A/N: Okay so I know it's been a really long time since I updated (I am so sorry!) but here is the last chapter! I don't really have any good reasons besides life got in the way but I'm fine and everything is fine. I hope there's no mistakes. I've had this written for ages but I felt it was very rushed, and I still feel that way but I wasn't sure how to change that and I didn't want it to drag on. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this!
Chapter 20:
Sitting at Teddy's kitchen table, Arizona fiddled with the leaves of a plant sitting in the middle of the table. It had been almost 3 months since she last saw Callie. True to her word, she didn't go back to the hospital, even though it was all she wanted to do. At first, she tried messaging Callie to see how she was but all she got back in return was silence. It took all of her self-control to not drive to Callie's house to check on her. It had gotten easier since those first few weeks, but Callie and Sofia were still in the back of her mind.
"Have you heard from her," Teddy asked as she handed over a cup of coffee to her best friend.
Taking a sip, Arizona waited until Teddy was sitting down before answering. "No, I haven't."
"So, you have no idea how Sofia is?"
It wasn't that she didn't know how Sofia was, she just didn't have a lot of details. She'd tried calling in some favours at the hospital to find out how Sofia was, but she only ever got that she was stable. Mark had messaged quite a bit in the beginning, but now he was back home and didn't have as much time to be constantly keeping Arizona updated. The last message had been to let Arizona know that the doctor said she would make a full recovery.
"Mark sends me updates every now and then. I haven't had one in a few weeks," Arizona confirmed, taking a sip from her coffee. "I know she's well enough to be completing school assignments."
Teddy watched Arizona as they talked. She could tell that Arizona was trying to be strong, trying to pretend that the complete lack of communication wasn't getting to her. Her eyes always gave her away. The blue in her eyes always changed depending on her emotions. Teddy was always able to read when Arizona was hiding something.
"I think you should call her," Henry chimed in as he joined the two at the table.
"Callie explicitly asked me not," Arizona answered with a roll of her eyes. "And I agreed. It's what best for us."
"Do you love her," Henry asked.
"Of course, but this is what we both want."
"Liar," Teddy said quickly.
"Uh, I am not lying," Arizona scoffed.
"Yes, you are," Teddy argued. "She is," she said to Henry.
"I think if you love someone, you should tell them. Who knows what could happen?" Henry mused.
"She said she didn't want to see me again," Arizona pointed out. "Can we just stop talking about Callie please?"
"Fine, but don't think I'll drop it forever. We care about you Arizona. We want you to be happy and you were happy, with Callie, that's all," Teddy conceded.
"Thanks," Arizona said quietly.
If she was honest with her friends, Arizona would have told them that she had driven down Callie's street more times than she would like to admit. She never stopped, just drove slow enough to observe. She would tell herself she was just checking in on them. It gave her some comfort. Since Mark had left, there were very rarely any lights on, which meant that Sofia was still in hospital. There had been a few times, early on, that she had been able to get a glimpse of Callie, but this secret would go with her to her grave.
No one had ever hurt the way Callie had. She felt like part of her had died and yet, she still loved Callie. As hard as tried to hate Callie, Arizona just couldn't.
Sitting on her hospital bed, Sofia was eagerly waiting for the doctors to come in. Today could possibly be the day she was allowed to go home. Being stuck in bed for months was not Sofia's idea of fun. She was sick of only being allowed up for regular walks around the ward with assistance or physical therapy. It wasn't like her legs didn't work, just that her muscles had atrophied from lying down and her brain decided that her legs didn't need to be communicated with for a while. She missed her house and her bed and going to school. Her friends came to visit most days, but it wasn't the same.
After bugging her mother after a month, Callie organised for the school to email her work. It wasn't the same, but it kept her busy while she was bed-bound. Sofia had resisted the urge to email Arizona multiple times. It would be so easy to just reply to an email about her schoolwork and ask her how she was. Her friends had kept her up to date with all the gossip from school, including that Arizona had been spotted talking to a strange woman after school multiple times. Unfortunately, Callie had walked in right as Abbi was sharing that piece of news with her. Her mother pretended to be fine, but Sofia could see in her eyes how sad the information had made her.
It didn't make any sense to Sofia. If Callie was so upset by the news, why didn't she do anything about it? It was her choice to push Arizona away and they both knew that if Callie reached out, she could fix it. Instead, Callie sulked for a few days before declaring that she was ready to move on. Both Mark and Sofia laughed at her when she said this which only made Callie more determined. It took one date and they never mentioned it again, all three of them knowing that Callie would never be over Arizona, that Callie was filled with regret over how everything happened.
"They're just checking your scans one more time before they come and let us know," Callie said to her daughter as she walked in the room. "Dad wants us to call him while the doctors talk to us."
"Surely they know those scans back to front by now," Sofia joked.
"Alex wants to double check and make sure you're all good. You know how he is," Callie answered.
"Yeah. I just want to go home. I'm sick of being in hospital," Sofia whined.
"I know, Mija. I saw the last scans, I'm confident we're going home," Callie smiled.
Sofia watched as her mother walked over and sat on the edge of the bed. She could tell her mother was trying to be strong, trying to hold it together for her daughter. Since their break-up, Callie hadn't had time to mourn the loss. All her time and energy went into Sofia, making sure Sofia was alive or going to physical therapy or recovering from surgery. It can't have been easy.
"Thanks, Mama," Sofia said softly, holding Callie's hands.
"For what?"
"Being here with me all the time and looking after me."
"I'm your mother, it's my job," Callie chuckled.
"I know but still, thanks. I appreciate it and I love you," Sofia smiled. "It can't have been easy with everything else going on."
"I'm just glad you're alive and okay," Callie smiled back at her daughter.
Ever since the shooting, Sofia had more appreciation for her parents and everything life had thrown at her. After waking up, Alex had filled her in on everything had happened, it was shocking. She was so close to losing it all. Never again would Sofia take anything in life for granted. Especially the ones she loved.
"Me too Mama, me too," Sofia smiled.
"Dr Robbins!"
Arizona heard name being called out and excused herself from the conversation she was having with one of her teachers. She recognised that voice immediately, hearing it often when she was teaching or when Sofia had brought friends home. Standing up tall, Arizona promised herself that she would never let her personal life affect her professional one.
"Naomi," Arizona smiled, "Everything alright?"
"Uh yeah. I just, I wanted to tell you that Sofia was okay. I don't know if anyone has told you anything but she's doing really well. Up and walking and being, well, Sofia. She's getting out of hospital," Naomi said quietly.
"Oh," Arizona gasped, taken by surprise. "Thanks… thank you for telling me."
"No problem. I know Sofia would love to see you," Naomi smiled. "See you in class."
Arizona was confused. Naomi had never really spoken to her without Sofia. Had Sofia set this up; told her friends to tell their principal that she was okay? She had never gotten to thank Sofia for saving her life. Since their breakup in the hospital, Arizona hadn't been brave enough to even try. They had ended things on good terms but the more Arizona thought about everything that happened, the more the anger started to build up deep inside her. They had ended things on Calliope's term. Everything had been on Callie's terms, never her own. She had been so smitten that she hadn't thought anything of it. Arizona would have done anything Callie asked. In fact, she pretty much did. Now the question was, who was she most angry at? Callie or herself?
After the Alex showed Sofia her scans and went over physical therapy schedule for 10th time, he finally signed her discharged papers. Mark and Callie questioned everything to ensure that she was right to leave without problems. Mark had made Sofia FaceTime him until she was home. Once they were home, Callie made him hang up so that Sofia had no distractions while she moved from the car to the house. It was nice that her parents were being so thorough, but Sofia was ready to have some independence back in her life.
"Okay so until you can walk up the stairs on your own, I've moved your bedroom into the living room," Callie told Sofia has she helped her into the house.
"Remind me again why I can't get one of those chairs that takes you up the stairs?"
"Because this is only temporary," Callie reminded her daughter. "And you have to practice, build up your strength."
"Fine," Sofia groaned, "at least I'm close to the snacks."
"I don't want you spending too long standing at the fridge," Callie joked as put Sofia's bags down near the mattress on the floor.
"Do you want me to use my legs or not," Sofia laughed back.
Ever since they got home, there had been this weird feeling. Sofia thought back to the last time they had all been together in the house, Sofia, Mark, Callie and Arizona. They had laughed, eaten dinner together and been happy. Grief washed over Sofia at the thought of those last memories. It had all come crashing and everything had been worse without Arizona.
She was sure her mum had been thinking the same thing. As soon as they were home, there was a different feeling in the air. It was like, now that Sofia was okay, reality had set in and the joy wasn't there as much. Her mother tried to fake it, for Sofia's sake, but Sofia could see right through the act. There hadn't been happy conversations around the dinner table or singing and dancing around the house while they cooked and cleaned. Sofia laid awake at night remembering those happy times. These thoughts helped her fall asleep most nights.
While Callie had been out getting some groceries, Sofia had been psyching herself up to bring up Arizona. She wasn't quite sure what she was going to say but they had awkwardly avoided the topic for weeks now. She heard the front door open and knew that this was as good as time as any. She watched as Callie entered the house with full bags, her eyebrows furrowed downwards, a sign that Callie was not in a good mood.
Sofia followed her mother into the kitchen, taking a seat on one of the stools at the kitchen bench. Before she could stop herself, the words flew from her mouth. As soon as she said them, she knew it would start a fight, something she didn't want to do right now.
"Does she know," Sofia asked.
"No."
"You should tell her," Sofia suggested. "I mean, she'd want to know and…"
"I'm not calling her so drop it."
"You can't blame her for this. It was my decision, Ma."
"I don't blame her," Callie sighed, "it's just, I can't call her. I don't even know if she would answer. So, please Sofia, don't mention her again."
"Her name is Arizona," Sofia asked angrily.
"I know, Mija just please stop this," Callie pleaded.s
"That's so unfair, you can't ask me to do that!"
"But I am. Please?"
"She's my teacher at school, am I just not supposed to talk about that class? You know it's my favourite," Sofia ranted.
"I know," Callie said, raising her voice. "Please, just don't mention her. Just for now?"
"Fine," Sofia said, giving up.
Sofia watched as her mother started to unpack the groceries, her mind in overdrive about what could be on Callie's mind. She could tell Callie was deep in thought. Her eyebrows were creased, and she was biting her cheek ever so slightly. Sofia wondered if their conversation about Arizona had maybe stirred things up for her mother. Neither of them had really been the same since that fateful day.
"I have to go into work tomorrow, will you be okay without me for a few hours," Callie asked.
"Maybe it would make you feel better if I was supervised by adults and surrounded by my peers," Sofia suggested.
"You mean like school?"
"Please? It would only be for a few hours. We can take the wheelchair if it would make you feel better," Sofia pleaded. "Please Mama!"
Callie considered saying no to her daughter, but she knew she would never hear the end of it. It had been so long since Sofia had been to school. Missing out on so much of her education as well as seeing her friends. It had taken a toll on the teenager, even though she was trying so hard to pretend to be okay with. Callie decided it wouldn't hurt her if she went in for a little bit.
"Fine. But not the whole day and you have to promise to tell someone when you get tired and need a break," Callie warned her.
"Oh my god, thanks mum," Sofia squealed as she launched herself over to hug her mother. "Have I ever told you that you're the best mother ever?"
"Maybe once or twice but it can't hurt to hear again," Callie smiled.
"You are the best!"
Their fight about Arizona was quickly forgotten as Sofia started texting her friends to tell them the good news. She had no idea where any of school stuff and wanted to make sure she was ready for the day. The less stress in the morning, the more likely she was going to be allowed to go back more. Hopefully she would be back full-time before she knew it. Plans were made quickly between friends about catching up, how to get to school and what they would do afterwards. Even though her mother had only said it was for a few hours, after much discussion, Sofia was allowed to go for the whole day.
That morning Sofia had spent a good 45 minutes convincing Callie that letting her go to school was a good idea. It took even longer to be allowed to go to Naomi's after school that afternoon. They had argued back and forth about the fact that Sofia wasn't ready for such a big day. It had taken a phone call to Naomi's and Abbi's parents to confirm that the girls would be picked up from school and not allowed to leave the house for Callie to finally agree. It wasn't going to be the outing that exhausted Sofia, it was going to be her mother's constantly hovering. Even when they were in the car, Sofia had to reassure Callie that she wasn't going to push herself too hard and that going to school was what she wanted.
They pulled up to the school and Callie paused before turning to Sofia to check one more time. After telling her mother for the 30th time that she would be fine and that Naomi wouldn't leave her side until Callie picked her up, Sofia was finally allowed to walk into the school. Much to her dismay, Naomi hadn't left her side and was hovering like a bad smell. She even followed her into the disabled toilet stall. Sofia knew Callie had spoken to Naomi and told her to never leave her daughter alone, but this was ridiculous. She thought going back to school would give her some breathing room and help things get back to normal.
"I know Ma told you not to leave me alone but that doesn't mean you need to attach yourself to me. I can do some things without constant supervision. Like going to the bathroom," Sofia told her best friend as she shut her locker.
"Sorry, am I hovering," Naomi asked.
"You followed me into the bathroom stall," Sofia reminded her.
"Right, give you some space," Naomi nodded as she took a step back.
"I'll tell you if I need help," Sofia smiled as they started slowly walking towards their first class.
"Promise?"
"Have I ever lied to you before?"
"So many times," Naomi laughed as they entered class.
Sitting at her desk, Sofia was tapping her pencil and her foot as she anxiously waited class to start. Of course, her first class back had to be bio med. She hadn't seen Arizona since that day. The only communication they'd had was brief emails about schoolwork. There had never been any mention of the things that had happened that day. Sofia had no idea why she was feeling anxious. There was no bad feelings between the two of them.
"Good morning class, sorry I'm late. It seems that once the board get talking, it's hard to get them to stop," Arizona chuckled as she walked into her classroom. It wasn't until she was almost at her desk that she spotted the young brunette sitting at a desk in front of her. That, she was not expecting. She was sure her jaw was on the floor.
"Sofia," Arizona whispered, not even realising she had said it out loud.
"Morning Dr Robbins," Sofia said back softly, smiling at the blonde.
"It's good to see you back at school," Arizona smiled.
"It's good to be back," Sofia nodded.
After a few more seconds, the two broke their eye contact. It was the only interaction they had for the rest of the lesson. Sofia had missed so much of the content that she was too busy taking notes to even try and answer questions. Naomi had shared some of her notes, but they never had as much detail as Sofia would like.
"Can you wait for me outside for a minute, please," Sofia asked Naomi as their class finished.
"Yeah. You okay? Do you want me to go and get the wheelchair?"
"I'm fine for now but I will need it soo," Sofia nodded as she glanced at Arizona.
"You going to talk to Robbins?"
"I'm gonna try," Sofia shrugged.
She dawdled, pretending to take longer than she needed to pack up her things. As she put her last book in her bag, she glanced around the room to make sure it was empty before she looked up to her blonde teacher.
They made eye contact and smiled at each other, awkwardness hanging in the air. Neither knew how to start a conversation without talking about what they really wanted to.
"How are you?" Arizona smiled. "You look good."
"Yeah, definitely a lot better than a few months ago," Sofia chuckled. "The doctors say I just need time and I'll be back to full function."
"That's good," Arizona nodded.
An awkward silence fell between them. Both had things they wanted to say but didn't know how. It was Sofia who finally broke the silence.
"You never came to visit."
It was a statement, not a question, and one Arizona hadn't expected. She assumed that Callie would have spoken to Sofia. But then again, Callie was terrible at communication, so she wasn't sure why it surprised her. The look on Sofia's face told Arizona how much hurt she was holding in over this. It had never been her intention to hurt the young girl.
"Your mum asked me not to," Arizona answered, bowing her head as she did. "When we broke up."
"Right," Sofia sighed. "You could have called."
"I didn't know what to say," Arizona admitted.
The two stared at each other for another moment. Both of them had so much to say but didn't know how to say it or were too scared. Arizona felt her anger start to bubble which made her feel sad at the same time. She had never expected all these emotions to come back up because of Sofia.
Sofia knew this was going to be hard, but she felt an incredible sadness wash over her. There was so much left to say but it wasn't her place. Knowing that made her feel angry. Angry at Arizona, angry at her mother and angry at herself. She leant down, grabbed her backpack and started to walk out of the classroom.
"Sofia," Arizona called out.
"Yeah," Sofia answered, stopping, and turning around as she reached the door.
"Thank you, for saving my life."
"Someone wise once taught me to protect the things I love," Sofia smiled before leaving the room.
Arizona smiled at the girl's words. A tear slowly fell down her cheek at the sentiment from Sofia. As more threatened to join, Arizona looked up to the roof and shook her head as if trying to convince herself it was okay. A chuckled escaped her lips and she looked back down to continue packing her things.
The only thing on Sofia's mind for the rest of the day was her conversation with Arizona. Her teacher didn't seem to hold any anger towards her. In fact it seemed like there was still some love between the two. Her friends had tired of Sofia talking about it after two hours. As soon as they got home, they made her promise not to bring it up again for the rest of the day. All that did was give her time to stew on it and think about everything she wanted to say. Tine went quickly and the next thing she knew, her mother was there to pick her up.
As Sofia walked to the car, she thought of all the things she was going to say to her mother. Unfortunately, she couldn't say any of the things she wanted to Arizona, so that left all the things she wanted to say to her mum. Some of it was aimed at Arizona as well but she didn't have the privilege of being able to say what she wanted to the blonde.
Seeing her mother sit in the car, Sofia felt sadness start to take over. She could tell that Callie was trying to be strong for her. It had been this way since she woke up in hospital. Even when they were surrounded by family, Callie still had to be the strong one, holding everyone else together. With a deep breath, Sofia opened the door, telling herself that she wasn't going to get mad but try and help.
"Hey Mija, how was school," Callie asked happily as her daughter got in the car.
"It was great! Thanks for letting me go," Sofia smiled as Callie leant over and kissed her head. "How was work?"
"Ugh! I can't believe how incompetent some people can be," Callie groaned as she pulled away from the curb. "The guy who was covering for me should not have graduated."
"Sorry," Sofia said softly.
"Don't be, Nena. His college should apologise. Like simple surgeries he stuffed up!" Callie smiled, "what classes did you have today?"
Sofia paused, unsure if mentioning that she had bio med with Arizona was going to be a good thing or a bad thing. It was a good opening for to her get everything off her chest one last time.
"I had bio med," Sofia said, pausing to see what Callie would say.
Callie stayed silent, concentrating on the road, trying not to let the tears stinging her eyes fall. Sofia noticed that Callie's eyes squinted, and her lips were pursed. She decided to keep talking.
"You should have told Arizona. The look on her face when she saw me, Mama."
"Sofia," Callie warned as she pulled over to the side of the road.
"She was caught totally off guard," Sofia argued.
"Please, Sofia."
"No, you need to hear this! You should have called her."
"I don't owe her anything."
"Yes, you do!"
"No, I don't Sofia. Just stop it," Callie snapped.
"I won't stop it. You love her and you pushed her away for no reason. Dad said you told her it was because of me but do you know how it feels to be the reason someone won't be happy or loved? It sucks. Like stop putting that on me. It makes me feel horrible. Just let yourself be happy for once, you deserve it. Whatever you're punishing yourself for, I forgive you. I forgive you for Erica and dad and O'Malley. You deserve to be happy! Stop putting me first as a way to protect yourself because I won't be around forever, and do you really want to be lonely when that happens?"
The two brunettes sat in silence and stared at each other. Neither willing to relent and give in. Sofia knew this was going to be the last time she would be allowed to talk about Arizona without serious consequences. It felt good to finally get everything off her chest, all the things she had been holding in since they had broken up.
Sitting there staring at her daughter, it dawned on Callie. Sofia was right. She had been making excuses and self-sabotaging for far too long now. Maybe it was time to finally let herself be happy. She had worked hard and maybe it was time. Time to let herself be loved the way she loved others. Time to stop putting Sofia first as a defence mechanism and let someone help, let someone in.
"You finished?"
"You gonna talk to Arizona?"
"Seriously, Sof."
"I don't know, should I be?"
"You're persistent."
"I learnt from the best."
"Are you going to stop talking so I can drive?"
"Are you going to call Arizona?"
Callie gave her daughter a look that could kill. It seemed to do the trick.
"Fine," Sofia relented, sitting back and crossing her arms. She leant her had against the window, staring out at the busy streets as Callie drove away from Naomi's house.
Looking out, Sofia realised that this was not the way home. None of the houses were familiar and the streets looked different than those on the way home. Sofia knew her mother was up to something and doubted she would reveal her plan.
"This isn't the way home," Sofia stated, breaking the thick silence that had fallen over the two of them.
Callie just stared straight ahead, not answering her daughter as she hadn't asked a question.
"Where are we going Ma?"
Again, her question was met with silence.
"Where are you taking me?"
"You're right," Callie said, her eyes never leaving the road.
"Wait. I'm right?"
"Yes, you are," Callie confirmed. "I need to stop using you as an excuse, it's not fair or true."
"I don't, I don't get it. Where are we going," Sofia asked again, confused.
Callie smiled as her daughter continued to ask where they were going. She took a bit of joy over the fact that Sofia had no idea what was going on. Focusing on the road in front of her, Callie tried to steady her breathing and heartbeat. The rest of the drive was spent hoping her plan would go the way she wanted.
Once the car stopped, Sofia realised what was happening. She looked over to find Callie smiling at her.
"Oh," Sofia smiled, "I get it now."
Arizona slammed her car door; it wasn't that she meant to, but everything had been frustrating her today. All her thoughts were consumed by Callie. Callie. Why didn't she call to let her know Sofia was out of hospital? When they had walked away from each other that day she thought they were doing so on good terms.
"Bad day?"
The angelic voice broke Arizona from her own thoughts. Her head snapped up to see the beautiful brunette who had been haunting her every thought, standing at the bottom of her driveway. No words could form. Only anger. But for some reason she couldn't walk away. Curiosity got the better of her.
"That's none of your business," Arizona snapped.
"I know," Callie said sadly.
"What are you doing here?"
"Some annoying little bird got on her high horse and put me in my place," Callie chuckled.
Arizona looked at her with confusion before the window in the car behind Callie started to wind down.
"I'm the annoying bird," Sofia smiled. "You're welcome."
Arizona couldn't help but smile at the young girl. Sofia was stubborn and it seems she had finally worn her mother down. She always knew she had Sofia on her side and that she wanted them to be together.
"Yes. Emphasis on annoying," Callie sarcastically replied, chuckling at her own joke.
Arizona forced the smile on her face to disappear, crossing her arms to get across that she wasn't impressed. It was all an act. The two had already started to break down the walls that she had worked so hard to build back up. They were her weakness. They were also her strength. They were everything. As much as she wanted to, Arizona couldn't help how she felt about Callie and Sofia, and how much she wanted them in her life.
"I'm sorry, Arizona," Callie sighed.
"Want to be more specific?"
"I'm sorry that I push you away every time this get serious. I'm sorry that every time you try to break down my walls, I build them up stronger. I'm sorry that I couldn't tell you how I felt about you."
"Why didn't you tell me Sofia was out of the hospital? I found out from the kids at school."
"I didn't know how to tell you or if you even wanted to hear from me. I'm sorry I didn't call," Callie apologised.
"Of course I wanted to know. Well, thank you," Arizona said forcing a smile and turning away from Callie, walking to her door.
Callie was stunned that Arizona had walked away. She had apologised and confessed all her wrongs and all she got was a 'thanks'?
"Go tell her how you feel, you idiot," Sofia hissed at her mother.
"I just did," Callie hissed back.
"No, you didn't. Tell her exactly how you feel."
"I miss you," Callie called out as Arizona was opening her front door. Arizona stopped, her hand mid turn. Her brain was telling her to ignore Callie and go inside, but her heart, well her heart wanted to hear what Callie wanted to say. Arizona missed Callie too, as much as she didn't want to.
"I really miss you," Callie continued when she realised Arizona had stopped. "It's like, like my heart can't beat properly without you around. Everything is hard, impossible some days. I, I try not to think about you but all you do is consume my thoughts. Like everything reminds me of you. Some days I picture you and you still take my breath away."
Arizona took a deep breath and turned to face her ex-girlfriend. Callie was now in arms reach of her. If she wanted, she could reach her arm out and run her fingertips down the soft caramel skin.
"I miss you too," Arizona whispered, her eyes moving from the ground up to the big brown eyes staring at her. "But you broke my heart."
"I know. I know I did because I broke mine as well. I was so stupid to push you away because I love you so much Arizona. You're my home, I finally feel like I'm where I belong," Callie finally admitted. "I'd like to come home."
"How can I trust you after everything," Arizona asked, tears threatening to spill.
"I don't know. But if you do, I can promise that I will never push you away again," Callie said softly, her hands reaching out to take Arizona's.
"I'm just meant to put all my faith in you?"
"Yeah," Callie chuckled.
"What if you get scared again? What if this doesn't work?"
"What if it does," Callie asked, stepping into Arizona's space. She felt the blonde's breath hitch as they came face to face, their noses almost touching. The air filled with the warmth from their breath's. Without realising, Arizona leant forward slightly, her forehead meeting Callie's. Both of them closing their eyes at the contact, enjoying the feel of being this close again.
"What if we work? What if we grow old together and have happiness for the rest of our lives? I want that with you. I'm okay with risking it if it means I win big with you," Callie said softly. Her eyes opened, watching the woman in front of her think about everything that has been said.
"I'm scared. And so mad at you," Arizona admitted, wiping the tears that had escaped her eyes.
"I'm scared too, but I'm so in love with you. I'm more scared to live without you," Callie said as blue eyes opened. A big smile appearing on Arizona's face. She had never felt happiness like this before. She was still scared but Callie was right. It was scarier to live without each other.
"I'm so in love with you too," Arizona finally said. "I love you."
"You do," Callie asked, a smile stretching from ear to ear.
"I do," Arizona nodded.
"Kiss," Sofia yelled from the car. "Kiss her!"
"She won't shut up until we do," Callie chuckled.
"Stubborn, just like her mother," Arizona joked before closing the gap between them and finally kissing Callie.
It was like fireworks were going off all around them, swallowing up the world. Arizona's hands linked around Callie's neck, pulling her closer, scared of losing her again. Arizona had missed how soft Callie's lips were. It was taking all herself control not to pull Callie inside and get her naked.
"You free on Friday, for dinner," Callie asked once they parted.
"No, I'm not," Arizona said softly, her eyes examining Callie's face.
"Oh."
"I have a PTA meeting," Arizona smiled.
"Oh! Right, well I'm not free either, PTA meeting," Callie joked. "How about Saturday night?"
"Maybe."
"Maybe," Callie asked confused by Arizona's answer.
"I'm just so mad at you, Callie. Come over at 7 and we'll see how mad I am then," Arizona smiled.
"Okay, 7 o'clock Saturday it is," Callie smiled before kissing Arizona again.
Sofia sat back in the car, her smile hurting her faced. Surely this would be the last time this would happen. Hope filled her that Arizona would be in their lives forever now.
(There may be an epilogue but don't hold your breath for a quick update)
