The Race

by AMM1112

Arizona is the 1st female golfer to get a chance to play in the PGA. She is playing in the biggest competition of the year. The competition is being held at The Calliope. Callie is running the competition and trying to propel her family business into the spotlight. Callie & AZ run into each other during the biggest 2 weeks of their life. Will this be the beginning of something? AU!

34. Chapter 33

Chapter 33

Callie's POV

Wrapping up her FaceTime with Arizona Callie fell back onto the couch. Today had started just as shitty as it ended. She woke up to the Arizona drama and thankfully that was resolved quickly. However, when her and Sofia had returned from the beach, she grabbed the mail and headed inside. Sofia ran to take a shower in anticipation for her sleepover and Callie shuffled through the envelopes she brough in. All of it normal, except a random letter. The handwriting looked familiar but there was no name on it. Callie sat on her couch staring at that letter. She had read it so many times she had it memorized.

Callie,

I am writing about a photo I saw on ESPN and every newspaper I have seen over the last week. Imagine my surprise when I see a little girl, who must be about 7, with you and Arizona Robbins. If I remember our last face to face interaction it, was you informing me you were pregnant, with my child. I was under the impression that you had taken care of the pregnancy like I asked. The fact I have a daughter out there and you had the nerve to not tell me. I will be taking you to court and ordering a paternity test. If Sofia is indeed mine, I will be requesting custody. I am sure a judge would feel strongly about you keeping a little girl from her father. If you wish to avoid this, call me. I am sure there is something monetary we could work out….

Eric Johnson

After reading the letter for the hundredth time, Callie called her dad. She was terrified. There was no way in hell the man who threw $50 at her and told her to "take care of it" was going to come in and blow up her life. She was finally headed in the right direction. She had the most perfect daughter, who she had raised by herself the past 6 almost 7 years, an amazing girlfriend, and a thriving business. Both Carlos Torres and his mob of lawyers assured Callie that this would not be an issue. They had countless text messages where Eric clearly states he has no desire to be part of the potential child's life. That paired with the fact the letter basically says he wants money to go away. Callie was not proud of the fact she basically begged Eric to be with her after he told her to take care of the pregnancy, but she had. The text messages clearly show that Eric had his own family and had zero desire to be with Callie or any potential child he may have fathered. Eric had found out about Callie's family wealth towards the end of their relationship. It had changed their dynamic drastically. Looking back now, she knew that he used her at the end. Nice dinners, a nice vacation, all on her dime. Callie wished she could go back and smack her younger self. But she thought she was in love.

When Arizona had asked what was wrong, Callie felt bad avoiding the topic and lying. She just knew Arizona would go into a tailspin if she found out what was actually going on. She would feel guilty that the photo that started this was the one of her and Sofia from The Race. Knowing Arizona, Callie wouldn't be surprised if she came back to Miami and bailed on the tournaments. As much as Callie loved her for that, she couldn't let it happen. She would hopefully resolve the matter before Arizona was set to come stay with them. The attorneys that The Torres Company had on speed dial were already drafting a response to the letter. She was told the matter should be handled shortly. That did not stop her from crawling up the walls at the thought of the custody of Sofia ever being "shared" with anyone. The idea that she could spend holidays anywhere but with Callie had Callie so upset she had to talk herself down from a panic attack.

Getting up and pushing that all to the back of her mind, she busied herself getting the girls movie and snack ready. With any luck they would all pass out and Callie could quickly follow them. She was setting up the blankets and pillows in the spare room when she heard a knock at the door. Looking at the clock it was 9:30 and Callie had no idea who it could be. She opened the door and there was a young man with a giant bouquet of flowers in his hand. He held it out and handed it to Callie.

"Callie Torres?" He questioned.

"Yes…." Callie answered.

"These are for you. Have a good night." The man walked away. Wondering who the hell was sending her flowers at 9:30 and how the heck anyone found a flower delivery service that delivered that late, she looked for the card.

Pulling it out she couldn't help but smile.

My Dearest Calliope,

I can tell something is on your mind. I won't force you to talk to me about it, but I will let you know I am here to listen. I miss you and Sofia so much. I will be back before you know it. I can't wait to fall asleep next to you and be there when you wake up. 20 days to go my love. I love you.

Goodnight,

Arizona

Callie couldn't help the tears that began to fall once she read the card. Arizona was truly one of a kind and damn she was lucky. Putting the flowers on the table she took a picture and sent them to her favorite blonde.

You are unbelievable. I love you so much. XOXO Callie.

She called the girls out and got them situated. Kissing them all goodnight she retreated to the living room to relax until they started to fall asleep.

Arizona's POV

Sitting at dinner Arizona was worrying about Callie. She had never seen Callie so upset before. In all honesty, she looked like shit. She was still beautiful, but she looked like she had been put through the ringer. It was not the fact she was watching 3 little girls. Callie had the ability to handle those kids like no one she had ever met. Callie was a fantastic mother and she commanded respect. There was something else going on and Arizona needed to get to the bottom of it. She felt helpless. She had hoped the flowers would help a little. Seeing the text message from Callie lifted her spirits a bit. At least she liked the flowers, and she could briefly cause her to smile.

I love you too Calliope. So much. I cannot wait to see you. XOXO AZ

"Earth to Arizona" Tim said, waving his hand in front of his sister. She was spacing out.

"Sorry." Arizona mumbled as she picked at her food.

"What is your problem?" Tim hadn't seen his sister this stressed in a while.

"Something is up with Calliope. Like something is really wrong and she won't say what it is." Arizona responded, clearly defeated.

"Why do you think that? I am sure she is fine. She probably just misses you like you miss her." Tim tried to cheer his sister up.

Arizona went on to tell Tim about the FaceTime and the feeling she had when talking to Callie. After many attempts to reassure her, everything was probably fine, Arizona resolved herself to letting Callie come to her with her issue, if there was one. Returning to her hotel room she sent Callie one more text telling her she loved her and drifted off to sleep.

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Waking up the next morning Arizona rolled over and checked her phone. No response from Callie, which was weird. Chalking it up to trying to wrangle 3 girls out the door, Arizona let it go. She went about her pre round ritual and did her best to put the Callie situation in the back of her mind for a bit.

It was time for Arizona to tee off for her second round. She had been feeling a lot looser today and for that she was grateful. She was paired with Alex today and she knew that would make for a fun round. Since her and Alex were the first to tee off, it was a nice brisk morning.

"Morning Karev. Ready for me to kick your ass again?" Arizona joked.

"Dream on Robbins." He replied with his signature smirk.

Alex and Arizona both had a great first 3 holes. They were currently both feeling good and having a great time. She found herself laughing more this round than she had all last weekend. She had not seen Preston Burke or George O'Malley yet. She knew it was inevitable.

"So, you got O'Malley bounced for the remainder of the season?" Alex casually asked.

"Um, what?" She asked.

"O'Malley is banned from the rest of the tournaments. He is pissedtoo. If he would have cracked the top 5 the next 2 tournaments, he would have taken home a few million for having the best overall record." Alex replied. He watched the confusion sweep over Arizona's face. "You really don't know anything I am talking about…?"

"No. What do you mean I got him bounced?"

"The PGA suspended him for the rest of the year because of the shit he pulled at The Race. I heard Carlos Torres was leading the charge, but the vote was unanimous."

"I-I honestly had no idea. I wouldn't have asked Carlos to do that."

"No one thinks you did…We all think he deserved worse. But hey, losing out on a couple million bucks is a pretty good punishment." Alex laughed as he teed off on the 4th.

Arizona was conflicted. On one hand, she was happy that George was not going to be around the next two weeks. On the other, she knew that George and Burke were going to spin this to be her fault. They would say something like she needed them gone for her to win. She would have to talk to Carlos later. While she was glad all the other golfers seemed to have her back, she was worried that George was going to do something to mess with her. We all remember the "leak" during the interview. George O'Malley didn't go down easy.

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Approaching the 12th hole Arizona was grateful she had put the practice rounds in the day before. She currently sat 10 under par and was making her way up the leaderboard. When the day started, she was worried she would not make the cut to play tomorrow. After her first 11 holes, all she had to do was not bogey the rest of the course and she was good to go for tomorrow afternoon.

Squaring up to drive Arizona took a deep breath. This hole had given her a really hard time yesterday. Such a hard time she ended up double bogeying it. She squared up, pulled back, and sliced perfectly through the ball. She watched as it soared through the air straight down the fairway. The drive was easily the best of the weekend for her so far. She even heard some cheering from Karev behind her.

Waiting for Alex to hit his ball she felt her pocket vibrate. Arizona never looked at her phone while she was playing. She normally kept it locked up. But she was in a rush this morning and had forgotten. She handed it over to Tim and told him to put it in her bag. She didn't want any distractions. The higher she finished, the later she could tee of tomorrow. That way she knew what the competition did before her. It was something she felt mentally relaxed her.

Walking over to where her ball landed, she assessed the terrain. She honestly though she could birdie this hole. Waiting for Tim to hand over her iron she felt the wind at her back. She motioned for him to hurry up. Hoping to use the benefit of the wind she quickly squared up. She could hit with her irons in her sleep, so no practice swing was needed. She stepped right up to the ball and chipped it towards the hole. She got under it perfectly and watched it soar through the air. The added wind helped get her a few extra yards and she watched as the ball rolled onto the green. Winking at Tim she saw the recognition cross his face as to why she was being so chippy about him getting her the club so quickly.

"Here I was thinking you were just still in a foul mood" Tim joked.

"Believe it or not, I do know what I am doing" She joked back.

She watched as Alex hit an amazing chip shot that bounced right into the hole. Letting out a little cheer for him she walked up to her ball with her putter. Looking for any hills or divots in the green she walked around her ball. Quickly realizing this was a pretty straight forward putt, she pulled back and tapped her ball. She watched as it rolled, perfectly straight, right into the hole. Birdie.

High fiving Alex she handed Tim the putter and took off towards the 13th hole. 6 more to go.

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Approaching the 18th hole Arizona was feeling the buzz of a fantastic round. Her and Alex both had golfed extremely well today. She was sad she wouldn't be paired up with him tomorrow. There was just something about his presence that calmed her.

Arizona had driven her ball off into the brush and was currently in the weeds looking for it. She had successfully cracked the top 5, even with this shitty drive, she would be teeing off after 3pm tomorrow. As long as she finished in the top 5, she would be happy. Her first round made it pretty difficult to top that.

After finding her ball and chipping it onto the green, she walked through the fans to get back to the fairway. She greeted a few and was happy to see how many young girls she saw wearing her gear. The Torres Company had made good on their promise of getting her merchandise on the shelves quickly.

Arizona ended up hitting a good iron shot onto the green but still would miss par on this hole. She walked up to her ball and was able to sink the putt on the second attempt. Finishing the day with a bogey wasn't ideal, but she would take it. Her and Alex both were proud of their round. She looked up at the score board and could not believe how well Shepard was golfing. She hadn't seen around this strong in ages. After everything that happened at The Race, Arizona was happy for Derek. He and his wife Meredith were great people and Meredith had saved her ass last weekend.

Locking up her clubs Arizona grabbed her phone out of the pocket that Tim had placed it in earlier. When she glanced down, she noticed that she still didn't have anything from Callie only a text from her mom wishing her luck. This was very uncharacteristic of her girlfriend. Sending off another quick text like she had that morning, she put her phone in her pocket and headed towards her hotel room.

Arizona was grateful that she had the first tee time that morning because now she had almost the whole afternoon and evening to herself. After chatting with Tim earlier they had learned that her tee time tomorrow would be 4pm. She was in the "prime time" spot. The top 6 golfers were all teeing off in the afternoon. That meant Arizona had a nice amount of time to justt relax. She decided it would be a good idea to take an ice bath for her back even though it hadn't acted up the whole tournament. Meredith recommended them and honestly, the sucked but they helped a lot.

Settling into the ice bath and setting the timer on her phone, she laid back and thought about the only thing that could take her mind off the bone chilling cold that was radiating through her body, her Calliope. She had been making a mental list of things for them to do while she was in Miami. Knowing they would not get as much alone time as she liked, she had to come up with family friendly things to do. They were going to spend a week in Disney World for Sofia's birthday, which she would be lying if she said she was not excited for. She had not been in years. She also knew she would be taking Callie and Sofia up to her parent's house in Michigan for a week or so. She couldn't wait. Tim and Teddy would be going the same time. Finally feeling the numbness set in Arizona began to nod off, not realizing how tired she was. She was brought out of her daze by her phone ringing. However, the ringing was not her timer, it was her actual phone. Thinking it may be Callie, Arizona hopped out of the tub. Looking at her caller ID she was surprised to see who was calling, Carlos Torres.

"Hello Carlos, what a pleasant surprise. How are you?" Arizona greeted.

"Arizona. Great round today. I was wondering, have you heard from Calliope? I have not heard from her since this morning, and she was not at The Calliope today." Carlos sounded a bit worried.

"Um no. Actually, I have not heard from her all day, which is strange. Should I be worried?" Arizona was now in full panic mode.

"No. I don't think so. I think her phone may have been left at home. I am picking Sofia up from Aria's in about an hour. It is a Abuelo and Sofia night. Callie knows what time I am grabbing her and always calls to confirm we arrived home safely." Carlos was worried but he was trying to keep Arizona from freaking out.

"Okay. I will try her shortly and if I hear from her, I will send you a text. Thank you for reaching out, Carlos."

After hanging up, Arizona immediately slipped into her robe and sat on her bed. She pressed Callie's photo and waited as the phone rang and rang. Voicemail. What the hell Callie? Arizona was worried. No matter what she always received a good morning text from Callie. The fact it was almost 3pm in Miami and she had nothing from her girlfriend had Arizona close to spiraling. After shooting off a quick text to Mark and Aria to see if they had heard from Callie, she tried to FaceTime Callie. She waited patiently and as the "call can not connect" message popped up she was officially pissed. This was not okay. Immediately thinking back to last night and how upset Callie was, she called Aria. Callie had the girls the night before and Aria had to have seen her that morning.

"Hey Arizona, I was just texting you back." Aria answered.

"Have you heard from her?" Arizona skipped the greetings all together.

"I picked up the girls at about 10ish and saw her. I have Sofia with me, and my dad is grabbing her soon. We have not spoke since I saw her this morning though. I know she seemed tired, so she might just be sleeping." Aria didn't really understand the fuss.

"Aria I haven't heard from her all day. That is not like Callie." Arizona replied, clearly flustered.

"Arizona, Callie sleeps like the dead. She hasn't had a day to herself in ages. Don't worry. I am sure she is just asleep. I have to go, my dad just pulled up to grab Sofia." Aria said. They exchanged a goodbye and promise to let the other know if they heard from Callie.

Arizona paced her room for the next 59 minutes. She tried Callie 5 more times with no luck. She knew that if Callie didn't call Carlos, it was okay to worry. Sofia was Callie's priority. Missing a call to confirm she was okay was not Callie. Sleep or not. When the clock changed to 1:30pm (4:30pm Miami time) Arizona picked up the phone.

"Arizona. I have not heard from her. I am heading over to her place now. I will call you shortly." Carlos didn't even greet Arizona. He had hung up before she had a chance to speak. Carlos Torres was officially worried. Pacing back and forth Arizona jumped when her phone rang.

"Carlos." Arizona whispered.

"Arizona…She is here. She um, she is in bad shape. This Eric situation clearly has her out of sorts." Carlos whispered.

"Eric situation….? What are you talking about?" Arizona was officially confused.

"Oh, um. I don't think it is my place." Carlos only assumed Callie told Arizona. It was not his news to share.

"Carlos what the hell is going on?" Arizona was raised to treat her elders with respect but that was off the table when it came to Callie.

Carlos went on to tell Arizona about the letter and the threat about custody of Sofia. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Who the hell did this guy think he was? Why hadn't Callie told her?

"What did you mean by Callie is in bad shape? Is she okay? Can I speak with her please?" Arizona's skin was crawling with worry.

"She seems to have been drinking a bit, which is fine. I have Sofia. But she won't talk to me. She is laying in bed and refuses to get up. I can tell she has been crying. Sofia is in the car, and I hate to leave her like this, but I don't want Sofia to see her like this." Arizona heard Carlos tell Callie Arizona was on the phone. But the brunette could be heard yelling for her father to go away and she didn't want to talk to anyone.

Knowing her girlfriend needed her now more than ever, the words were out of Arizona's mouth before she could stop them. "Carlos, I need the jet."

"Arizona, you have to finish the tournament." Carlos replied. Secretly praying that Arizona would come back. No one could get through to his daughter right now, hopefully the blonde could.

"That is why I need the jet. I can be back tomorrow before I tee off." Arizona was already throwing clothes into a bag.

"It will be ready for you in an hour. We have one in California on standby." Carlos said as he hung up and summoned the jet.

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Callie's POV

Callie had never in her life felt the way she felt right now. Hopeless, beaten, downright depressed. She had never been so grateful for an Abuelo Sofia day. She put on a fake smile all night and into the morning while the girls were over, but the second she closed the door at 10:15am she cracked open the Tequila. She silenced her phone, took a shot, and headed to bed. She couldn't believe how quickly things had took a turn for the worse. How could she ever share custody of Sofia? After speaking with her father last night, she told him she just wanted to pay Eric, but Carlos refused. Pointing out that nothing would stop him from coming back if they paid him. Knowing he was right; the situation was now out of her hands.

Hearing her father enter her home Callie hadn't realized she had been asleep all day. She alternated between naps and shots of Tequila. Knowing Sofia was safe with Aria and her father, she just needed to be alone. When he mentioned Arizona was on the phone, Callie knew if the blonde heard her, she would be sick with worry, she refused to speak with her. After insisting her father leave, Callie found herself drifting back off to sleep.

Hearing her front door open, again, Callie was ready to lose it on whoever walked in the door. When she saw the piercing blue eyes she loved so much, she couldn't control it anymore.

"What are you doing here?" She asked in a very bitter tone.

"Hello to you too. I haven't heard from you all day. What is going on Calliope?" Arizona walked towards her. She knew if Arizona touched her, she would start crying and not be able to stop.

"Why are you here Arizona? You have a tournament to play in."

"I do. But I also have a girlfriend who has been MIA all day and no one can get in contact with. Girlfriend trumps tournament." Arizona sat on the edge of the bed.

"I have not been MIA. I saw my dad and Aria today. I was just resting." Callie tried to sit up, but the room was spinning.

"Resting…? You are drunk Callie, and you kicked your dad out when I tried to talk to you." Arizona said picking up the empty tequila bottle.

"You know, I have a mother. I don't need another one." Callie was picking a fight to avoid telling Arizona what was going on.

"Okay Calliope. You are picking a fight and that is fine, but I am not going anywhere. So, when you are ready to talk, let me know. I am going to go fix you something to eat." Arizona left the room, knowing that Callie needed to come to her with this.

Callie laid in bed and thought about the last 24 hours. Shit had hit the fan. She knew ignoring Arizona all day was not the answer, but she couldn't talk to her because she would fall apart. Finally getting out of bed, she knew she had to face the music. Arizona had somehow traveled across the country to check on her. She never had someone love her like that and she knew no one could talk her off the ledge like Arizona.

Walking into the kitchen she saw Arizona tidying up from the girl's sleep over.

"Hey." She whispered.

"Hey babe." She saw Arizona's sympathetic smile and she immediately knew that her dad had spilled the beans about what was going on.

"I assume you know." Callie said with a shaky voice.

"Yeah, I heard." Arizona walked over to Callie and hugged her. That was it, the tears started flowing and Callie knew they wouldn't stop. She hadn't known how badly she needed Arizona until that moment. She allowed Arizona to guide her over to the couch and hold her while she let every ounce of worry, hurt, and pain leave her body.

After what felt like an eternity, she had finally stopped crying. She pulled back and looked into her favorite blue eyes.

"Sorry for being a bitch. I am really glad you are here." Callie held her blonde for dear life.

"Why didn't you say something yesterday Calliope? I knew something was wrong." Arizona whispered while stroking Callie's hair.

"I don't know. I knew if I told you that you would somehow think this was your fault, and it is not." Callie knew she was right when she saw Arizona's face. "This is not on you. This is him. I should have known when he called it was not the last I would hear from him. He is such an ass and has always been after my money."

"Callie, your dad said he would handle this, and he will. I can't tell you not to worry, because this is about Sofia. But you need to let him handle this okay? We will get through whatever happens. Nothing and no one will get near our girl, okay?"

Hearing Arizona refer to Sofia as their girl set Callie's heart on fire. She knew that blonde loved Sofia, but she never realized how much until that moment.

"Our girl, huh?" Callie smiled.

"I told you, Calliope, I am in this thing. Sofia is our girl, and I would be damned if anything happened to her." She leaned in and kissed the blonde with so much passion they both had dazed looks on their faces when they pulled apart.

"I love you, Arizona. Thank you for coming. I assume you took the jet."

"Yup. Let me tell you, that beats flying commercial any day." She stood up and grabbed Callie's hand. "Come on babe, lets go lay down. I have approximately 5 hours to hold you. Then I need to get back to California."

A/N: I know nothing about custody situations, so if this seems unrealistic, just go with it.