Um yeah so hi after two years. This story has still been in my head and I can't stop thinking about it regardless of how long it has been. I've been continuing writing this story and in this universe on my own, but I really do think it's important for me to share this. I recently came back and read the reviews for the one and only chapter published before now and I appreciate your thoughts so much. I've thought a lot about and had conversations with friends about how fanfiction can be so important especially to communities not adequately represented or those mistreated in media, and I really think it is important to share a positive queer stories with characters we love who didn't get what they deserved. Yes, it is just a fun thing to write, but in a way, fanfiction can be so healing for some of us and I think it's okay to acknowledge and honor that importance. So… Here I am after two years, sharing my idea of Callie and Arizona's story. I hope in any way this distracts you or warms your heart. I have prewritten a bit into the story and think it will only be easier to update more regularly, but what I know is that the next update will be shorter than two years away!
Chapter Two
June 3rd, 2018
Callie's stomach teemed with the overwhelming sensation of fluttering butterflies bouncing off of every side. Shit. She thought as she grimaced. She had remembered Arizona was fast asleep downstairs, well, either fast asleep or lying there painfully awake, knowing her ex-wife. Arizona did not do the middleground and once she decided that was her decision and that was final. This immensely irritated the similarly stubborn Callie. If they agreed, it was incredible and harmonious, but god, if they disagreed, neither would back down and they would sit in a suffocating feeling of confrontation and disagreement until one of them forgot why they had refused to concede in the first place.
Why did her stomach get all nervous when she realized Arizona was downstairs? Why does she care? She shouldn't care. She tried to remind herself, much to its dismay as the message failed to imprint upon her still incredibly stubborn mind.
Her mind wandered further. Is Arizona still as stubborn? Has she changed? Oh, god. Callie's anxious mind leaped from possibility to possibility. Normally she is somewhat comfortable sitting in the unknown, however, when it came to Arizona she needed to know what was going on in her mind.
But when Arizona was in Seattle and she was here she didn't think of her. Or at least she wouldn't let herself think of her. But with Arizona downstairs, sleeping in her guest bed in the sheets she washed and put on the bed thinking of her sleeping on them… God! How frustrating she was to her.
The goddamn butterflies.
Callie sat up and examined her bedroom. She cleaned. Arizona wouldn't come into her bedroom so why did she make sure every inch was spotless?
The. Goddamn. Butterflies.
A beautiful little happy-go-lucky creature with big bright blue eyes and killer dimples had changed her life. And now her daughter inherited the same bubbliness and the love of butterflies seen through her excessively butterfly covered suitcase from a similarly decorated scrub cap as owned by her mother.
Callie quickly pushed those thoughts away towards the back of her mind and softly muttered light curses under her breath, cursing herself for entertaining those thoughts at all.
In defiance of her unnecessary preparation for her ex wife, she swung the blankets off of her legs and purposefully left the bed unmade. Begrudgingly, she forced herself to leave her bedroom without meticulously straightening the comforter and fluffing the pillows until a magazine-cover-worthy result emerged.
A few moments later, Callie peered into Sofia's bedroom. The little girl laid flat on her bad sound asleep with a large smile donned from cheek to cheek. Callie watched her small chest rise and fall for a few moments. She was shortly after pulled into memories of Sofia's earliest days. The first time she saw that little girl, her heart melted. Every sensation from those weeks in the hospital came back.
They came flooding in. Arizona. Shit.
She pushed the Arizona part far far from her mind and instead focused on the love she felt for her daughter.
Callie shook her head lightly to shake the intruding memory of the most frustrating and infuriating woman she had ever met.
Callie walked a few steps and sat at the foot of her daughter's bed clad in a light pink quilt. Her hand rested on her daughter's hip briefly. She leaned over further and brushed the black locks out of Sofia's face. Beautiful hair, Calliope, beautiful hair. No. She scolded herself again.
But how is she supposed to remember her daughter without Arizona?
Callie dismissed this thought after briefly entertaining the idea in the first place.
Sofia woke up slowly until as if a lightbulb switched and she realized her Mama was downstairs too. Off like a rocket, she leaped out of bed and ran out of the room.
"Good morning to you, too." Callie laughed sarcastically.
Callie stopped herself from scolding her daughter, realizing it was the excitement that propelled her racing down the hall and down the stairs. Callie quickly, although not as fast in comparison to her daughter, followed behind down the open steps.
Once Callie reached the bottom she found Sofia standing in the doorframe of Arizona's - ahem, uh I mean, the guest room Arizona was sleeping in. Sofia glanced over at Callie beaming. Callie eventually walked over until she was right behind her daughter, fighting every desire to look up to her sleeping ex-wife.
She couldn't resist any further. She was not awake long enough to realize her self-control that presumably laid within her. She looked up at her. Her face was fully relaxed and content. The sun peered through the curtains that covered the large windows slightly. Her blond hair glowed in a halo around her head.
All the pain she has seen on that face, all the emotion, and in this moment, she was ok, she wasn't in pain, she was breathing and completely relaxed.
Sofia leaned further into the doorframe, looking as if she was about to fall into the room.
"Sofia!" Callie chastised softly.
Sofia's eyes turned over to her mother behind her. The big brown orbs pleaded to be able to leap into bed and under the warm covers with her mother.
Callie bit the inside of her lip slightly as she contemplated.
Apparently, the two of them weren't as quiet as they thought they were and apparently Arizona was much closer to consciousness than realized.
Arizona's eyes groggily opened and sparkled as she smiled as her clearly excited daughter.
Callie's olive cheeks turned reddish as she flushed with slight embarrassment. Oh god, Arizona woke up to her basically staring at her. That's not normal, that she knew, for a divorced couple, which at the end of the day, is what they were.
Callie's open mouth contorted as she considered her options. She searched for any confidence inside of herself, but at this point she had woken up enough to realize how inappropriate her other thoughts were and there was no ounce of confidence found. Callie's instincts took over and she vanished behind the wall, out of Arizona's view.
Arizona nodded at her daughter who then came running and lept into her bed.
Callie knew what was happening and had to muster every bit of self control not to go back to the doorframe and gawk at the happy site in the next room. Trying to make herself useful, she clambered around the kitchen to make them breakfast, but her mind kept returning to the guest bedroom which was now teeming with giggles and leaked out to where Callie stood.
She continued to mess around and continued to take out ingredients and habitually started a pot of coffee. She doubled the amount of coffee grounds that she placed into the filter, another nagging reminder of Arizona. Maybe they don't need coffee? Callie's fingers sat on the start button. She battled with her thoughts, trying to evacuate any more interruptions. Finally, after enough internal self-deprecation and insults, her fingers firmly pressed the button and the coffee maker began its routine noises.
Ok, so cooking didn't work and maybe coffee was a mistake, maybe I should cut up some fruit or something?
This idea now seemed the most realistic and logical. Callie's feet carried her casually over to her fridge. Her hand wrapped around the handle and she pulled it open, her eyes immediately landed on her target fruits.
Nope, nope, nope. The damn fruit. They sat there mocking her. Arizona's freaking favorite fruits that Callie bought in anticipation of her arrival.
Great. I'm done. I can't do this. She thought to herself with a frustrated and theatrical sigh.
Callie walked right over to the doorway that had been seemingly pulling on her this whole time. Arizona smiled a little and Sofia mirrored her mother's smile, beaming her from the safety of her mother's arms, in the safety of her mother's home, and now in the safety of the city of both her mothers.
Arizona's eyes looked up and met Callie's. Callie's skin felt hot as blood rushed into her cheeks. All they could do was share a small smile.
"I'm gonna, um, go grab your luggage." Callie said awkwardly before scooting off behind the door before Arizona could mutter a word.
Sofia's tangled black hair cloaked her sleeping face that was nestled in between Arizona's chest and her arm which wrapped around and was slowly rubbing Sofia's little back.
All Arizona could do at that moment was smile. She was in an extravagant and excessively comfortable bed.
Small waves of pain flowed over Arizona's residual limb, throbbing slightly and surely swollen from all the time she spent on her feet yesterday. Besides the pain, she could sit in this moment forever, she sank into the feelings of every inch of her body and soul. The light tingling spread across each part and she took notice of every single one.
Her leg was relaxed but alert due to the pain, her hips melted into the bed, her stomach felt tingly, but warm and relaxed. Her chest felt light but soothed, her shoulders which normally carried tension, were relaxed.
Arizona reveled in the sweet feelings of Sofia snuggled up with her. God, it was so comforting to smell the sweet smell of the top of Sofia's head and even feeling her shoulder tucked awkwardly to make enough room to optimize the cuddle zone.
A faint scent of Callie sat on every surface, each pillow, each fanciful blanket that was folded neatly on the bed. Along with the pure exhaustion of a long day, the masqueraded aid of the soothing smell cradled her gently to sleep. It didn't even cross her mind that that could've been an agent in her swift falling asleep.
With a wave of pain washing over her leg, a stiffness grew in her body. She laid in a luxuriously comfortable bed and had her daughter snuggled up whom she adored, but something felt off. Not just the obvious pain on her leg but an uneasiness, a vulnerability.
After maybe ten or fifteen minutes, the sound of keys nearby jingled, followed by the sound of the heavy, creaky door swinging open.
Sofia lifted her head to peek at her Mami.
"Go see her." Arizona encouraged.
Sofia slipped out of the bed and rushed over to Callie, giving her a big hug.
"Hey, baby girl." Callie said, picking her up and spinning her around and plopping her back down on the ground.
Arizona sat up and swung herself until her leg dangled off the edge of the bed.
Arizona heard her daughter and ex-wife shuffling around in the kitchen, vaguely hearing something about donuts.
Arizona reached for her leg, but at the same moment Callie entered the bedroom, rolling one of Arizona's suitcases behind her.
Arizona flinched and grabbed the blankets to cover herself. Her prosthetic hit the floor loudly.
Callie shut the door behind her and instinctually rushed over to Arizona.
Arizona's eyes looked around the room embarrassed and guilty. She rested her head in her hand.
"Hey." Callie's soft voice spoke. Arizona looked up only briefly to see Callie had kneeled down in front of her. Callie made sure to leave enough room between the two of them, she picked up Arizona's prosthetic and placed it on the bed next to Arizona, all while Arizona's eyes ignored her presence, her cheeks blushed.
"There are donuts and some coffee out there." Callie said. "I can bring some in for you." She offered.
"It's ok," said Arizona's knee-jerk reaction. But she knew she wouldn't be able to make it out to the kitchen, her leg was too sore and too swollen to realistically fit into her prosthetic, but she didn't want to admit she needed help.
Callie looked as if she had more to say but contemplated whether it was her place or not. She opened her mouth to speak but knew that if anything came out Arizona would get upset.
Callie awkwardly backed out of the room, shutting the door behind herself.
Arizona sighed loudly. She harshly grabbed at her leg, trying to magically will away the pain it was causing her. She aggressively massaged it, forcefully making circles on her stump, but to no avail.
Thoughts flooded her mind, why did she react to Callie the way that she did? Why didn't she haul her ass out of bed and enjoy breakfast with her family?
Guilt began to eat away at her, guilt for not doing enough and guilt for not being enough. She huffed loudly as her leg continued to throb painfully.
Arizona's hands held her head as she sat there frustrated.
Arizona reached over and grabbed her suitcase, noticing how Callie had placed it close enough for her to reach from the bed.
She pulled it onto the bed, unzipped it and grabbed her toiletry bag. She hastily shoved on her prosthetic although it pinched and barely fit. She walked over to the bathroom, hurriedly ripped the leg back off as she fell onto the closed toilet.
She reached into the shower and after slowly figuring out how the shower worked, turned the water to a cool temperature, to help relieve the swelling.
She stripped off her remaining clothing and slowly transferred herself from the toilet to the shower.
The shower was nice and fashionable. The tiles were slim black rectangles, a sleek design that felt so Callie. She immediately noticed the built in shower bench that hid itself cloaked in match tiles. Although Callie did not design this bathroom, she felt awkward knowing it was there and knowing that Callie knew it was there.
She didn't want to be appreciative of Callie. She wanted to be able to do it on her own, like she has for the past several years. However, in less than twelve hours, Arizona has felt infiltrated by Callie Torres.
As the cool water hit her she felt stunned. Stunned in her decisions that had led her to this point. Why was she here? Why did she let this happen in the first place? The trepidations had already invaded her mind.
"Stop it." She softly audibly scolded herself.
She tilted her head back to let the water fully douse her chest. She looked different then she did the last time Callie had seen her. Her skin hung just a bit looser, her breasts weighed themselves down more just the slightest bit, and sparse lines on her face told a thousand words.
She scolded herself again. She hadn't thought about her appearance in an incredibly long time, but when she's near Callie, she was conscious of everything.
She evaluated her thoughts deeper. Yes she had aged, but she shouldn't care about how Callie might have noticed the changes. Yes, obviously Callie knew she had one leg and would be thankful for the small design detail in her shower, but she shouldn't care that Callie knew.
Her lungs filled up with humid air as she centered herself. None of that is important. She repeated to herself, seeking a sense of peace and the ability to abandon her uneasiness. Calmness came, but not as concentrated as she had desired and not as quickly as she had hoped.
Twenty minutes later, Arizona emerged from the guest room. Sofia's large smile contrasted with Callie's small, somewhat forced, smile.
"Hi, my baby." Arizona smiled, leaning over to kiss the top of Sofia's head.
"Mama, Mami said we could go to the park together today."
Arizona looked over to Callie.
Callie stuttered, "Um, well, uh, I figured since I have the day off and you don't have any meetings until tomorrow and it would be nice for Sofia and for us."
Arizona just smiled politely, her eyes quickly shifted from Callie's babbling back to her daughter.
"Can we leave now?" Sofia asked impatiently.
Callie looking at Arizona and sensing a hint of apprehension, suggested, "Not yet, honey. Why don't you go read your book until we leave, huh?"
Callie walked closer to Arizona who was only a few feet from the doorway.
"I'm in charge today."
"Huh?' Arizona knitted her brows.
"You heard me." Callie said playfully. She stepped even closer until Arizona's body was square with her own.
"Callie," She groaned indignantly, "I can take care of myself." She said stiffly.
"I'm not saying you can't, I'm saying you were on your feet all day yesterday, moved across the country, and slept in a new bed last night."
"Hey, I can adapt to new places fast." She said with a smug smile.
She smiled back. "Let us," she pointed over at their daughter, "Show you around the city."
Arizona laughed. "I'll go dry my hair then we can go." She smiled. "Is there a blow dryer in there?"
"Yep, under the sink on the left." Callie smiled, feeling helpful. She wanted to help as much as she could, but it wasn't her place anymore to take care of her completely. So a tour around New York would be allowed, but massaging her would be frowned upon, although Callie definitely thought of that last night.
Callie waited in the living room with Sofia while Arizona finished getting ready. Callie tried to calm herself before the day ahead, trying not to be too excited that her family was back together and overwhelm either one of them.
Arizona emerged with a big smile and windswept looking hair.
"Now, moms?" Sofia asked. Callie felt a spot in her chest warm hearing the collective name for her and Arizona.
"Yes, baby." Arizona smiled.
Callie smiled widely, looking down at her daughter and then up again to Arizona. "Let's go, let's go, let's go!" Callie cheered with little hops.
Their little trio made their way out into the hall, Callie turned around and locked the door behind them. Sofia looked up to Arizona.
"What are we doing, Mama?" Sofia asked excitedly.
"I don't know, baby!" Arizona replied dramatically. "Since Mami…" she groaned emphatically, "won't tell me either!"
Callie smirked, she squatted down and cupped her hands around her daughter's ear and supposedly whispered the grand plans of the day. Sofia giggled and Callie smiled.
"Little miss! What did she tell you?" Arizona smiled. She reached down and tickled her sides.
Sofia shrugged.
"Attagirl." Callie laughed.
Arizona pouted. "Oh, let's just go already!"
"Alright, bossy." Callie laughed as the three of them made it to the elevator not far from Callie's apartment.
Just ten minutes later the three of them were standing in line, Sofia impatiently fidgeting and dancing.
Arizona looked around the crowded tram station, the colorful people of New York decorating either side of the velvet rope.
"Roosevelt Island Tramway?" Arizona read. She looked at Callie quizzically. "We're going to Roosevelt Island?" She asked, confused
"What you thought I was taking you–us– to Times Square or something?" Callie teased. She nudged Arizona. "What do take me for?" She laughed. Arizona's slight frown and narrowed glare lessened.
"What are your qualifications for being a tour guide?" Arizona scrunched her face incredulously.
"You'll see, you'll see." Callie laughed under her breath.
"What even is on Roosevelt Island, Callie?" Arizona groaned
"You'll see!" She repeated. "Mama's got no patience, Sofia." Callie chuckled.
Arizona's stomach felt a flutter as she heard Callie refer to her as Sofia's Mama. It had been awhile at least since she realized, but in this moment Arizona paid meticulous attention to Callie's words toward her.
"Mama, it'll be fun!" Sofia cheered. Arizona acted up her fluster.
The line began to move and the three of them made their way through the rest of the line and into the larger than expected carriage that was about to take them across the East River.
They sat down in the carriage by the windows with Sofia between the two women. Sofia stared out the window as the tram slowly lifted them up and over.
Callie squeezed her eyes awkwardly and held her lip as if to hold back nausea.
Arizona watched her ex-wife's face intently and didn't hold back her sly smile. Callie's fear of heights was always somewhat amusing and surprising to her. Even more surprising, Callie arranged this voyage across the river in the sky.
Sofia pulled on Callie's arm. "Mami look! The people look so small down there."
"Mhmm." Callie groaned through gritted teeth and shut eyes.
Sofia frowned. "Your eyes are closed." She groaned. Arizona barely stifled her laugh. The view of the morning city was beautiful but the view of her daughter truly happy was even moreso.
Callie opened one eye at a time, peeking out to make sure she was lucid.
"Look, Mami, there's a little dog wearing a coat." Sofia laughed.
Callie laughed cautiously.
The tram shook briefly in the wind, Callie jumped, grabbing on the things closest to her, which ended up being the hem of Sofia's pink jacket and Arizona's leg. She flinched back immediately. Arizona couldn't hold back her laugh.
"Arizona." Callie sighed. She squinted at her ex-wife but couldn't help but laugh as she saw Arizona's giggling face.
It was only a few minutes later when the tram reached the other side, at Roosevelt Island.
"You can open your eyes now." Arizona and Sofia said in unison.
"What do you mean? My eyes have been open the whole time!" Callie laughed.
"Let's go!" Arizona said cheerfully.
"Look who's happy now. This is my tour, remember?" Callie said snarkily.
"Oh, I forgot because of all your closing your eyes in fear." Arizona remarked.
"Let's go, it's beautiful out there." Callie smiled. She reached down and held Sofia's smaller hand. Arizona reveled in the moment of witnessing this, Sofia had missed Callie so much and vice versa. There was nothing like the love of a mother for her child, it just so happens that Sofia got to experience that twice fold.
The three of them exited the tram and began a slow stroll around the perimeter.
"Callie." She paused tepidly. "What's that?" Arizona pointed to a suspicious looking, dilapidated building.
Callie laughed and kept her eyeline low.
Arizona got impatient. Her mouth fell open, "Callie Torres, what the heck is that creepy building?" Arizona asked as she basically jumped out of her skin.
"The smallpox hospital." Callie whispered with a chuckle.
"The smallpox hospital?" Arizona asked emphatically.
"Yeah, it's history!" Callie said with a cheek grin and almost a wink in her eye.
"Callie, it's morbid." Arizona scolded.
"What's smallpox, Mama?" Sofia looked up at her.
Arizona laughed uncomfortably. "It was a really bad disease that went around awhile ago that made you sick and had a big rash all over your body."
Sofia winced. "So the people with smallpox came here?" Sofia asked with sudden disgust.
"Yes, but it's not here any more." Arizona quickly clarified. She cast a melodramatic glare toward Callie, followed by a short, surprised laugh.
"But it's beautiful!" Callie cheered. Arizona stared at her quizzically.
"Mami, it's creepy." Sofia said hesitantly.
"Not the hospital!" She laughed. "The view!" Callie spun around and motioned toward the buildings across the river. She took Sofia by her hand and twirled as she giggled.
Arizona began to lower her face, attempting to hide the growing pain with every step as she followed Callie and Sofia as they walked closer to the edge of the island. She tried to be ready for this, but a whole walking adventure was overwhelming and just out of her physical capabilities after the last few days she had.
"It's beautiful." Arizona whispered, trying to look up and smile slightly.
Callie immediately took notice of Arizona's change in mood. She walked closer to Arizona and began to study her face.
"Do you visit the smallpox hospital often?" Arizona gulped.
Callie awkwardly laughed. "Yeah…"
Arizona scrunched her eyebrows and turned toward her ex-wife, feeling caught red handed. Callie just had to notice. Ugh.
"Why don't we sit? There's a cute little bench there." Callie pointed to their immediate right.
"Callie..." Arizona growled so low she could barely hear.
"We can stop and look at the view, the one facing away from the hospital if it's so creepy." Callie giggled.
Arizona sighed and tucked her tail between her legs, sucking up her pride.
The three of them shuffled and sat down on the bench with Sofia plopped right in the middle.
Though a little annoyed that Callie noticed her discomfort immediately, she was grateful for the break off her feet, and more importantly off her incredibly sore stump.
"Do you really like it here?" Arizona asked plainly, but with an awkward cadence.
Callie paused, stumbling over her words. "Yeah." She said hesitantly. "I do now." She said quietly, examining Arizona's face and the side of Sofia's as her eyes were lost and wandering off on the tall buildings of New York. "It's better with Sofia here, without her, it gets–got," she corrected her ramblings, "pretty lonely. She makes the city feel smaller, better. She's my world." She admitted.
"She's mine too." Arizona says softly as her eyeline traveled over from her ex-wife's face to the skyscrapers across the East River. Arizona let the silence settle. Though they were both thinking about the best thing they had in common, their daughter, the unspoken comfort that came from the other's mere presence made them each even more grateful for her. "So, um, uh, how is working at Columbia-Pres?"
"I like it." Callie said clumsily. "It's nothing like Grey Sloan." She said, widening her eyes.
"Is that a good or bad thing?" Arizona chuckled.
Callie smirked. "Both." She elbowed Arizona's shoulder from behind their daughter. "I don't trust these people as much as I did our people in Seattle, but they're good." She said almost as if to convince herself enough to sound convincing. "There are a few characters there." She emphasized. "Maybe not as many as back in Seattle. It's certainly less interesting here."
"If less interesting means less crazy then I'm perfectly fine with it."
"After the last several years, we deserve a good break." Callie leaned over and hugged Sofia tightly.
"Mami!" Sofia giggled.
"Mami attack!" Callie laughed in her monster voice. Arizona watched from her upright position and laughed. She smiled as she looked at Sofia and Callie's faces squished together with matching beaming smiles. Sofia's smile had been gone for some time now so it made Arizona sigh of relief to see that smile twice fold. The sight of Callie's made an odd sense of comfort wash over her.
They explored the rest of the island and stopped at a restaurant closer to Callie's apartment before retiring home for the night. They had landed on Callie's couch and the first movie of the night was coming to an end. The sky was dark outside and Arizona was tucked in a blanket and softly snoring every now and then.
"Can we watch another movie?" Sofia begged.
"Nope, it's bedtime, honey." Callie cheered pitifully. Arizona's eyes blinked open to her daughter and ex-wife talking. Sofia had snuggled up to Callie under their blanket over the course of the movie, although Callie would say that her two square inches of blanket doesn't exactly count as "sharing."
Sofia pouted her lips and dramatically folded her arms.
"But…" Callie smiled, "I'm sure Mama would love to see your room and tuck you in." Callie looked over, sensing Arizona had awoken. It was reassuring to see Arizona relax to the point of sleep.
Arizona looked over, visibly exhausted and sluggish, she rubbed her eyes. She smiled over at her daughter.
"Mama, you're awake!"
Arizona scoffed. "Huh, I was awake the whole time!" She joked.
"Sure you were." She rolled her eyes with a smile. "Do you want to see my room?" She asked politely.
"Of course, sweetie." Her hoarse voice hummed through her words.
Arizona pulled on her prosthetic and followed Sofia who ran giddily up the stairs. Arizona looked back at Callie over the railing and smiled smally, allowing Arizona to have a sweet moment with her daughter. There was something about the look in Callie's eyes that allowed Arizona to relax just enough to feel content.
She made it to the top of the stairs and couldn't stop her wandering eyes from peering through the crack door into Callie's room. It was neater than she expected, Arizona was always the more organized of the two of them. Her bedsheets were tousled on the left side and were perfectly tucked on the right. The pillow was indented where her head must've been resting. She hated how she wondered how that pillow must've smelled, wanting to just take it in her arms and inhale deeply, how she resorted to soothing herself when Callie was away.
"Mama!" Sofia called impatiently. Arizona shook herself from a daze that allowed herself to lean onto the door frame as she examined Callie's room and imagined the life she had been living without her. The floor creaked embarrassingly below her.
Sofia excitedly showed off a few gadgets and a few items from her room in Seattle that had made their way to her New York bedroom. Arizona observed amused from the position she took up on Sofia's pink quilt, the one Arizona's mother sewed for Sofia. About ten minutes had passed before Arizona called Sofia into bed, lifting up the covers and lightly laying them on top of her.
"Did you have fun today, Mama?" Sofia asked quietly.
"I did because I had you." Arizona smiled, hugging her daughter tightly, earning a laugh.
"Do you like it in New York?" Sofia was more hesitant this time, she had known her Mama was less than thrilled about such a big life change and had sensed her being off the last few days.
"I do, love. It means we can all be together."
"I'm glad we're all together again." Sofia sighed, her eyelids becoming just heavy enough for them to gently shut.
"Me too." Arizona whispered. "I love you, my sweet girl."
"I love you, Mama."
Arizona rested in Sofia's bed with her for a while, rubbing Sofia's side comfortingly as she drifted off into sleep. She felt so content in this moment that it pained her when she thought about how life was going to change further. Arizona was going to move into her hotel room tomorrow and the guilt sat right in the center of her chest. Soon, they would be busy at work again. Soon, Arizona would be working late nights and be stuck in meetings for hours and she wouldn't be able to be with her daughter. The idealistic family situation they had for the last two days was not meant to live much longer. That bed in Callie's room was Callie's alone, and the bed downstairs was only Arizona's for a couple nights.
Arizona eventually came to a point of peace, although the guilt still pressed in her chest, and she gently kissed her daughter's forehead and made her way downstairs.
Callie smiled at Arizona. "She showed you everything in her room?" She joked.
"Just about." Arizona laughed, she made her way back to the couch and immediately slipped off her prosthetic. She looked up and caught Callie's eyes on her leg. She wanted to feel defensive. She wanted to not feel warm from that look. Her leg was such a vulnerability and she could not stand that she allowed Callie to see it again without getting up and arms.
"Sorry." Callie Immediately diverted her eyes.
"Don't be." She covered her mouth trying to stop them from coming out after the fact.
Callie smiled sadly.
"I'm okay, Callie." She assured gently.
"Good, I know this is a big transition and starting at a new hospital and opening a brand new clinic and, and–" She rambled.
"Callie." Arizona giggled.
Her face reddened. "I'll show you around tomorrow morning before your meeting."
"Thank you." Arizona said simply. "And I'm going to get settled in my hotel room tomorrow, so thank you again for letting me crash here, and…" she drew out, trying not to notice the slightest downturn of the corners of Callie's mouth, "Thank you for the day, it was really nice to see Sofia smile like that again."
Callie smiled largely. "Would you like some more wine?"
"After the last few days, yes."
Arizona observed Callie in her kitchen with her head tilted. She imagined what it was like everyday. She smiled smally. However, it wasn't like she didn't know how Callie was as a mom or how she was like to live with. She knew painfully who Callie was, she was aware of every idiosyncrasy, every small habit, and every voice in the stories she told to Sofia. She knew Callie, or at least she used to. She returned quickly with the cold bottle and poured it into Arizona's glass.
She had done that countless times before.
"Can we watch another movie?" Callie pouted.
Arizona laughed, rolling her eyes and smiling. "Sofia would be very jealous."
"Is that a no?" Callie groaned, throwing herself onto the couch dramatically.
"We don't have a bedtime." She smirked.
Callie smiled before she flicked through the tv and landed on some random movie in another language. They snuggled into their respective blankets on each end of the couch.
"It's really awesome what you're doing, Arizona." Callie sighed sweetly, looking over at her ex-wife.
Arizona raised an eyebrow at the surprise compliment.
"What can I say?" She said smugly. "I'm awesome."
Callie swatted Arizona's arm. They giggled.
After a pause, Callie whispered "What you're doing for Sofia, for pregnant women… for me."
"Yeah?" Arizona smiled softly.
"Yeah." Callie smiled.
"Thank you, Callie."
The movie kept playing in the background as they just sat looking into each other's eyes.
Callie smiled, instinctually leaned over, holding Arizona's cheek in her hand and kissing her forehead gently, leaving her lips on Arizona's skin for a generous amount of time, soaking up how sweet and soft she felt.
They blushed.
Under Callie's gentleness, Arizona felt as if she could finally relax, the stress of everything felt as if everything melted away. She barely rested her head on Callie's shoulder and sighed deeply, getting a faint smell that is oh so Callie, and she relaxed deeper.
Callie watched as her eyelids cartoonishly fell closed and smiled. Looking over Arizona's relaxed face she felt an increasing feeling of duty to protect her.