Arizona rushed into the NICU "I'm sorry, I was in surgery. What happened?" Maggie was listening to Chloe's heart. She noticed Arizona's arrival and removed the stethoscope from her ears and gently touched Arizona on her forearm. "She's fine, there were some irregularities on her last scan but I think it is her medication. I want to modify it. I'm sorry if I caused you alarm. I just wanted to make sure you were informed." She offered Arizona a smile and said "She's growing."
Arizona returned the smile "She is, she has gained 6 ounces since her birth." She turned to the infant and talked 'baby talk' "Miss Chloe is a big girl. Yes she is." She stroked the baby's hand through the incubator.
Maggie smiled and said "She's lucky to have you." Arizona smiled and said "Thank you. It scares me." She confided.
Maggie looked surprised "But you're a Mom. You're a pediatric surgeon."
Arizona replied "Well that's part of it, yes I'm a Mom. But it's been a long time since Sofia was this little, and I had help."
Maggie tried to reassure Arizona "You are a great Mom. You can do this." She placed her hand on Arizona's shoulder as she turned to leave.
Arizona spent the next half hour talking to to Chloe. She tried to spend as time as possible with her. There have even been some nights that Arizona stayed all night in the NICU. It was a good thing the nurses all loved her. They took care of the maternal fetal medicine doctor because she had taken care of them. She had been there for them when their kids were sick and when they had family emergencies. So they were protective of her, and now that included Chloe. Arizona was grateful. It allowed her peace of mind to go home occasionally.
She made her way to her office. She had a phone call to make that she had been putting off since she met with the attorney. She closed the door and picked up her phone. It rang several times before it was answered. "Arizona? This isn't our normal time is everything okay?"
Arizona sighed "Hi Callie, yeah, I know. I plan to call later to talk to Sofia but I had to discuss something with you first. My friend Pam named me her executor of her estate. I have met with her attorney and" she paused "she also named me guardian of her baby, Chloe. I'm going to need your help when I tell Sofia. I don't want her to think that I am replacing her." She paused because there was no sound on the other end. "Callie?... are you still there?"
Callie finally responded "Um yeah, I'm here. Wow. I just wasn't expecting that. I mean, it's going to be hard on you, caring for a newborn all by yourself."
Arizona became a little annoyed "Thanks for the vote of confidence, but I'm not all by myself here."
Callie replied "Oh...I didn't know you were seeing someone."
Arizona responded "I'm not, but I have help. Look, I'm not asking for your approval. This is happening. I just wanted you to know before I told Sofia." She was really beginning to become aggravated with Callie.
"Arizona, do you even want more kids?" Callie asked.
Arizona was stunned. "Yes Callie, I do. We tried remember? Look, I will call back tonight and talk to Sofia. Goodbye Callie." She hung up. She was could not believe that Callie was going to give her a hard time about this. It was times like this she really wished she had a cigarette. She sighed and decided she would go get a cup of coffee. She left her office and went to the coffee cart. She then returned to the NICU where she spent the next couple of hours talking to Chloe.
At 4:30 she went back to her office to FaceTime Sofia. It only rang once before the little one answered. Sofia was excited about her day and informed her Momma all about school and what they played on the playground during recess. She was counting down the days until her return to Seattle. After letting Sofia talk for a while Arizona finally interrupted and said "Sweet pea, I need to talk to you about something important. Okay?"
Sofia looked worried "I'm still coming home right?"
Arizona saw the concern in those big brown eyes and immediately felt bad "Oh honey, yes, yes you are coming home. I promise. But remember I told you about my friend Pam?"
Sofia answered "The one who went to heaven?"
Arizona nodded "Yes. Well she had a baby before she went to heaven and Pam asked me to be the baby's Momma." She stopped to see if she could judge her reaction.
Sofia thought for a moment and smiled really big "I'm going be a big sister?"
Arizona smiled and said "Yes. You are going to be a big sister. Are you okay with that?"
Sofia said "I have always wanted a brother or sister."
Arizona smiled "A sister. Her name is Chloe Michelle."
Sofia said "I can't wait to see her. Do you have a picture?"
Arizona said "I will send you one. She is still in the hospital and probably will be for a while, but she is going to love you. Listen sweetie, it's getting close to your bedtime and I need to talk to your Mommy. I love you and I'm counting the days."
Sofia replied "I love you too, will you tell Chloe that I love her too?"
Arizona smiled "I will, now let me talk to Mommy."
Callie picked up the tablet and Arizona asked "Did you hear? That went better than I expected."
Callie replied "Yes, make sure you send that picture or she won't go to sleep tonight. Listen Arizona, I feel bad for my reaction earlier. I was just caught off guard. I wasn't expecting that at all. It's just going to take some getting used to."
"Okay Callie, I'll send that picture." After the talk they had earlier she really didn't want hear what Callie had to say. She needed time to process. "Listen, I've got to go. Goodbye Callie."