Sorry this took a while. I always write a few chapters ahead and I've been struggling with the one I'm on. Anyways, here is a chapter.

Arizona POV

Amelia and I hurry out of work and towards the car to get to Sofia's school for parents evening. We both know that being a doctor comes with the crazy schedule, but it has always been important for me to make sure I do all the things that the other kids mom's do, whether that is going to fundraising events or parent teacher conferences. Amelia asks me for the millionth time if I'm still okay with her coming along, to which of course I answer yes. She is one of Sofia's guardians and deserves the right to come to such events. I'm not concerned at all about her presence.

When we arrive at the school Sofia is waiting for us in the doorway of the main reception. "Mom, Amy, we are going to be late, come on." Sofia tells us and I look to my watch. We still have ten minutes until her first appointment but I don't see the point in arguing, instead we simply follow where she leads.

"Which teacher have we got first Sof?" I ask and she hands me her appointment card that she had filled in and I see 'languages'. When the teacher says Sofia's name Amelia looks at me and I take her hand. She seems a little nervous, and I make a mental note to check in with her once we have spoken to the teacher.

"Who have you brought with you today Sofia?" The teacher asks and I try to not to laugh. Its something that has happened before, when people aren't sure of a relationship status they ask the child to make it seem more 'normal'. It doesn't bother me.

"This is my Mom and this is Amy, her girlfriend. She lives with us." Sof grins as she explains.

"It's nice to meet you both. So I'd like to start by saying Sofia is an amazing young girl, her English and Spanish language skills are amazing. She is the only one in her class to be fluent in Spanish, and spends a lot of the lessons helping the other students in improving their Spanish skills. However, I was wondering how you would feel about switching her to our German class. I don't think Sofia is benefitting much, learning at 5th grade level Spanish. Of course she will still be able to take Spanish in high school for credits, but another language may broaden her horizons for now." The teacher explains, looking to us and then to Sofia.

"What do you think about that hun? You want to learn some German instead?" I ask Sofia, who shakes her head a little.

"The other kids are too far ahead in German, they have done it all year. I'll never catch up." My daughter says quietly, clearly anxious about the topic.

"I can help with German." Amelia states and we both look towards her.

"You speak German?" I ask, a little shocked that this topic hadn't come up before.

"Ich spreche ein wenig Deutsch" Amelia responds with a grin.

"I have no idea what you just said." I tell Amelia, and Sofia laughs at the strange words coming out of Amelia's mouth.

"I said 'I speak a little German'. I'm sure we could catch you up together if you wanted to." Amelia explains placing a hand on our daughters shoulder.

"I know it's a little scary, but we only want to help you learn. In Spanish you teach us when we are the ones supposed to be teaching you." Her teacher chips in.

"And if you learn German we can have secret conversations!" Amelia points out which makes Sofia laugh.

"Hmm, I'm not sure how I feel about that. Maybe you have to teach me too." I state, knowing that it's unlikely I would have time to pick up another language, but wanting Sofia to feel more comfortable around the idea. "Why don't we think about it, huh?" I offer and both Sofia and her teacher agree it's a good idea.

When we stand up, I give Amelia's hand a quick squeeze and she turns her head to look at me.

"You okay?" I ask discreetly, acknowledging that we are in a public place and she may not feel comfortable talking here.

"Yeah. Of course. Just, not really sure what to do. I've never been to one of these before."

"We just follow Sofia to where we need to go and have a chat with the teacher about her progress. Nothing to be anxious about." Amelia nods her head a little to show her understanding, but she is clearly still nervous. "Where to next Sof?" I ask my daughter, but make sure to keep an eye on my girlfriend, keeping her hand in my own as we follow my daughter through the hallways.

The rest of the meetings go just as planned. Sofia managed to introduce Amelia to her art teacher, telling her teacher that she wants her drawings to be as good as my girlfriends some day. Sofia is excelling in Science and Math, something that is unsurprising considering both her biological heritage and her upbringing. A lot of the teachers admitted they were concerned about catching Sofia up due to her transfer from New York mid school year, but they were all pleasantly surprised by her depth of knowledge and willingness to learn.

Just as we are about to leave, I am pulled aside by a teacher who we hadn't spoken to. She asks if we can have a moment to talk without Sofia around. Amelia quickly picks up on the cue and takes Sofia outside to distract her.

"Miss…" The teacher begins.

"Robbins, but call me Arizona please." I fill in the gap.

"Arizona, I'm Miss Thomas, Sofia's home room teacher."

"Hi, nice to meet you. Is everything okay? Has Sof done something wrong?" I ask, hinting that I need a little more information for a conversation to take place.

"No, it's nothing like that. Sofia is an angel, but I have noticed she has been having some issues with a few kids in the class. I have intervened several times when some of the other students have been making rude comments about your home life, and sexuality. I spoke to your daughter several times and she insisted each time that she was okay and didn't want the kids to get in trouble. Of course I made sure they apologised and gave them lunchtime detentions, I just wanted you to know what has been going on."

"Of course, thank you so much for telling me. She hasn't mentioned anything but I will make sure to ask her about what happened." I respond, a little shocked about the information I had just received.

Once we are all in the car, I turn around to speak to my daughter. "Sof, your homeroom teacher mentioned a couple of kids were making some mean comments to you, are you okay?"

"I'm fine. I told Miss Thomas I was fine too. They didn't upset me. I know that you and Mama and Amy love me and I don't care what they say."

"Honey how long has this been going on for?"

"Since I moved back here, but really I'm okay. Me and Zola just ignore them and play our own games."

"Y'know, when the other kids are mean you can tell the teacher right? You don't have to wait for the teacher to interrupt on her own."

"But I didn't want them to get in trouble."

"Why not? They were being mean."

"Jamie's parents are fighting all the time, and his dad is moving out and he's sad. And Hannah's little sister has cancer and her parents are always at the hospital with her. They're both just mad that I am happy at home. I don't think they're always mean, I think they're just sad."

"That's very smart of you, and you're right, it may just be because they're jealous, but that doesn't make it okay. It's never okay to be mean to people." I explain and my daughter nods. "I'm proud of you for being so understanding baby, but I don't want them being mean to you either."

"They don't say mean things about me, just about you. I told them that it doesn't matter who you love as long as they're kind and love you too. He didn't really have anything to say after that." Sofia explains calmly. I feel awful that I'm the reason she is being tormented, but I'm also extremely proud of her. Her rational responses to the problems raised, and her understanding of other people's emotional situations. I'm proud to have raised such a caring child.

"Y'know Sof, when I was younger, some people would say mean things about my family, and even though it wasn't about me it still hurt a little bit, and that's okay too." Amelia tells our daughter quietly with a sad smile.

"It made me a little sad at first but it really doesn't anymore. I just wish they would understand that it doesn't matter if you're a boy or a girl. Can we go home now?"

"Sure thing baby. Just remember we are here if you want to talk about? We both love you so much."

"I know. I love you Mom. And I love you too Amy."

Amelia POV

When we arrive back at our apartment, Sofia runs straight to her room to put her bags down. I follow in her direction, moving to sit on the edge of her bed. "Come here, kiddo." I instruct, holding my arms open for a hug. "I'm so proud of you for doing so well in school." I continue.

"I didn't do anything special. I just do all my work."

"No, you try really hard when you do all your work, and that means you get really good grades, and your teacher said you liked to help other kids with their Spanish. That is something to be proud of."

"Yeah. I like helping the other kids, that's why German sounds scary. I don't know anything. I don't know if I can learn it all." She responds timidly.

"I felt a little bit like that when I started med school, and look how good I am now." I joke, pulling her into my side.

"Yeah. You're the best neurosurgeon I know."

"Hey, I'm the only neurosurgeon you know." I retort, tickling her sides.

"No. I know some of the ones in New York. You're definitely the best."

"Well then, thank you. And you know that it doesn't matter if you struggle with German, as long as you try your hardest it doesn't matter. Me and your Mom and your Mama are already so proud of you." I iterate, making sure to look into her eyes.

"Really?"

"Definitely. How about pizza for dinner? To celebrate how good your teachers said you were."

"Can I have pepperoni?" Sofia asks with a small grin.

"Sure"

After a few moments of cuddles I get up to leave Sofia's room. Just as I am approaching the door, I hear her call my name. "Amelia, could you tell my Mom that I'm okay? The kids at school really don't bother me. I don't want her to be sad."

"I know, I don't want her to be sad either, but she is allowed to worry about you. Something I have learned about your mom, is that she worries more when you don't tell her things. If you tell her about these things when they happen, then she doesn't have to worry now because she knows everything already. " I reveal. In my experience, I know Arizona worries more when I hold things back, when I won't talk to her.

"I know. I just didn't want Mom to think it's her fault."

"We know it's not our fault okay, but that doesn't mean we don't want to know about these things. You're allowed to have your own thoughts and feelings, but with things like this it's important that you talk to us okay?"

"I'm sorry." The young girl whispers quietly, wrapping her arms around me, tighter than before.

"It's okay. Come on, let's go tell your Mom we are ordering pizza before she starts making dinner."

Sofia's mood seems to slowly increase, getting back to her usually bubbly self. Arizona and I try to avoid the topic of school, knowing that the young girl has probably had enough of the topic for one day. As the day comes to an end, Sofia gives me a hug before asking her Mom to help tuck her in. It's rare that she asks for the company on a night, usually she says goodnight in the living room before heading to bed to read for a small while, but neither Arizona or I rise to the change. While my girlfriend is gone, I take the pizza box from the coffee table to put the leftovers in the fridge before heading back to the couch and turning on the TV.

"Hey, Sof okay?" I ask Arizona as she walks toward me about 20 minutes later.

"She said that she was sorry for keeping things from me and that she didn't realise that would make me more sad until you explained it to her. What did you say? She wasn't making complete sense."

"She asked me to tell you that she was fine, and that the kids didn't bother her but I told her to tell you herself. I also explained that you worry more when I don't talk to you than when I do, and that maybe she should talk to you before you have the chance to worry." I tell my girlfriend simply, talking her hand in my own as she sits down beside me.

"I get why she didn't want to talk to us, but why do you think she felt she could speak to you and not me? I'm glad she has you, really I am, but it still hurts a little that she chose you over me."

"She specifically stated that she didn't want to upset you, rather than us as a couple. I'm presuming it's probably linked to what exactly the kids are saying. You are an amazing Mom for her Arizona, no one can replace you in her life."

"I know that. I know you're not trying to replace me. I just want to understand."

"You remember when we first met, and I would get a little emotional when you found things out about me, especially at first, but it was rare that things would spiral out of control while we were taking." I begin, and Arizona twists her body to lean into my arms.

"What about it?"

"Well, when I talked to Addison, it hurt so much more and I had more extreme reactions and it was just harder in general, because we have so much history. I think it's kinda like that. I'm the new person in the house, so it's easier to talk to me. It's definitely not a reflection of your relationship."

"You're probably right."

"Of course I am, I'm a genius, remember." I tell Arizona sarcastically, referring to Sofia's words earlier in the day.

"Yeah, you're my genius."