I am indeed from Michigan and had to throw that one in there which is why I also use pop instead of soda.