Stumbling her way through the semi-dark room, Callie cursed her bladder for waking her up before her alarm. They had a long day ahead of them and haven't gotten hardly any sleep lately because over the course of the past two weeks, Arizona was either up late or awoken early with horrible bouts of nausea and vomiting and she was there right beside her taking care of her. She knew it was morning sickness, but it just seemed to come whenever it felt the need. Fortunately, last night her wife was able to go to bed early and slept through the night without any troubles. Checking the time while climbing back into bed, she groaned when she saw that she only had another 15 minutes before they needed to get up and get moving. Lifting the covers to slide into bed, her grumpy mood instantly fell away when she saw that Arizona's tank top had bunched up under her breasts and her pajama pants had rolled down to tuck underneath her ever-expanding baby belly. Nearing her 11th week, Arizona said she was actually the size she would be at 15 weeks if she were carrying a single child, so her bump was no longer a bump but well on its way to becoming a full blown baby belly. Now grateful for the extra few minutes, Callie pulled her pillow down and took her normal position so she could spend a little time alone with her trips.
Carefully lifting her hand to caress the taut alabaster skin that now had the slightest indications of blue veins running through it, Callie whispered, "Good morning my little gremlins. How are you today? I'm so happy you decided to be good for mommy last night. She needs her rest so her body can keep you safe and healthy. We also have a long weekend ahead of us and mommy will need all the extra energy she can get, but in return, I am sure she will be giving you all kinds of yummy treats. We are leaving this afternoon for our first ever family vacation. We are taking your big sister to this amazing magical place called Disney World and mommy and I are really excited about it. We can't wait to see her reaction. I wish you were already here to enjoy it with us, but I promise as soon as you are old enough, we will take you there too. You can dress up in your cute little matching outfits and wear some Mickey Mouse Ears…or Minnie Mouse, depending on if you're a boy or girl, but we will get you special hats and see princesses and princes and all the other Disney Characters you don't know about yet. We're going to be taking an airplane and mommy already doesn't like flying, so if you could just be good and not give her tummy fits, that would be really nice. You take care of each other in there and remember your mommies love you very much." She kissed Arizona's abdomen three times like she had taken to doing then slid back up the bed and looked directly into dazzling blue eyes full of love and emotion.
Arizona was flitting in and out of consciousness when she felt a shift in the bed indicating Callie had gotten up. She briefly wondered why until she heard the bathroom door close and rolled over to her back to try to sleep as long as she could. She knew her energy level was lagging and was thankful that she was finally able to sleep without waking up sick. When she felt the bed shift again, she smiled when she felt Callie lower herself so she could talk to the babies. She barely heard the first part of the conversation before she drifted off again. She woke up just as Callie was talking about matching outfits and mouse ears and couldn't help but picture 3 blond-haired, blue-eyed toddlers in matching clothes and Mickey or Minnie ears running away from them to go see one of the beloved characters. She loved the picture her wife had drawn and now she couldn't unsee it. When she heard Callie wrapping up her conversation, she waited for the kisses and felt the warmth grow in her stomach along with the tingle that seemed to be present whenever her wife talked with their babies. If she didn't know any better, she'd swear they were responding to her voice and returning that love. But her scientific brain knew that's not how things worked.
The blonde tried to fight her smile when she saw the shocked expression on her wife's face when she realized she was awake. Choosing not to say anything, to allow her wife to keep that moment to herself, Arizona bent forward, captured her lips in a searing kiss and hummed, "Mmmm, good morning." Callie caressed her wife's face, appreciating the fact that she never asked nor teased her about her conversations with the gremlins, kissed her again and replied, "Good morning beautiful. How are you feeling today?" Arizona cringed and replied, "I'm afraid to say because I know as soon as I do, things will change." Callie nodded, rested her head on her elbow, slipped the other one underneath the covers, made slow soothing circles over Arizona's stomach and responded, "I'll take that as a good sign then." Arizona nodded and smiled at her wife. She loved these quiet little moments before they were thrown into the rush of the day.
Running her hand up Callie's arm and tracing the contours of her muscles, Arizona asked, "What time is it?" Without looking at her phone, Callie replied, "We only have a few more minutes before the alarm goes off." Arizona glanced around the room and asked, "Did you get the car all packed? I'm sorry I fell asleep on you." Callie continued rubbing her wife's belly, leaned forward, kissed her nose, and replied, "I did and I pulled the cover over it so miss nosey pants couldn't see it and you needed to get some good sleep, so I don't mind." Arizona asked, "What about the…um…other part of the surprise?" Callie shook her head, she couldn't believe she let Arizona talk her into this and answered, "They said it would be ready by noon. I'm done at 11:30 am, so I figured I'd go get it then. I gave Maria the extra house key so she or Miguel will be coming to get Tobin as soon as one of them gets free." Arizona smiled brightly and admitted, "I'm so excited, I can't wait to see her face." Callie lifted her hand to caress her cheek and revealed, "I always get torn between watching her reaction or watching your reaction to her. You both just have such joy and it takes over your whole bodies, its contagious." Arizona didn't know how to respond to that so she pulled her wife down for a long slow kiss and groaned when the alarm went off just as their lips made contact. Callie rolled over to turn off the alarm and announced, "The race begins." Arizona grumbled, stretched, and reached for her prosthetic preparing to start her day.
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Callie pulled up in front of the school, put her car in park, looked into the back seat and reminded her daughter, "Don't forget we are picking you up from school a little early today, we will be here around 2:00 pm." Sofia crossed her arms and huffed, "I'm going to miss gym. Why won't you tell me why you're picking me up? Do I have a dentist appointment?" Both women chuckled and Arizona replied, "No little miss, you don't have a dentist appointment, but we have someplace very special to be and we need to be there before school gets out." Callie reached back, rubbed her daughter's knee and apologized, "I'm sorry you'll miss gym, but I promise this will make up for it." Sofia's face lit up and she asked, "Oooh do we get to see the babies? Do we get to find out what they are?" Arizona pouted, "Not yet sweetie. That appointment isn't for another few weeks. We will talk about that when it gets closer. Now you'd better get in there before you miss breakfast." Sofia launched herself forward, kissed her mama, then her mommy, then patted her mommy's tummy and said, "Bye mama, bye mommy, bye babies, I love you all." She then shot out of the car and instantly disappeared into the crowd of children rushing into the school.
When they pulled away, Arizona asked, "Did you call the school and tell them she will be out tomorrow and Monday?" Callie shook her head and answered, "No because I was afraid they would say something to her about it. I'll let them know when we pick her up today." Arizona reached out, laid her hand on Callie's thigh and replied, "Good thinking. I can't believe with all the sneaking around we've done she still has no idea." Callie laughed and answered, "I was sure we were caught when she came in yesterday and saw the suitcase. Good thing my wife thinks fast on her feet." Arizona scoffed and responded, "Yeah, but now she thinks we haven't even unpacked from our honeymoon over a month ago." Callie reached down and linked fingers with the hand resting on her leg and assured, "She'll figure that out tonight." Arizona's face broke into her super-magic smile, she shook both hands, kicked her feet and squealed, "We're going to Disney World!" Callie was just waiting for the realization to kick in. So far Arizona has been focused and in planning mode so she hasn't been so bad, but right now she could feel her wife buzzing with excitement.
Arizona looked over and saw the smirk on Callie's face and scolded, "Calliope Iphigenia Robbins-Torres, don't you dare laugh at me. You forget I know all of your secrets, including the fact that you are a closeted Disney fan and you are just as excited about this trip as I am." Stopping at a red light, Callie looked at her wife, released her own brilliant smile, mimicked her actions of shaking her hands and kicking the foot that wasn't on the brake and squealed, "We're going to Disney World." Arizona leaned over, kissed her cheek and approved, "Much better, thank you." Callie smiled and admitted, "I really don't know what I'm more excited about, seeing it for myself, seeing your reaction, or seeing Sofia's reaction." Arizona gasped, "You grew up in Florida and never went to Disney World?" Callie shook her head and replied in a snooty tone, "Those places are filthy and full of tourists." Arizona gaped at her and asked, "Umm don't tourists stay in hotels?" Callie burst out into laughter and revealed, "That question got me sent to my room when I was ten and begging to go." Callie glanced over and asked, "Why haven't you ever been?" Arizona shrugged, "We were never stationed near one. We probably could have talked mom into it but dad didn't put his life on the line so we could go to amusement parks." Callie asked, "Why can I hear The Colonel saying that?" Arizona laughed, "I told him he defended laws this country was founded on and we had the right to pursue happiness, THAT got me sent to my room when I was nine." Callie started laughing again and asked, "Now why can I see you with your little pigtails and dimples standing up to The Colonel with your hands on your hips?" Arizona shook her head and replied, "That was before I started being afraid of authority figures."
Callie pulled into the medical park and said, "I am certain there is a story behind that and someday I am going to get it out of you." Arizona smiled and replied, "Someday, we have a whole lifetime to learn these things about each other." Callie pulled in front of The Robbins-Herman Center and agreed, "That we do Mrs. Robbins-Torres, that we do." Arizona unfastened her seatbelt, leaned over to kiss her wife goodbye then murmured, "You know I can walk the little trek from your parking spot." Callie brushed their lips together again and replied, "I know you can and during the summer when it was warmer, I didn't drop you off. I am dropping you off now because it's cold outside and the next time you drive, I expect the same courtesy." Arizona shook her head and opened her mouth to apologize when Callie cut her off, "Honey, I love you, this is one of the ways I show you. I don't want you to be cold, that's all there is to it." Arizona reached up, grabbed the back of Callie's head, pulled her in for a long sexy kiss and whispered, "I love you too. Thank you for loving me like you do." She opened the door, pulled her bag over her shoulder, then walked into the lobby, turning to wave as her wife drove off.
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Callie walked out of the conference room after meeting with her attendings and making sure all of her patients were covered when Maria walked up to her with a pink phone message note. The head nurse smirked and informed her, Sylvia from Custom Tailoring just called and it appears your co…" Callie quickly put her hand over her friend's mouth to shut her up and hissed, "Don't you dare finish that sentence." Maria swallowed thickly, nodded her head, and when her chief's hand was removed she finished, "It appears your ah, travel clothes are finished and you can pick them up any time." Callie shook her head and could tell by the look in her friend's eyes she knew but chose to ask anyway, "You know what it is don't you?" Maria burst into laughter and answered, "I do. I'm guessing it was Arizona's idea." Callie just nodded her head and blushed in embarrassment. Maria laughed louder, slapped her friend on the shoulder and claimed, "Man I wish I had dimples; the world would be my oyster." Callie chuckled at her friend's accurate assumption and replied, "They do it every damn time." Maria just kept laughing, handed Callie the message and walked away.
When Callie reached her office, she took out her phone to see how much time she had before her next patient and saw that she missed a call from her mother-in-law. Seeing that she had about ten minutes, she decided to return the call really quick, it was rare that Barb ever called her unless she couldn't reach Arizona. Hitting the green call button, she shuffled some papers around on her desk while waiting for the call to connect. She smiled when she was greeted with, "Callie dear, I'm so glad you returned my call. Did you listen to my message?" Callie furrowed her brow, looked at her phone and just now realized there was indeed a message and replied, "No, sorry. I just saw that you called and had a few minutes so I figured I would call you back. Is everything okay? Are you and Daniel feeling well?" Barb chuckled, "We are both fine dear, but thank you for asking. I was calling to see what you had planned for Arizona's birthday." Callie let out a frustrated sigh and replied, "Honestly Barb, I'm stuck. You know me, I want to go all out and celebrate and have big parties, but Arizona doesn't even like her birthday, she only celebrates it for me and Sofia, but this is a big one and it's special because we are a family again. She did so much for me on my birthday, I just don't know what to do for her. Not to mention, she will be 14 weeks pregnant."
The older woman smiled, she had no idea how she did it, but her daughter managed to find someone who rambled just as much as she did. Looking down at the object in her hand, Barb revealed, "Well, I came across something that might help you out. If you give me the address to your center, I'll put it in the mail today." Callie furrowed her brows and asked, "What is it?" Barb snickered and replied, "Oh it's something I am certain you will absolutely enjoy." Callie realized her mother-in-law wasn't giving it up and hoped she'd be more inclined to answer her next question. Taking a deep breath, she asked, "Barb, why doesn't Arizona like her birthday? Did you all, do you not believe in birthdays? I mean it's okay, I just…it's been ten years and I still don't understand." She heard a gasp, then complete silence, then muffled whispering and finally the older woman returned and asked, "She never told you?" Callie furrowed her brow and shook her head, then realized she couldn't be seen and answered, "No ma'am." Barb let out a long sigh and replied, "You need to sit down for this one Callie. I know she's going to be angry at me, but it's time you know." Callie looked at her phone, sent a quick message to Lorraine to make sure her next patient got into a room and to apologize for the delay. She then asked, "What do I need to know?"
Barb looked to her husband who was shaking his head at her and started, "Arizona LOVED her birthday when she was younger, she couldn't wait for her birthday. Whenever she saw Halloween decorations go up, she knew her birthday was coming and would bug us the whole month of October and she used to taunt Timmy something awful." Callie smiled while she pictured a little Arizona being a pain in everyone's ass and asked, "What changed?" The older woman sighed and explained, "After Tim passed away, she just, she never recognized her birthday again. She'd always tell us birthdays are just days like any other day, don't like them, don't celebrate them, no big deal." Callie recognized that exact phrase, furrowed her eyebrows in confusion and admitted, "I'm sorry, I don't understand. Did he…um…did you find out on her birthday?" Barb sniffled and sighed out, "Callie, Arizona and Timmy were born on the same day two years apart." Callie gasped and tears flooded her eyes. This was not what she expected at all.
She was so stunned, she barely registered the older woman's next words, "When he was younger, Tim loved sharing his birthday with his sister. When he got older and they both liked different things, he didn't like it so much. We'd try to split the decorations, but his friends would still laugh at him because there were rainbows and unicorns at his Spiderman birthday party. Each year as they got older, they tried to best each other and take the spotlight until I ended up having one party the week before their birthday and one party the week after. Timmy enlisted when he turned 18, but he never failed to call or video chat on their birthday and somehow he always made sure to send her a rainbow colored bouquet of flowers and a unicorn birthday cake. It wasn't as easy for her because sometimes it would take months for him to receive his packages, but whenever he was on leave, she'd buy Spiderman party favors and a cake and we'd celebrate his birthday his first night back." Callie was so choked up and now completely understood her wife's reluctance to celebrate her birthday and also understood why she never said anything. Wiping her own tears away, she could hear Barb crying as well and offered, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you, but thank you. Thank you for telling me."
Barb wiped her eyes and replied, "Now you do what you'd like with that information and I'll deal with the fallout." She then gasped and exclaimed, "Oh dear, I've upset you and dropped this bomb on you and you are about to leave on your vacation today." Callie sniffled, chuckled slightly and replied, "It's okay, really. I appreciate you telling me and I won't say anything about our call today." Barb breathed a sigh of relief and reminded her, "Don't forget to send me that address. You really need to see what I found." Callie smiled then, a little excited to see whatever it was, and replied, "I will text you the address as soon as we hang up. Thank you for calling Barb." The older woman replied, "You all have a great weekend and have Sofia call us to tell us all about it." After assuring her mother-in-law that she would certainly have Sofia call as well as send pictures, Callie disconnected the call, sent her the address of the center, then rushed off to her next appointment, still reeling over the news she just learned.
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Callie peeked through the windows of the cerulean blue doors she had designed and painted specifically for Arizona and watched as the blonde fetal surgeon took the smallest of the Gavin triplets out of her crib and sat down in the nearby rocking chair. She glanced over at the nurse to get the okay to enter, donned the pink gown, and washed her hands thoroughly before walking up behind Arizona, whispering, "I figured I'd find you in here." Arizona smiled at the sound of her wife's voice and she pouted, "I can't believe they're 16 days old already." Callie looked into Joy's crib, smiled down at the sweet little face and asked, "Are they going home today?" Arizona nodded and replied, "Finally, fortunately their weight stopped fluctuating and is on the rise. Larry and Erin are on their way now." She watched as Callie looked into Joy's crib and encouraged, "It's okay, you can hold her." Callie's million dollar smile bloomed across her face and she was already reaching for the little baby when she turned and asked, "Yeah?" Arizona nodded and replied, "Of course, I'm sure Erin won't mind."
Callie cradled the baby in her arms and slowly swayed her back and forth, looking at her tiny little features and realized their children would be this small when they were born as well. Looking over to see blue eyes trained on her, she remarked, "I forget how tiny and delicate they are." She looked down at the little girl and in her sweet little baby voice asked, "But you're just so delicious aren't you?" She picked up the small hand and even though she knew it was a reflex, smiled brightly when tiny fingers wrapped around her own. Arizona watched her wife and couldn't help but picture her holding their own child. She looked down at the bundle in her arms who had already gained a pound and replied, "It feels like they just grow so fast though." Callie replied, "I can't believe these girls are only two weeks old, how old was Sofia when she reached five pounds?" Arizona thought about it for a minute and answered, 12 weeks. She was 5 pounds and 8 ounces at 3 months old when we got to take her home." Callie smiled and thought aloud, "Damn, that seems like only yesterday."
Arizona commented, "It does." She brought Faith up to cuddle with her and couldn't help but bury her nose in the baby's little tuft of hair. She was certain it was one of her most favorite scents in the world. Looking at her wife, she asked, "Remember how it felt like Sofia only wore each of her outfits once or twice before she grew out of them?" Callie nodded and added, "Part of that's because she had an entire hospital buy her clothes and couldn't wear them all before she grew out of them." Arizona laughed and reminded her, "And these three have three hospital families." Callie rolled her eyes and groaned, "Oh lord, we may need to add more closet space. Do you think it's politically incorrect to ask each group to focus on something different? Like one focus on clothes, the other on bedding and the other on diapers, wipes, and hygiene?" Arizona laughed and remarked, "Personally, I think it's genius, but it might be a little presumptuous." Callie shrugged and declared, "I tried."
When Hope started fussing, Callie looked at the baby left in her crib then at the little one in her arms and cooed, "I think someone is jealous, do you think we should let her join us?" She walked over to the other baby, carefully scooped her up with one arm, then sat in the chair next to her wife and rocked both girls. Both women looked at one another and when brown eyes met blue, they knew they were thinking the same thing. Arizona looked at Callie and claimed, "This doesn't seem so hard, we got this." Callie snorted and replied, "Until they all poop at the same time." Arizona made a face and both women giggled when one of the babies let out a little toot just to remind them it could happen.
Erin and Larry walked into the NICU with a small bag and three car seats, prepared to finally take their family home and found the two surgeons cuddling with their girls. Erin cleared her throat and declared, "You know, any time you two want the extra practice, come on over. In fact, hmmm maybe in about 6 to 8 weeks." Arizona rolled her eyes and quipped, "That sounds like the same time frame I gave you to resume certain activities." Erin looked to the ceiling as if she were trying to recall the conversation and claimed, "Hmm I have no idea what you're talking about. I'll have to check my paperwork." Larry muttered, "Can you not piss off the person who currently has control of our sex life please." Callie laughed and quipped, "Story of my life." Arizona snapped her head to look at her wife who leaned over, kissed her cheek, and replied sweetly, "I wouldn't have it any other way." Erin coughed, "Whipped." Arizona returned the cough with, "Celibate," making the senator snap her mouth shut immediately. The blonde laughed, stood up, put Faith back in her crib, then took one of the babies from Callie and they both returned the girls to their own beds as well.
Arizona stuck her hands in her pockets and offered, "They are all yours mom and dad." She looked at Erin and reminded her, "Your first follow up will be with me, then I will pass you off to Max. All of your paperwork is at the desk right outside. I've already instructed the nurses to help you get the girls to the car." Erin took a deep breath, looked at the empty car seats then at the tiny babies and asked, "Is it…um…it's normal to be scared to take them out of here right?" Arizona looked to Callie and nodded then watched as her wife walked up to the senator and took her hand. Callie remembered this day and aside from the car accident, up to that point, it was one of the scariest days of her life. Looking at the babies, she thought about their own experiences and advised, "It's perfectly normal to be scared. For the first few weeks, everything is going to scare you. Are they breathing too loud? Are they breathing loud enough? Are they eating enough? Are they eating too much? To be honest, that never goes away. The worries just change. Sofia is 8 and we still worry. You'll want to protect them from everything and you'll try to, but sometimes, you just have to let them live and learn. It just means you're a mom, I promise you it gets easier." Erin hugged the ortho surgeon and asked, "Are you sure your sister can't just meet my brother?" Callie chuckled and replied, "I'm pretty sure my sister isn't ready for that yet." Erin let out a sigh then shrugged and said, "I tried."
As Callie and Arizona turned to walk toward the doors, Erin asked, "How far along are you now?" Arizona and Callie both put their hands on her growing baby bump and replied in unison, "Eleven weeks." Erin nodded and reminded her, "Don't forget what I said. If you have anything special you want to do, you've only got a good couple of weeks left." Arizona and Callie smiled at one another and Arizona replied, "That's why we are leaving tonight to take Sofia to Disney World." Erin and Larry both blinked in surprise and Erin squealed with excitement making Callie flinch and two of the babies cry, earning them all nasty looks from the nurses. Erin looked at them apologetically and whispered, "That's so amazing, I'm sure she'll love it." Callie looked down at Arizona and saw that she was nearly coming out of her skin with anticipation and remarked, "I think it's a tie over who will love it more." Arizona tried to glare at her wife but knew she spoke the truth, so she just nodded her head instead. Callie could see the babies were starting to get fussy and said, "It looks like somebody wants to go home. Good luck with everything." Erin hugged both women, Larry shook their hands, then the two surgeons made their way out of the NICU.
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Arizona unlocked her office door and was surprised to see the small table set up with lunch for two, turned to Callie and asked, "Did you do this?" Callie shrugged and answered, "Maybe." Arizona smirked, walked over to the table to see all of her favorite foods and proclaimed, "Well whoever did it deserves a big kiss and maybe some other type of reward." She laughed when Callie walked up behind her and claimed, "In that case, of course it was me." Arizona turned in her arms, lifted her hands to run her fingers through her hair and pulled her in for a long, slow, sexy kiss that hinted at what the 'other reward' might be. Pulling back she caressed Callie's cheek and offered, "Thank you. I'm starving and wasn't sure if I'd have time to order anything before our appointment with Max." Callie walked to the table, pulled out a chair, and suggested, "Well we'd better eat then." Arizona picked up the cup and asked, "Is this?" Callie smiled brightly and replied, "Yes, it's your strawberry, banana, and peanut butter smoothie." Arizona squealed, stuck her straw in the top and took a big drink, making Callie wonder how she didn't get brain freeze.
After unpackaging all of the food, Callie watched in astonishment as Arizona took the lid off of her smoothie and started dipping her fries in it. She'd noticed her wife doing more and more of these little weird food combinations and did her best not to point them out. Popping a fry in her mouth, Callie asked, "So is this just a checkup or do we get to see the babies today?" Arizona smiled at her wife's excitement and replied, "We might get to see them, I'm not sure. Max wants to make sure my blood pressure is still good before we travel, take a few measurements, and I asked for something stronger for the nausea." Callie bit into her burger, nodded in understanding and Arizona asked, "Are you finished for the day?" Callie swallowed and responded, "I finished about 40 minutes ago, ran to the tailor to pickup our stuff, then stopped to get us something for lunch. I figured you'd have a packed schedule and wouldn't get to eat." Arizona smiled and asked, "Did you look at it? How did it turn out?" Callie nodded her head toward the sofa and replied, "It's all over there. They actually look really good, high quality." Arizona beamed at her, took her hand and offered, "I know you think its all kinds of cheesy, but Sofia will love it and I am certain you will look amazing." Callie turned her hand so she could link their fingers and replied, "You know this is going to knock away tons of badass points. They may even take my membership away."
Arizona laughed, stood up, sat on Callie's lap, ran her hands through her hair and replied, "But it's earning you so many brownie points and lots and lots of favors." Callie wrapped her arms around Arizona's middle, pulled her closer into her body, then asked, "Hmm is that so?" Arizona bent her head, brushed their lips together and replied, "Anything you want." Callie ran her hands up and down Arizona's back and admitted, "I have everything I want right here." Arizona nibbled on Callie's bottom lip, ran her tongue along her top lip, gasped when it was sucked into her mouth and she was drawn into a deep languorous kiss filled with love and promise. Pulling back, she rested their heads together and whispered, "Mmm good answer." Callie tapped her hip and commanded, "Let's finish eating so we can get to that appointment." Arizona hopped off Callie's lap, returned to her own seat and nearly devoured her food, just praying that it would stay down.
When they were finished, Arizona paged Max and he asked them to meet him in exam room 2. Arizona got a little excited and suggested, "Ooh, maybe we will get to see the babies, that's one of the rooms with the ultrasound." Callie smiled brightly and asked, "Is it…will we find out today?" Arizona stopped just before opening the door, tilted her head and replied, "It's probably too early to tell, but…do you…is that…do you just want to find out that way?" Callie furrowed her brow and asked, "Uh what other way is there to find out?" Arizona bit her bottom lip nervously, she knew this was odd coming from her, she started pacing and just blurted, "You were right Calliope, I'm not that person, I didn't do baby showers and bridal showers and birthday parties and I just…I never saw the point…but, but that's one of the ways you changed me. You taught me how to celebrate things, to celebrate life and enjoy the things we have and the people around us and…and…I have three tiny humans growing inside me and I want all that…I want the gender reveals and the baby showers and I want you to have that because I know you love those things and I want Sofia to have it, and I want the babies to have it in their little baby scrapbooks and I…I just…I feel stupid for wanting it." She threw up her hands and fought the tears stinging the backs of her eyes. She had no idea where this little outburst just came from, but it was the truth.
Callie stood in the middle of the room and watched as her wife became unraveled about baby showers and gender reveals and bit back her smile. She knew this was just a hormonal outburst, but it made her so damn happy she wanted to laugh. Walking up to her wife who was clearly upset about this, she pulled her close and whispered, "Shh, you know that's not a bad thing right? You don't have to feel stupid for wanting to celebrate the fact that we are having triplets. Yes, I would love a gender reveal, but I don't want you to do it for me." Arizona shook her head and whined, "I'm not, I'm doing it for me too and it makes me feel selfish and stupid and hypocritical because I used to scoff at those things." Callie pulled back, lifted Arizona's chin so she could look her in the eye and replied, "You are none of those things. It's just like you said, you've changed, people do that, if they didn't, if we didn't, we wouldn't be here together today talking about gender reveals and baby showers. You're a mom, you're entitled to those things." Arizona sniffled, laid her head on Callie's chest and asked, "It's not stupid?" Callie chuckled and replied, "No baby, it's not stupid and our family and friends will absolutely love sharing that moment with us." Arizona stepped back, wiped her face, then started laughing, "I'm a hormone casserole." Callie laughed, pinched her fingers together and replied, "Just a little." Arizona kissed her wife chastely, then started for the door so they could get to their appointment.
Max was already in the room waiting for them when they arrived, noticed the redness in his chief's eyes and asked, "Is everything okay?" Arizona nodded and replied, "Hormones." The other surgeon smiled and suggested, "Well how about we take a quick look, then you two can get out of here and take your daughter to the most magical place on Earth." Callie helped Arizona up on the table and asked, "Do you need her to change or anything?" Arizona glared at her and Max put the blood pressure cuff on her arm and replied, "Nope, first of all, I don't want that look aimed at me, and secondly, if I need to do an ultrasound, I can do it externally now." Both women watched the readings on the monitor and breathed a sigh of relief when it fell within the normal range. Max tapped the numbers into his tablet and commented, "It's actually been down the last couple of times we checked it, so that makes me very happy."
He took out a measuring tape and without being asked, Arizona lifted her shirt so he could measure from the top of her stomach to the bottom, then around her middle. He tapped those numbers into the tablet as well and said, "You asked for something a little stronger, have you been sick a lot?" Arizona nodded and replied, "Nearly every day for the past two weeks. Well, the middle of the night or early morning mostly." Max nodded, tapped something into his tablet and replied, "I'm going to switch you to Raglan and see how you do with that." Arizona smiled and answered, "That's what I was going to request, thank you." The OB smiled, looked at the two women who had become his friends and asked, "Would you like to take a peek and see how they are getting along in there?" Callie's mega-watt smile lit up her face and Arizona nodded her head emphatically making him laugh at their excitement. He reminded them, "We won't be able to tell the gender or anything yet, but we can check their positioning and this is the 4D, which my boss asks us to use sparingly, so you should be able to make out more of their little features." Arizona narrowed her eyes at him playfully and nodded for him to continue.
Arizona laid back on the table, lifted her shirt, and Max handed her one of the blue paper drapes to tuck into the waistband of her scrubs and pull them down. When he picked up the bottle of gel she quipped, "Let me guess, it's going to be a little cool." Max shook his head and replied, "Nope, this shit is going to be cold." Arizona giggled and replied, "Thanks for your honesty." She bit the inside of her cheek for a minute then asked, "Can you keep the monitor facing you first? I want you to make sure you can't make out the gender, we are going to have a reveal so we don't want to know yet." Max turned the monitor toward himself and started moving the wand around and asked, "So are you against men at these things? No one ever considers their gay man friends might want to attend baby showers and stuff." Callie and Arizona both looked at him in surprise and Callie replied first, "We'd love to have you join us. We are totally equal opportunity gift receivers." Arizona and Max both laughed and Arizona added, "You and Michael are certainly more than welcome." The OB checked all three babies knowing the chance at seeing the gender at this point was slim, then turned the monitor towards the expectant mothers and revealed, "There they are, all snug in their little home."
Callie was sitting next to Arizona holding her hand and as soon as the monitor was turned in their direction, they both gasped. Arizona whispered, "Oh my God." Callie had tears running down her face and exclaimed, "Look at them honey, you can see their little arms and legs. Oh and the twins look like a teeny tiny yin and yang." She turned to look at her wife and could see Arizona was crying as well and just staring at the monitor. Getting worried for a moment, she squeezed her hand and asked, "Honey, are they…is everything okay?" Arizona looked at her, popped her dimples, and replied, "They are perfect Callie. Amazing, beautiful, and perfect." Max quickly took measurements of each fetus and agreed, "They are all exactly where they should be in size at this point of gestation. Their placement is good and they look to be happy as little clams." Callie leaned down toward Arizona's stomach and whispered, "Hi babies, we can see you. You are all so gorgeous." Arizona watched in amazement as all three babies started moving and she felt that warm tingling feeling again. Tapping Callie's shoulder, she whispered, "Look at the monitor and talk to them again." Callie furrowed her brows in confusion, looked at her wife, then leaned back down and kept her eye on the monitor as she said, "You're all getting so big. I can see your little arms and legs and mommy says you're almost the size of a lime now." She stopped when she noticed their little arms and legs making jerky movements and the single baby actually turned over as if she were trying to find the sound. Callie's tears were flowing down her cheeks and she said in awe, "They know my voice." Max was a little choked up himself and admitted, "I've got to say, I've been doing this a lot of years and I rarely see that at this point in a pregnancy."
Callie looked back up at Arizona and neither thought they could get more emotional until Max turned on the volume and they heard the whooshing sounds of their little heartbeats. Printing off a few pictures, Max turned off the machine, cleaned the wand, and declared, "If every appointment is going to be this emotional, I'm not sure I can take it." Both women chuckled as Callie stood up and wiped the gel from Arizona's abdomen then helped her sit up. Arizona took the pictures Max offered then laughed when he looked at Callie and said, "But at least you stayed upright this visit." Callie rolled her eyes and retorted, "Ha ha. I'd like to see how you'd respond to triplets." Max laughed and replied, "If Michael or I had triplets, I would be laughing all the way to the bank because that would be an absolute miracle." All three surgeons started laughing then Max sobered and proclaimed, "You are good to go. Stop by the pharmacy to pick up your medication and I will see you when you get back." Both women hugged the OB then left the exam room. Callie suggested, "I'll run to the pharmacy really quick and you start getting ready. We don't have much time before we have to pick up Sof." Arizona smiled, kissed her cheek, then headed to her office.
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Sofia sat in her desk at school watching the clock. She only had ten more minutes before her mommies were supposed to come get her. She was getting more and more excited as the day went by. Mommy said they had someplace special to be and she knew it had to be super special because they never let her miss school and they always had to work most days until 5 or 6 o'clock. She could hardly focus all day because she was trying to guess what it could be. She knew it wasn't anyone's birthday, none of her grandparents or Tia Aria said anything about coming to visit, so she was out of guesses. Her head snapped up when she heard the classroom phone ring and saw her teacher look in her direction and smile. She wiggled in her seat until she heard Ms. Mason say, "Sofia, your moms are here to pick you up for the day." Sofia smiled at her teacher, quickly packed her things, grabbed her coat and left the classroom. She really wanted to run all the way to the office, but she didn't want to get into trouble, especially since her mommies were here for something special and she didn't want to disappoint them.
When she finally reached the office which was the longest walk ever, Sofia was confused. She didn't see her mommies but standing at the secretary's desk with their back to her were two people in very strange clothes. She opened the door and the two people turned around and she gasped when she saw that it was her mommy dressed like Cinderella in a beautiful blue sparkly dress and she even had the long white gloves on and her shoes were sparkly and looked like glass. Standing next to her was her mama dressed like Prince Charming with the white coat with all the gold decorations and the red pants with the gold stripe. She just stared at her moms and wondered why they were all dressed up like this. Standing in the doorway of the school office, she gripped the doorknob and asked, "Mommies, why are you…what's…" She shook her head and just stared at them in confusion. Her mama walked up to her, took her hand and replied, "Princess Sofia, you are cordially invited to join us at the Magic Kingdom for the weekend." Sofia looked from her mommy Cinderella to her mama Prince Charming and finally put it together and squealed, "Magic Kingdom? We're going to Disney World?" Everyone in the office clapped and cheered for her and Arizona replied, "We are and your chariot awaits your highness." Sofia threw herself at both moms and exclaimed, "Thank you, thank you, thank you," over and over again. As they walked out of the school, Sofia held tightly to both of her mom's hands and declared, "This is the best surprise EVER!"
As soon as they got into the car, Sofia started peppering her parents with questions, "Why are we going to Disney World? Why are you dressed like that? Do I have a special dress? What are we going to do when we get there? Where are we staying? How long will we be gone?" Both women laughed at their daughter's excitement and Arizona attempted to answer her questions in order while Callie drove them to the airport. Looking back at the little girl who was nearly bouncing in her seat, Arizona replied, "We are going to Disney World because mama and I have never taken you on a vacation together and we wanted to do something very special that you could always remember. We are dressed like this because we wanted to surprise you and we are going to change on the plane so we don't mess them up. You do have a special dress and as soon as we get settled into the hotel and cleaned up, we are going to all get dressed up in these special clothes and have dinner at the resort with some very special people. We are staying inside the park at the Polynesian Resort and we are coming back Monday. We figured we could spend Friday and Saturday in Disney World and let you decide what you wanted to do on Sunday. We could go to another park, hang out at the hotel, go to the beach, it's your choice." Sofia still couldn't believe it and asked again, "We're really going to Disney World? Just like that? I get to miss school and everything?" Callie laughed and replied, "We are really going to Disney World…just like that." Sofia clapped and kicked her feet in the air as she squealed with excitement.
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Since their hotel was in the park and they had access to all of the other parks via shuttle, sky rider, or even by boat, Callie and Arizona decided not to bother with renting a car and only chose to hire a car to take them to the resort. When they arrived and started driving through the massive park, all three of them gasped at the view. Sofia exclaimed, "It's so big! There's just so much." Both women looked at their daughter and could only liken her to a cartoon character with her eyes bulging out of her head at the moment. When the car stopped directly in front of the doors for their resort, Sofia declared, "It looks like an island, like where Moana would live or…or Lilo and Stitch." Arizona took her daughters hand and tried to move her out of the way of the bellhop who was pushing the cart with their luggage through the doors and prompted, "Come on sweetie, we need to go check in now." She turned to find her wife and laughed out loud when she noticed she had the exact same look of awe on her face as their daughter did. Both Latinas stood in front of the hotel with their mouths agape turning in circles trying to take everything in. Arizona took both of their hands and led them to the front desk. As soon as they were checked in, the concierge rounded the desk and placed leis around the neck of each guest and offered, "Welcome to the Polynesian Resort. We hope you enjoy your stay." He handed Callie and Arizona each a key card then reached behind the desk and pulled out a medium sized gift basket for Sofia handed it to her and said, "Enjoy your stay princess."
Once they reached their suite, Sofia burst into the room and had to check out everything. She opened the first door and found the bathroom, then opened the next door and gasped then looked at her moms and asked, "I get my own room?" Without waiting for an answer, she ran into the bedroom and threw herself onto the soft queen-sized bed. Walking further into the room, Callie noticed there was also a large gift basket for them sitting on the small table near the window and pointed it out to Arizona, "Look honey, it looks like we get our own gift as well." Arizona crossed the room and started to open the basket when she looked out the window and exclaimed, "Callie, Sof, come look at this." They both ran to join the blonde and all three of them oohed and ahhed as they looked down over the Magic Kingdom. Sofia squealed, "We can see everything! Look at all the rides." Callie wrapped her arms around both of her girls and said, "I bet it's gorgeous when it gets dark." Sofia jumped up and down and asked, "Is that where we are going tomorrow?" Arizona nodded and replied, "It sure is big girl."
Sofia clapped her hands, glanced at the table to see the basket and was reminded of her own gift basket and ran to collect it from the dresser. Bringing it back, she suggested, "Let's open them together." Both parents agreed and Arizona let Callie do the honors. Taking off the cellophane wrapping at the same time, both Sofia and Callie let out an excited, "Oooh." Reaching into her basket, Sofia found several treats with various Disney characters and princesses on the packaging, a water bottle with the logo from the resort on it, a pair of sunglasses with little Moana's on the rims, a Disney World t-shirt with all of the princesses on it, and a special lanyard with some cards in it. Taking out the cards and handing them to Callie, she asked, "What are these?" Callie and Arizona paid for a special package so they already knew what was in their daughter's basket, but she couldn't wait to tell her what the passes were for. Looking to Arizona, Callie asked, "Mama, do you want to tell her?" Arizona smiled, took the cards and replied, "Well this first one has tokens on it so you can play in the hotel arcade. This second one is a speed pass so you can jump to the front of the line on certain rides. This third one is a special pass that will let you go backstage to some of the shows and see the actors or characters." Sofia jumped up and down again and pumped her fist in the air. She then looked at her parents' basket and asked, "What did you get?"
Callie looked at the basket and pulled out two lanyards with the same passes, two travel coffee mugs with the resort's logo, some bath salts, lotions, two t-shirts also with the resort logo, and some very fancy chocolates along with other snacks and treats. When she finished unpacking their basket, Sofia asked, "When do I get to see my dress? What do we need it for?" Arizona looked at the clock in the room and replied, "You get to see it right now and we need it to wear to dinner." Sofia followed Arizona to the closet where the bellhop put their things and was bouncing on her toes waiting for Arizona to show her the dress. Before her mommy could unzip the bag she asked, "Is it Elsa? Ooh no, Belle, cuz of my brown hair, or Moana…hurry mommy, show me." Callie laughed and commented, "Yeah, I don't think she's really that into it Arizona, maybe she should just where her regular clothes." Sofia spun around, put her hands on her hips and glared at her making Arizona mutter, "Now that's a Torres glare if I've ever seen one." Callie arched her brow, held up her hands and admitted, "Am I that intimidating when I do that? No wonder people are afraid of me." Arizona chuckled, pulled out a long yellow ball gown and proclaimed, "You guessed it kiddo, we picked Belle because of your dark hair but also because she's one of my favorites." Sofia let out a yelp, took the dress, hugged it close to her body and sighed, "It's perfect."
After all three of them were dressed, they left the room to go down to the main dining room. Callie was relieved to find that other adults had also indulged their children or their partners and were dressed up as well. While they were waiting in line for the hostess to seat them, she looked around and listened as she heard some of the classic Disney songs being piped through the speakers. She smiled when she saw both Arizona and Sofia beaming with excitement. They truly did look like princesses and she would dress up like a prince any day of the week to see that look on their faces. Arizona grabbed her arm and exclaimed, "Calliope look, it's so beautiful, it looks just like a ballroom. Oh and look at that, there's pictures and figures of characters from all the classics." Callie took her daughter's hand, pointed to a picture of Belle and said, "Look Sof, it's you." Sofia just looked all over the room trying to take everything in, it was all so pretty. She watched as a lady dressed like Tinkerbell walked up and asked her mommy for their name then they all followed her to a table. She looked around and asked, "What is that big rectangle table for? Why isn't anyone sitting there?"
Before her mama could answer her, Sofia heard a loud trumpet then looked toward the noise and saw a man in a suit kind of like her mama's standing by the door. She looked at her mommies then back at the man and listened as he announced, "Hear Ye, Hear Ye, please rise for the guests of honor, Princess Aurora, Princess Snow White, Princess Cinderella, Princess Jasmine, Princess Ariel, Princess Belle, Princess Ana, and Queen Elsa." Sofia stood when her mothers prompted her to but she couldn't take her eyes off the parade of princesses walking right in front of her so close she could touch them. She started shaking when one of the princesses stopped right in front of her, took her hand and said sweetly, "My, my, aren't you a beautiful little Belle. You aren't trying to take my job are you?" Sofia shook her head back and forth and stammered, "No, no ma'am, you're the best princess ever. My mommy loves you." The beautiful princess smiled, looked at the two proud parents and asked, "Would you mind taking a picture of me and my new friend?" Callie rushed to take out her phone, took a few pictures, and thanked the princess for making her daughter's day. As soon as Belle left, Sofia rushed to Callie's side and pestered, "Let me see, let me see. Did you hear her? She called me her new friend. Mommies I'm friends with a real live princess!" Arizona smiled at her daughter and answered, "You sure are big girl."
After the princesses mingled with the crowd for a bit, they took their seats at the large table and the lights went dim. Sofia looked at her mommies and asked, "What's happening?" Callie shrugged her shoulders, smirked, and replied, "I don't know, we will just have to wait." In the corner of the room, A spotlight landed on a figure dressed in gold and he started singing, "Be Our Guest," and was soon joined by the entire wait staff all dressed as characters from Beauty and the Beast as they delivered the first course. Throughout the four course meal, the waitstaff came out dressed as characters from different princess movies singing one of the famous songs and all the kids and many of the adults, including Callie and Arizona sang along. After dinner there was more mingling with the princesses and Cinderella joined their table and took pictures with all three of them. By the time dinner was finished and it was time to go back to their room, Sofia had gotten a picture with each of the princesses as well as Queen Elsa. Each child also got their own tiara or crown to wear and take with them. As soon as they were passed out, Sofia asked Arizona to put it on her and both women knew that thing wasn't coming off any time soon.
Once they returned to their room and put on their pajamas, they found that they were just in time to see the fireworks from Main Street. Callie stood with her arm around her wife and Sofia stood in front of them barely able to hold herself up and finally gave in and leaned against her mama. After the fireworks were over, Callie declared, "Okay princess, time to get to bed, we have a busy few days ahead of us." Without any fight whatsoever, Sofia nodded, kissed both of her parents on the cheek, kissed Arizona's belly, looked up and said, "Thank you for the best surprise ever. I love you." Arizona kissed the top of her head and returned, "We love you too. Sleep well big girl." Callie patted her bottom as she walked by and went straight into her room and crawled into bed.
Callie stepped up behind Arizona, wrapped her arms around her middle, kissed her neck and asked, "How are you feeling?" Arizona leaned her head back on Callie's shoulder and replied, "Exhausted. Are you ready to sleep?" Callie nodded and responded, "Most definitely and I know that one in there isn't going to sleep in at all." Arizona pulled Callie toward the bedroom, went straight to the bed, pulled down the covers, sat down and took off her leg. Callie asked, "Did you bring the wrap or do you need me to go get some ice?" Arizona yawned, laid down and murmured, "It's in the front pocket of the suitcase." Callie smiled at her sleepy wife and knew by the time she returned with the wrap she would be down for the count. After getting the wrap, she checked on Sofia, closed the door leaving a small crack so they could hear her, then went to their room and found Arizona already snoring softly. Pulling back the covers, she was relieved to see the swelling wasn't too bad and carefully wrapped her leg, turned on the compression, set the temperature to cool it down and went to her own side of the bed, crawled in and let out a sigh of relief when her head hit the pillow. She turned off the bedside lamp and smiled when Arizona curled into her body and murmured, "Goodnight my prince."
A/N: Thank you all for sticking with me.
All rights belong to Shonda, ABC, or Disney.