Three babies. They're having three babies. Arizona stared into Callie's confused and tear-filled eyes, unsure of how her wife felt about the news. Hell, she was uncertain how she felt about it. For some reason, this was so much…more of everything. Two, she was getting used to, but three…it was just…more. Aside from more diapers to buy, more bottles to fill, more sleepless nights, more laundry to wash; there were higher risks for her and the babies, more precautions to take, greater odds for more complications throughout her pregnancy and at birth. Everything was just more, including her fears. Which if she had to sum them up in a phrase, it would be scared shitless. That must have been the emotion her wife read in her eyes when she reached out with shaky hands and pulled her into her lap, careful to keep the sheet in place. She knew for certain that's what she saw when Callie carefully, yet protectively wrapped her hands around her midsection, kissed her just behind her ear and whispered, "Me too, honey. Me too." Arizona let out the breath she didn't know she'd been holding, part of her expected Callie to just embrace it, not think of the effects it may have on her body or any other consequences and be angry that she wasn't just as excited and needed time to let it settle. It appeared to her though, that Callie may just need that time as well.
Callie was still in a haze. She knew other people were in the room, but at this very moment, the only person she could see, the only person who mattered was her wife. Looking into sparkling watery blue eyes, she saw first the concern for her, but more prevalent was the fear, she wasn't certain of the source, but she knew the driving forces behind her own fears. She was worried enough about her wife carrying two babies, she knew the risks and the complications were greater with twins. They just grew exponentially with triplets, add in her wife's age, her small stature, her disability, and Callie was truly at a loss as to what types of complications they could be facing. She was happy, of course she was, but at this moment, her fears were outweighing that happiness and she felt just a tad bit of relief when she saw Arizona seemed to feel the same. Reaching for her wife, she pulled her into her lap and immediately let her know she wasn't alone. She pulled back a little, looked at Arizona and asked, "Are you…are they…is everyone okay?" She finally focused on everyone else in the room, looked at Addison and asked, "Are they healthy? Is Arizona healthy? Are the babies okay? What do we need to do? How does this change things? What do we need to know? What are the odds of a…um…she's okay right? We heard all three heartbeats?" While Max and Nicole thought Callie was asking the typical spouse/other parent questions, Arizona and Addison knew Callie was on the verge of a panic attack and the only thing that would help right now would be reassurance.
Addison knew both women had to be feeling all types of emotions right now, but knowing each of them, by reassuring Callie and speaking like a surgeon, Arizona could also put things into perspective and reassure herself. Arizona linked their fingers on her abdomen and softly said, "We didn't really get to finish, so how about we let Addison take another look, take the measurements she needs to take and she can answer all of our questions okay?" Callie looked at Arizona almost pleadingly and asked, "You have questions too?" Arizona caressed Callie's face and responded, "I've been on that side of the table many, many times, but I've never been on this side, so I have a few, yes." Callie breathed a sigh of relief, maybe she just didn't want to feel as if she wasn't so alone in a room full of baby doctors, but it helped that her wife had questions too. Callie nodded, released her grip on Arizona, then went to stand at the head of the bed, instantly taking the pale hand in hers once again.
Nicole was standing by the sink and could hear Addison washing her hands again and leaned over and whispered, "How do they look? Do you foresee any complications?" Addison looked back at her friends and responded, "It's extremely early and I didn't get a good look yet, but you heard their heartbeats, they sound good and strong." Nicole nodded and replied, "They've had enough shit thrown at them, you keep these babies healthy." Addison eyed her friends again and replied, "Right now that's my main focus and will be until all three of them are out and in their mommies' arms." She then went back to her star patient to see what she was working with. Once she had the transducer in place again, primarily for Callie's benefit, Arizona asked Max if he could point out what they were seeing while she explained it to her wife. Max dutifully went to the monitor, pointed to a small singular very active object and Arizona explained, "I have what we call a monozygotic and dizygotic pregnancy. That means this egg Max is pointing at, the monozygotic triplet, has one baby with its own placenta and amniotic sac. This baby could be a different gender and won't look like the other two." Callie furrowed her brow and Arizona nodded to Max who moved his hand slightly when Addison moved the wand. Arizona continued, "These are dizygotic. This is a separate sac from the other but there are definitely two babies in there, meaning they share a placenta and a sac and they will more than likely be identical." Callie looked at Arizona and asked, "So we could have all three of one gender or two of one gender and one of the other?" Arizona nodded and watched the little smirk form on her wife's face, knowing she was still holding out hope for her twin boys.
Callie looked closely at the monitor while keeping her grip on Arizona's hand and asked, "What are those little white things? Why are they pulsing like that?" Addison moved the wand to the single baby and turned up the volume and explained, "This is baby A, until we get names, and this is their heartbeat. It's nice and strong and exactly within the range it should be and they are measuring at a perfect size for a triplet at this point of gestation." She then did the same with each of the other babies labeling them baby B and baby C. After getting all of the measurements she needed, printing copies of pictures for both parents and making a copy of the heartbeats on a thumb drive, Addison carefully removed the transducer, cleaned up the ultrasound equipment, and kept a close eye on both of her friends who couldn't take their eyes off one another, but looked like they were barely holding it together. Deciding they may need a few moments alone, she spoke up, "Why don't we give Arizona some privacy to change and meet back in her office in about 15 minutes?" Without waiting for a response, she rushed the other two doctors out the door and blew a kiss to her friends who both looked at her gratefully.
Callie helped Arizona off the table, but rather than getting dressed right away, she pulled Callie to the chair and climbed back into her lap sitting sideways so she could lay her head on her wife's chest. Her hand almost automatically lifted to brush through the short stubble on the side of Callie's head, trying to soothe them both. Callie lowered her head to rest on the top of Arizona's, closed her eyes, ran her hand up and down her bare back and breathed out, "Three." Arizona inhaled deeply, her breath hitching slightly and admitted, "That's a little scarier than two." Callie swallowed thickly and asked, "A little?" Arizona chuckled and asked, "You're scared too?" Callie nodded and replied, "Only to death. Not so bad." Arizona lifted her head so she could look Callie in the eye and asked, "What's your biggest fear?" Callie bit her bottom lip and fought back the tears. She didn't want to give voice to her biggest fear, she didn't want to think about her biggest fear, she didn't want her biggest fear to even be a possibility. She brushed a stray curl behind Arizona's ear and responded, "I don't want to say." Arizona was almost sure she knew what it was. She assumed it was the same as her biggest fear, the catalyst or maybe it was the last straw, either way, it was the beginning of the end for them and she tried to reassure her, "I'm in a better place now Calliope, we are in a better place, if something happens to…" Callie shook her head and argued, "It's not that. I trust us, I trust we could make it through…It's…I don't think I could make the same decision you had to make Arizona…I couldn't choose between you and…I just…I don't want to even imagine my biggest fear." The blonde closed her eyes and laid her head back on her wife's shoulder and continued to stroke her head. They had a lot of trauma individually and as a couple when it came to children and while they were prepared for one and considered two a gift, three was a little more than they were prepared to handle.
Almost at the same time, Callie suggested, "Maybe we should see Dr. G for a little while," and Arizona offered, "I think we should talk to Dr. Griffin about this." They each looked at the other, smiled, then leaned in for a soft kiss, happy they were on the same page. Callie caressed Arizona's cheek and declared, "This is a good thing, it's a blessing and I want us both to see it that way. I just, we've had so many things happen and I feel like right now we are both seeing this as the other shoe dropping." Arizona nodded, smiled sweetly and replied, "This is a good thing, this is an amazing thing, a miracle many people don't get to experience and for Seattle Callie and Arizona, it may have been the other shoe dropping, but for New York Callie and Arizona, this is our reward for all the hell we've been through." Callie smiled, then she started laughing and suggested, "Or it's Mark's way of getting back at you for all the man whore comments and not liking him in the beginning." Arizona laughed too and answered, "Yeah well the idea of pushing three tiny humans with his big ass head out of my vagina doesn't make him my favorite person right now." Callie chuckled and responded, "Well, technically I'm the one who knocked you up, so you can yell at me when the time comes." Arizona turned to kiss her wife and murmured against her lips, "Oh, you can count on it." The two shared a steamy sexy kiss and both of them relaxed feeling lighter about the situation.
Callie tapped Arizona's hip and suggested, "We should probably go see what your doctors have to say." Arizona nodded, stood up, took the gown off and laid it on the exam table. Callie helped her put her panties on first, kissed her abdomen then whispered, "No more surprises for your mommies okay?" Arizona looked down at her baby bump and acknowledged, "I don't think these little ones are going to let me wait four more weeks to let people know." Callie held out her pants for her and asked, "How do you feel about that?" Arizona pulled up her pants, snapped them and replied, "Honestly, I think a little relieved. I feel like we need to tell Sofia and our parents first, like soon, then Lorraine and Maria and our friends here of course, the people we see every day will figure it out, but we can maybe wait for the big announcement to all of our extended friends and family until the second trimester? I think…part of me thinks…not that it's going to happen, but we tried to deal with it alone last time and this time, there's three Calliope. We're going to need everybody." Arizona pulled the sweater over her head and waited for Callie to respond. She could tell she was thinking hard about something.
Callie thought about it for a moment and realized they really did try to do it alone; she wasn't sure if anyone even knew about Arizona's miscarriage. Nodding her head she agreed, "I think you're right; I'm not sure why we kept it a secret, maybe if…" Shaking her head, she realized the what ifs weren't going to change anything but the future and that's where her focus needed to be. Finally she finished, "It takes a village and we're going to need a big one." Arizona smiled, wrapped her arms around Callie's neck, kissed her softly and offered, "We are amazing moms and we can do this." Callie smiled her mega-watt smile and agreed, "We are pretty great moms aren't we?" Arizona nodded, opened the door and suggested, "I think I have a cute way to tell Sofia and we can use that to tell our families." Callie linked their fingers as they walked toward her office and replied, "Lay it on me." Arizona answered, "I'll tell you while we are shopping tonight. We will have to buy it." Callie pulled her closer, kissed her forehead and reiterated, "We can do this." Arizona nodded and replied, "There's no one I'd rather be doing it with."
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When the couple walked into Arizona's office, Nicole, Addison, and Max were all sitting around the small table talking and based upon the fact that they got quiet when the two walked into the room, Arizona figured it was about her. Trying not to go on the defensive, she spoke up, "I am going to do the best I can to be the patient here, but we all know doctors make the worst patients. So, first of all, no conversations nor decisions will be made without my and Callie's involvement. If you say you are doing something in my best interest, I need to know exactly what that means to you and how it affects me and these three tiny little humans I am housing." All three of the people at the table just stared at her, then Addison cleared her throat and admitted, "We uh…we were describing to Nicole what Cal looked like when she fainted." Callie glared at her friend and Max slumped in his seat then looked at Arizona and declared, "But as for your little speech, duly noted." Arizona nodded her head, glad she got her point across, then she and Callie took a seat on the sofa next to one another and linked hands.
Addison and Max turned their chairs and Addie declared, "We did discuss you a little bit Arizona. As you know, with multiples, your blood pressure can run high and preeclampsia is more common, as is gestational diabetes because of your age and the fact that you are carrying multiples, but the fact that you are healthy and not overweight and have shown no signs of either diabetes or high blood pressure prior to your pregnancy lessens your chances. To be on the safe side, you and Max have a standing date every Monday morning." Arizona looked at Callie waiting for her to say something and just when she started to answer, Callie asked, "Is it necessary to check every week? Is this just a precaution or is something wrong? Would you do this with every patient or are you doing it because it's Arizona and she will be here?" Arizona and Addison were both taken off guard by the types of questions the ortho surgeon was asking. They were certain Callie would want her watched like a hawk every day. Seeing how everyone was looking at her, Callie explained, "I understand monitoring her blood pressure, especially in our line of work and I appreciate that. But checking glucose levels, I mean, I don't want my wife turned into a pin cushion or pissing in a cup every time she turns around and it's like she said, she will do her best to act like a patient, but I think she should be treated like one too and that means until there is something to worry about, she should have regularly scheduled appointments like other patients. If you notice her lagging or acting out of sorts, then please, by all means, step in. But to perform tests when they aren't necessary can be daunting and stressful for her." Arizona took Callie's hand and squeezed it in appreciation. Feeling like a perpetual patient was traumatic for Arizona and she knew she was going to have some difficulties with that simply because she would be monitored more closely.
Max nodded and responded, "Fair enough. I usually see my patients who are carrying multiples every two weeks until we get closer to the due date or if there are complications, then I see them every week. But I will ask, because you are here and surrounded by doctors, if you feel that your blood sugar or blood pressure is off, you let me know. This isn't something to keep quiet about so no one makes a fuss about you. A bigger fuss will be made if you let things go." Arizona nodded in agreement and replied, "That's only fair. I just, I'm pregnant and I understand that I have to be careful and I need rest, but I don't need to be treated as if I am disabled, I mean, I am and I've had my share of that and I've finally gotten over that stigma, so I am telling all of you, I understand there's a fine line, I won't cross it, but I need you to try not to cross it as well." She looked at her wife and knew they would have to have a completely different conversation about this same topic. Max nodded in understanding and agreement, smiled his brilliant smile and offered, "I am really happy for the both of you and we will do our best to bring three happy and healthy babies into this world."
Nicole stood and asked, "March, can you lead me back to my office? I've had enough of this mushy stuff and I'm afraid fertile Mertyl over there will rub off on me." Arizona laughed and shook her head then tossed out, "You're past your prime Nicole!" Addison chuckled and declared, "You two are like an old married couple." Arizona cuddled into Callie's side and argued, "Nope, I've got my wife right here." Callie kissed her head and added, "And we plan to grow old together and make all the other people at the retirement home need an extra dose of insulin." Nicole responded, "You two are just sickening." When the door closed, Addison laughed and pulled her chair closer to her friends. Leaning in she asked, "How are you feeling? Really." The two women looked at one another and answered at the same time, "Stunned." "Overwhelmed." Addie nodded her head and responded, "That's to be expected. We didn't really talk after we dropped the bomb about twins and now this." Callie nodded and replied, "We took to the twin thing pretty quickly. With two, I don't know, I guess I was less concerned about complications and Arizona's health and the babies' health and there's a whole other life in there." She looked at her wife's stomach as if she could see it.
Addison asked, "What questions can I answer?" Arizona and Callie looked at one another and Arizona asked, "When am I due? I mean if I carried to term, it would be late April, but with triplets, that would be about 32 weeks which would put me in mid-February." Addison nodded and replied, "I'd say that's about right, February 20th or right around there is what we are looking at." Callie rubbed her temples and blinked a few times before whispering, "February." Arizona took her hand and repeated, "February." Callie blew out a breath and asked, "Umm, she's showing already…" Arizona glared at her and warned, "If you ask what I think you are going to ask, I swear Calliope." Callie shook her head and finished, "I was wondering if you would be able to work to term or if you would have to be put on bed rest…or…I don't know, nobody I know has ever had a normal pregnancy Arizona." The blonde nodded her head and replied, "Okay, you have a point there. It really depends on a lot of factors, how big I get really is one of them, I mean Erin was 22 weeks…ERIN, OH MY GOD! SHE IS SO DEAD!"
Addison looked to Callie for an explanation and the brunette clarified, "The senator with the triplets put the triplet curse on Arizona for laughing at her." In any other situation, Addison would think that was funny, but this was just a little more than coincidental. Arizona shook her head and continued, According to her chart, prior to her pregnancy, Erin's stature was similar to mine, we are the same height and she weighed about 10 pounds more than I did. At 22 weeks, well you saw her at 25 weeks, she looked like she was about 8 months, so there's that. If I'm in good health and the babies are doing well, I could still do consults, but probably half-days. My guess is my full time work will end at about 20 weeks, so I need to get my fellows in shape unless a certain red-haired fertility specialist wants to study up on maternal-fetal again and fill in for a couple months." Addison looked around the room and asked, "You have one of those just lying around do ya?" Arizona pouted and bargained, "I'm sure we could find some funds for Jake to come up too. I could get Nicole to look into a grant." Addison looked at her two friends who now had their heads leaning together and both had their bottom lips stuck out and they made a gorgeous couple in general, but like this, there was absolutely no denying them. She huffed, narrowed her eyes, and negotiated, "I get first pick at Godmother, we stay in the pool house, Henry goes to school with Sofia, and no pumping while my husband is in the room." Both women squealed, hugged their friend and when they pulled apart she sighed and declared, "Now I just have to get Jake to agree." Arizona popped her dimples and replied, "I could talk to him." Callie chuckled and agreed, "You'd be amazed what those dimples can do."
After catching up for a while and asking a few more questions that Arizona knew the answers to but wanted reassurance about, they realized it was nearly time to pick up Sofia. Callie asked Addison, "Are you staying with us?" Addison nodded and responded, "I am, but I was wondering if maybe I could take Sof out for dinner and shopping so you two could have some time alone to take in the news." Arizona answered, "Actually, we do need to do that, but we also need to get me some clothes that fit. After these three decided to show themselves today, nothing fits and my bras haven't fit for nearly two weeks now. So we were going to ask if you wouldn't mind taking my car and spending the evening with Sof, she doesn't know you are coming so it will be a great surprise for her." Addison smiled and responded, "I'd love to, but we are still doing dinner and shopping." Both women laughed and Callie replied, "I kinda figured." They all hugged one another and Arizona handed over her keys and pointed out the house keys and told her Sofia knew the alarm code in case she beat them home.
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After leaving the center, Callie and Arizona decided on a late lunch/early dinner and went to their favorite Italian restaurant to celebrate. Both of them were feeling a little better since they had an appointment set up with Dr. G for the next evening. Callie watched Arizona push her pasta around her plate and declared, "Either you have something on your mind or your stomach is revolting." Arizona looked at her wife, chewed the inside of her cheek for a moment and seeing this, Callie swallowed, took a sip of her water, reached for Arizona's hand and asked, "What is it honey?" Arizona took a deep breath and exhaled then asked, "What you said to Max today, about not treating me like a patient…" She saw Callie nod and open her mouth to say something, rather than stop her wife, she decided to let her have her say first. Callie realized Arizona was allowing her the opportunity to say what she needed to before continuing and admitted, "I meant it and it applied to me as well. When we were on our honeymoon, I…I think I was just so excited and I didn't let you carry things…the suitcases, do any heavy lifting. I didn't let you do the things you are perfectly capable of doing. I know you know your limitations and would never put yourself or our children in harm's way. I, that…I was just overly excited about it because it was so new and I'm sorry if I made you feel as if you couldn't do something or I didn't trust you to know when to stop. I know you need to be able to do the things you can do while you can still do them. But I need you to remember that…" She stopped when she saw Arizona nodding her head and felt her squeeze her hand, and allowed her wife to say her piece now.
Arizona listened to Callie talk and what she was saying made sense and was coming from a good place. It was coming from her heart and she knew how excited Callie was and when she gets like that, sometimes she is overexuberant. Looking at their linked hands she finished what she figured her wife was going to say, "I need to remember that one of your love languages is acts of service like opening doors, carrying the bags when we go shopping, and just doing things for me naturally without any ulterior motive. I am independent and yes, I would like to do the things I am capable of doing while I still can because all too soon, I won't be able to do them and I will be relying on you heavily and quite honestly Calliope, I don't want to wear you out. I don't want you to resent me for those things and I don't want you to think I don't appreciate them or you. I may get frustrated because I can't do them, but it's just because I can't do them, it's not because I resent the pregnancy or because I don't appreciate your help. But I promise, this time, I'll still let you open doors, carry bags, and do all the things you do out of love." Callie smiled at that, linked their fingers and assured her wife, "This is only temporary, this won't be the same at all, but I can imagine it may bring back some of those feelings. We will navigate this together and we will use Dr. G to help us do that." Arizona breathed a sigh of relief and Callie asked, "There, that wasn't so hard, was it?" Arizona shook her head and started eating again.
On their way to the mall, Arizona explained to Callie what she wanted to do for Sofia and of course she loved the idea and they decided to do something for Tobin as well. Once they arrived at the mall, they headed straight for the kiosk they needed, found the items they wanted, then Arizona asked, "Should we tell Sof and everyone it's triplets or let that be a surprise?" Callie thought about it for a minute and answered honestly, "With the exception of Sofia, everyone we know is either in the medical field or is a parent, so I'm pretty sure they will figure out there is more than one at least. It's like you said, they aren't going to wait for us to tell people." Arizona nodded and replied, "Now it is then." Callie took their items to the cashier, placed their personalized orders and promised to return at the designated time to pick it up.
Arizona looked around and asked, "Where should we start? I really have no benchmark here. You grew at a normal rate. Based upon previous patients, they grew pretty quickly so I guess I should go to the maternity store right?" When Callie didn't answer, Arizona looked up to see what had her wife so distracted and rolled her eyes. Taking her hand, she pulled Callie toward the store she was looking at and proclaimed, "I guess we are looking at bras and panties first." Callie finally snapped out of her haze, saw where her wife was dragging her and realized she was entirely too predictable. Once they got into the specialty lingerie store from which Arizona usually bought all of her undergarments, both women were pleased to find they had a rather large maternity collection to choose from. Despite Callie's prodding to try things on outside of her clothes, Arizona chose to be measured and bought a few bras in her current size as well as a few larger sizes knowing she was going to be growing in that area as well. While she wasn't exactly pleased with that idea, the look on her wife's face made her laugh.
Finished with what Callie called the necessities, they found the maternity store and spent a little more time in there since Arizona struggled with finding clothes in her style in various sizes. Forgoing that store altogether, they decided to look in different department stores. Arizona focused more upon her current size and chose to get what she called 'normal' clothes in that size and some a couple sizes bigger, then found a few outfits in their maternity section, which she liked much better than those in the maternity store. Looking at her wife she asked, "What's the point in having a specialty store if you're going to have ugly clothes? Like my big belly doesn't gain enough attention, you want me to wear ugly clothes too? I might as well just wear a hat that says 'Hey, look at me, I'm fat and I have no taste'." Callie couldn't help but laugh and pulled out an outfit she fell in love with. She could just picture Arizona in it and was prepared to fight for it. Arizona turned and asked, "Seriously Calliope?" Callie pouted and begged, "Please Arizona, you would look so cute in these." Arizona eyed the blue bib overalls and the red shirt her wife paired with it and realized once her belly got a little bigger, she really would look cute in it, smiled and agreed, "Okay, I like it. Get it a couple sizes bigger though." Callie released her mega-watt smile, found the proper size and put it in the cart.
After searching a few stores, both women had their hands full of bags and decided they had plenty for now. On their way back to the kiosk to pick up their order for Sofia and Tobin, they passed a baby store and both women stopped and stared at one another. Getting matching smiles on their faces, they decided to go into the store to at least look around. Arizona got a cart and they placed all of the bags they were carrying in it and Callie grabbed another cart claiming, "Just in case you see something you can't live without." Arizona threw back her head and laughed, saying "Oh, if I remember correctly, you're the one who can't resist all the baby clothes." Callie arched her brow and argued, "Umm excuse me. Who snuck onesies and little headbands with bows into the closets every chance she got?" Arizona looked around guiltily and instead of responding, she challenged, "I'll race ya to the furniture." Then she took off before her words even registered in Callie's brain. When they finally did, Callie hollered, "Oh no you don't," and took off through the aisles trying to find a shortcut.
While looking through the furniture, they found several styles they liked and started taking pictures of cribs, changing tables, dressers, and rocking chairs. One salesman came over and offered them a scanner to start a wish list for their registry and both women agreed it wouldn't hurt. They could at least return to it themselves and see what they wanted to purchase. Callie looked at all the furniture and asked, "Do we get three separate cribs?" Arizona pursed her lips and responded, "I don't know. I've read that some people who've had twins keep them in the same crib because they cry when they are separated. With three though, I don't know, eventually they will get too big to share." Callie nodded and replied, "Good point. Next question, which room do we use?" The only rooms closest to our room are the guest suite, Sofia's room, and the spare room across the hall from us which is way too small. The room at the other end of the house is bigger, but that's too far away for a nursery and honestly I don't want Sof down there yet either." Arizona nodded and agreed, "Yeah I want all the kids close. I know you just redecorated the guest room for me, but what would you think about moving that furniture to the pool house and putting the nursery in the guest suite? That way the room is big enough and there is a bathroom right there." Callie bit her bottom lip and nodded, "That could work. If Jake and Addie do come and stay with us, they'd probably appreciate that." Arizona nodded in agreement then scanned one of the cribs she liked.
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After spending another hour walking through the store scanning various items such as car seats, bottles, blankets, bathtubs, diapers, wipes, bottles, and as many other essential items as they could think of while doing their best to stay away from the clothes, the two decided they should probably get their order and head home. They had a very important conversation to have with a very special little girl. On the way home, Arizona opted to ask a question that kept popping up all day and she continued to shove it back down thinking it was just silly. Finally she looked at Callie and asked, "Do you remember our wedding night?" Callie snorted and replied, "Uh yeah!" Arizona shook her head, giggled, and clarified, "I mean when we, you know, do you remember how we heard…how the first time we heard 'It worked' and the second time 'I'm here'?" Callie had been thinking about the same thing all day, nodded and asked the question she was sure Arizona was about to ask, "Do you think it happened at two different times? Like, you had two eggs and they were both fertilized but at different times?" Arizona looked out the window, smiled, and asked, "You were thinking about it too?" Callie reached for her hand and replied, "It crossed my mind about a dozen times today." Arizona linked their fingers and replied, "Mine too. It's possible. Rare, but possible. I mean, I've read that it's happened within 6 days of each other. The mom released two eggs. One was fertilized and she got pregnant, then 6 days later, I guess they had sex again and the other egg got fertilized and split into two eggs and they had fraternal triplets, though one was 6 days older than the other two gestationally." Callie shook her head and declared, "Okay, that's just weird. At least our kids are only, what an hour or two apart?" Arizona laughed and replied, "If that."
When they pulled into the driveway, they saw that Addison and Sofia had beaten them home, but not by much since Arizona's trunk was still open and by the looks of it, Addison bought nearly as much as they did. Arizona looked at Callie and asked, "Is it wrapped up good so she can't see it?" Callie looked behind her and replied, "It's all wrapped up, but we can carry everything in, get her settled down, then I'll come out and get it." Arizona nodded and quipped, "Okay, right. Get her calmed down, then get her excited again. Good plan." Callie narrowed her eyes at her wife who blew her a kiss, then got out of the car and went to get the rest of the bags. Callie popped the hatch on the back of her SUV and fought with herself to allow Arizona to carry some of the bags into the house. They ran into their very excited, very sugared up daughter on their way in and her way out. Callie glared at her best friend and muttered, "You're cleaning up the puke." Addison smiled sweetly and whispered, "I'll get that one and you worry about this one." Arizona stuck out her tongue making the redhead laugh as she walked out to help the little girl with her bags.
Once all the bags were carried in and put where they belonged, everyone sat down at the dining room table for a bedtime snack of cheese, crackers, and fruit, which Arizona found she could tolerate and kept her cravings down. Sofia took a break from telling her parents about her adventures with Addie who apparently decided their daughter needed a new fall wardrobe and Arizona took the opportunity to finally get a few words in. Looking around, Arizona asked, "Calliope, did we bring everything in from the car? I feel like we are missing something." Callie scratched her head and answered, "Hmmm, I thought we did. Let me go check." Sofia looked at her mommy and asked, "What did you forget?" Arizona put a cracker in her mouth and chewed slowly, giving Callie time to get back in the house, then heard, "We did forget something, it was in the back seat." Arizona swallowed and answered, "I thought so." Callie sat a large gift basket in front of Sofia then a smaller wrapped present with Tobin's name on it next to it. Sofia looked at the basket and asked, "Is this for me? Why do I get a present?" Callie reached for it and stated, "Well if you don't want it, I guess we can take it back." Sofia lunged toward the basket and exclaimed, "No I want it." Arizona nodded at Addison's phone and the other woman picked it up and hit record.
Sofia carefully took the dark purple wrapping paper off the basket and looked at the contents, puzzled by what she saw. Reaching into the basket, she took out a large squishy teddy bear and gave it a tight hug, laid it aside then picked up what looked like a baby toy and shook it then looked at her mothers who just smiled at her, she saw a small bag that said 'waiting time treats' on the front and opened it to see all of her favorite snacks. Still confused, she dug further into the basket and found some coloring books, more baby toys, a book called 'Sofia and the Three Babies', a calendar that was turned to February and had a big heart on the 20th and at the very bottom of the basket, she found a folded up t-shirt. Looking at both of her moms again, she unfolded the shirt and read the front, then read it again and she felt like her eyes were going to come out of her head. She looked at her parents and saw them nodding and smiling their best smiles at her and then Aunt Addie asked, "What does the shirt say Sof?" Sofia knew she had tears in her eyes but they were happy tears and she didn't care. She looked at her Aunt Addie who was holding up her phone and turned the shirt around and exclaimed, "It says, 'My role as an only child is coming to an end because mommy is having triplets in February'."
She turned to her mommies and nearly yelled, "TRIPLETS? That means three! You're having three babies? At one time?" She ran to Arizona, lifted her shirt up to look at her belly and asked, "Can three babies even fit in there?" All the women laughed, Addison ended the recording, and Callie responded, "Three babies can fit in there." Sofia wrapped her arms around both moms and Addison picked up her phone and started recording again. Arizona and Callie both hugged their daughter as she repeated, "Thank you, thank you, thank you. I wanted a brother or sister for so long. Now I get three! In February? Are they boys or girls?" Callie and Arizona laughed at their daughter and the blonde answered, "Yes in February and we don't know yet." Sofia jumped and clapped her hands together and asked, "Do we get to have one of those parties where it's a surprise to everyone and we all find out at the same time? I like to watch those on you tube, they're so funny." Callie and Arizona looked at one another. Callie knew this was the part Arizona was going to struggle with. The parties and baby showers and all the attention. She was surprised when her wife answered, "Mama and I will talk about it okay?" Sofia jumped up and down and asked, "Who else knows?" Arizona waved around the room and responded, "Only the people in this room. We need you to open Tobin's gift, put it on him, get your shirt on and then we are going to face time the grandparents and Aria." Sofia excitedly ripped open Tobin's bandana that said, "Mommy's having triplets," and ran to put it on him.
When she left the room, Addison put down her phone, took a deep breath, and surmised, "I take it she's been asking for a baby." Both women nodded and Callie responded, "Since we got back together." Addison shook her head and replied, "Well, she's getting her wish." Arizona stood up, kissed Callie's cheek and informed them, "I'm going to put on something more comfortable and grab my laptop so we don't have to squish around a phone." Callie nodded, quickly snagged Arizona's hand and pulled her down for a quick kiss. When she left the room, Addison lowered her voice and asked, "How is she?" Callie looked down the hall then back at her friend and responded, "We are both kind of shell shocked still. We are excited but scared at the same time. The miscarriage is never far from either of our minds and I think she is worried her body will fail her again. We've just…so much bad has happened Ads, it's time for some good." The other woman nodded, reached for her friend's hand and tried to reassure her, "Max is a great choice, he will take good care of her and Arizona knows her body and what to look for as a fetal surgeon. The most important thing for both of you to do is to stay positive and embrace this and not fear it." Callie nodded and responded, "We talked about that very same thing today. We are going to see our therapist for a while, just to keep us in the right frame of mind." Addison nodded and affirmed, "I think that's good, that's a great idea."
Sofia and Tobin ran into the dining room and Arizona followed soon after wearing a pair of Callie's sweats and an old t-shirt which did nothing to hide her baby bump. Once they were all seated, Callie asked, "How should we do this? Do you want to text them all at once and tell them to go to their computers for a skype call? Maybe tell them Sofia has some good news to share and wanted them all to know at the same time? Or should we call one set of parents then the other?" Arizona thought about it for a minute, she really didn't want anyone's feelings to get hurt by telling one set of parents first, and suggested, "Let's each text our parents and you text Aria as well and tell them Sof has some good new she wants to share with everyone and to wait for our skype call. We will sit close to the computer with her on your lap so they can't see her shirt, then when they ask her news, Sof, you'll say you got a new shirt and Tobin got a matching scarf and you wanted them to see it then you'll stand up so they can read it." Sofia clapped her hands and squealed, "This is going to be so much fun. Who do you think will cry first?" All three women laughed then Callie proclaimed, "Barb" at the same time Arizona said, "Mom" and Sofia disagreed and declared, "I think it will be Abuela."
Arizona opened her skype app then they all sent their messages. After a few minutes, she put everyone's information into her skype and waited for everyone to pop on the screen. After they all said their greetings to each other, Carlos asked, "So what's the big news? Did you win another award?" Sofia shook her head, looked at both of her mommies, waited for their nod and exclaimed, "Tobin and I got matching shirts and we wanted you to see, well his is a scarf, but it's kind of like mine." Callie and Arizona watched as their parents and Aria looked at the screen incredulously as if this was not newsworthy. Callie scooted back, adjusted the camera to focus on Sofia and Tobin and waited for the screams. Aria was the first to speak up and said, "Come closer to the camera pit bull, we can't read it." After a couple more seconds, they heard Lucia asked, "Which one is mommy again?" Then finally it clicked with all of them and it appeared to be a tie between Lucia and Barb as they both had tears of joy running down their cheeks while Daniel wiped at his eyes, Carlos stared at the screen shaking his head with tears in his eyes, and Aria looked pale and asked, "Three more pit bulls?" This made them all laugh and they all started talking at once throwing out the questions, "How did you do it?" "Do you know the donor?" "When are you due?" "How far along are you?" "When did you find out?" "Do you have ultrasound pictures?" "Are you all healthy?" "Are you showing yet?"
Callie and Arizona just stared at one another and realized this was their life now for the next few months. Knowing just how to shut them up, Arizona stood up, turned sideways, and lifted her shirt slightly showing off her tiny baby bump, making Barb and Lucia squeal and burst into tears all over again. Callie looked at Addison and nodded her head toward Sofia and getting the hint, Addie whispered, "It's past your bedtime little one, say good night to everyone and I'll read you the new book your moms bought you." Sofia said good night and blew everyone kisses, hugged her parents and made them promise to come tuck her in, then followed her aunt to her room.
Callie and Arizona sat back down and prepared to answer all of the questions that were tossed out. Looking at one another, they weren't certain how their family would take some of the answers. Swallowing thickly, Arizona started, "We used a process called IUI which stands for intrauterine insemination. I won't go into all the details, but that's where the um…" Callie interjected, "Sperm." Arizona nodded and continued, "Is injected directly into my womb. We do know the donor, he's actually um…it's Mark, Sofia's father. Prior to his death, he donated sperm in our names in case we wanted to have more children. He did it for several reasons, but primarily so our kids could be genetically related no matter who carried and also, if God forbid, something happened medically, there would be a higher chance that one could help the other." Both women waited for the backlash since neither of their fathers were particularly fond of Mark, especially Arizona's but not a word was said other than from Barb who said, "I think it's beautiful that they will all have the same parents even though Mark is no longer with us." Callie squeezed Arizona's hand, nodded, and agreed, "That was our thinking as well."
Thinking of the other questions, Callie answered, "We first found out Arizona was pregnant the night of my birthday party. The Broadway tickets weren't the only thing she gave me. Addison took her blood earlier in the day and hid the results in our escape room, which is why she didn't want anyone else in the room with us. Neither of us knew until we found the results at the end." All of the adults grumbled and Lucia asked, "How did you keep that from us?" Arizona shook her head and replied, "It wasn't easy. At the time, we only thought it was one baby and agreed to wait until the first trimester was over." Callie nodded and finished, "The following Monday, Addison went over all the results with us and we found out there was a strong possibility it was twins and we were still trying to wrap our heads around that." Lucia spoke up again and asked, "You were pregnant and visited our family home in Mexico?" Callie nodded and responded, "Tia Marta figured it out." Lucia muttered something in Spanish and Arizona didn't understand it but knew the older woman was in hot water. Aria asked, "So why tell us now? You're what, eight weeks right?" Arizona nodded and replied, "This is the beginning of my eighth week." Callie rubbed Arizona's bump and shared, "We woke up today and the belly popped just in time for our first ultrasound, that's when we found out it was triplets and agreed they weren't going to wait four more weeks and if any of you visited, you'd know right away and we didn't want you to find out that way."
Barb howled and exclaimed, "Oh I wish I could have seen your faces." Aria laughed and asked, "Did you go into an all-out Spanish rant Cal?" Callie turned beet red and rubbed the back of her neck while Arizona rubbed her back soothingly. She looked down at the ground and mumbled, "Not exactly." Carlos asked, "Did you cry?" Callie nodded and muttered, "Umm…some." Aria gasped and accused, "You fainted!" Callie's head snapped up and she glared at her sister through the screen and defended, "So what! It was a shock. It was the most amazing glorious thing to hear these three little heartbeats and to realize there were three of them…it just, it was overwhelming and yeah I fainted." Daniel muttered, "Three pair of dimples, hell I would have fainted too." Callie smiled gratefully at her father in-law and they both proclaimed, "They're dangerous!" Barb and Arizona popped said dimples at their spouses and earned themselves a kiss on the cheek. Lucia asked, "Sofia's shirt said you were due in February, isn't that a little early dear?" Arizona nodded and replied, "That's about 32 weeks which is pushing it for triplets. But that's what we are hoping for." Lucia nodded and Carlos asked, "Are you feeling okay? Do you need anything? You're all healthy? You know we can get you the best…" He stopped himself then finished, "I guess it would be kind of hard to be your own doctor now wouldn't it?" Arizona laughed, put her fingers together and responded, "Just a little. I have Addison who is also an amazing fetal surgeon and Max, who you met at Calliope's party, and is one of the best OB's in the country as my doctors so I am in good hands. I also have the most amazing wife and prosthetist, so I am not worried about anything." Everyone on screen nodded their heads, congratulated the couple and one by one signed off.
Callie took a deep breath, pulled Arizona onto her lap, rested their foreheads together and whispered, "Well, that part is done." Arizona nodded and declared, "You know when this actually sinks in, both of our mothers will be blowing up our phones for the next twenty-four weeks." Callie agreed and added, "Probably long after that." Arizona stated, "I really hope Addie and Jake move into the pool house." Callie pulled back and looked at her wife in question and Arizona responded, "If they don't, one of our parents will whether we agree to it or not." Callie nodded in understanding and replied, "Good point. Maybe we should send Jake a gift basket." Arizona laughed then brushed her lips against Callie's. Callie hummed and deepened the kiss by slipping her tongue past plump pink lips evoking a moan from Arizona. Feeling the tingle in every one of her nerve endings, Arizona was more than ready for her wife to take her to bed. Since her sickness started, more often than not it happened at night which meant she was in no mood for sexy time. But tonight, she was feeling good, not to mention extremely horny and was in a rather celebratory mood now that they'd talked about it a little. Kissing a path down Callie's neck, she lightly nibbled on her pulse point then licked a path up her ear, smiling when she felt the shiver, nibbled on her earlobe then whispered, "Take me to bed Mrs. Robbins-Torres." Already feeling the moisture between her legs and more than ready to make love to her wife, Callie stood with Arizona in her arms and carried her to their bedroom neither of them thinking about their company.
A/N: Though they are coming to terms with it, past trauma just might be lurking around the corner. We shall see how it goes. Please don't expect anything overly dramatic, as I've stated before this isn't going to be an angsty piece, but I am working on another one that will keep you on the edge of your seats and probably mad at me most of the time.
Let's see how Lorraine and Maria respond to the news next. Oh and don't think I've forgotten about Erin, Arizona sure hasn't!