In The Mind's Eye II, The Sequel

Disclaimer: This is an AU story that combines The Godfather and Greys Anatomy together. I borrowed these characters, I own nothing.

Chapter Four

The Shadow of Death

"The human life is made up of choices. Yes or no. In or out. Up or down. And then there are the choices that matter. Love or hate. To be a hero or to be a coward. To fight or to give in. To live. Or die. Live or die. That's the important choice. And it's not always in our hands."

Waiting outside the front entrance of the Reno Arena, Arizona, Gavin and Monty looked for Callie. "Mamas coming?" Monty asked.

"Yes. Mama said she was coming." Arizona replied. They stood and waited for their brunette mother to arrive as the mass of people begin to arrive. As the minutes passed, there was no sign of the Callie.

Tugging on the blonde mother's shirt, Gavin said, "Mom, its about to start. We'll miss it if we don't hurry." They had tickets in hand for today's events. All the trio had to do was walk inside. Gavin was more than ready to go on in and find his seat. The arena was starting to fill up fast. Yet, Gavin, Monty, and Arizona stood outside continued waiting on Callie.

"I promised your mother that we would wait at the front. And, we can't go inside until she arrives." Arizona answered her oldest son. Walking around the front, the three looked around for any sign of the brunette. "Where is she?" Arizona furrowed her brow as the waited. It was getting hotter outside, and the boys were beginning to whine.

"When's mama gonna be here? I thirsty." Monty asked.

Looking at her watch, Arizona shook her head. "I don't know baby. She should have already been here by now." Where was Callie? Arizona didn't understand why she hadn't shown up yet. Callie was never late. She was alway timely. And, knowing the brunette hadn't seen her children in right at three days now, this was most odd for the mother that had pressed to have knowledge of her children's whereabouts.

Fifteen more minutes came and went. The restless little boys were hounding their blonde mother with fierceness. They had waited long enough they thought. Concern filled Arizona's mind as she heard the intercom speaker inside sounding the announcements. The rodeo was starting, and they couldn't wait much longer. So she did what she knew to do. Arizona dialed Callie's cell phone. Hearing it ring until the brunette's voice mail picked up the call, Arizona ended the call and dialed the number back again. Continuing to call over and over for several minutes, the final blast of the horn made Gavin speak up once more.

"Please come on." Gavin pulled Arizona's hand in the direction of the front entrance. He wanted to wait for his mother, but she obviously was not going to arrive on time, so Gavin rushed Arizona to go inside.

"Come on Monty. Hold mommy's hand." Arizona pulled her youngest child close to her. This was a huge place and by the looks of it, thousands of people were here. Handing the tickets to Gavin, the young boy got them inside the gates. Arizona turned around before rounding the corner to go inside. It was one last look for Callie. But, there was nothing.

As time ticked by, the boys watched intently as the horses raced by. It was an amazing sight for the two young children that had always been so sheltered. They enjoyed seeing the tricks and the cowboys that rode of their tall horses. Monty especially enjoyed the rodeo today. He had a bag full of popcorn and a large pepsi, all to himself. This was the life, if he had ever lived it.

"Mom look!" Gavin pointed as the bull was let into the holding pen. Arizona had gotten really good seats. Section D in the grandstands was next to the bull pen. And for her two sons, it was the icing on the cake. "I love this. I want to do this when I grow up," Gavin declared.

Callie would not approve of that, Arizona thought as she looked at the bull. It was dangerous, and brutal. Watching the guy get slung off, was difficult on the eyes. It looked painful. Yet, her sons were jump and cheering, just like everyone around them. Gavin understood some of what was happening. So he had a real reason to cheer. Little Monty, well he just jumped up and screamed because, thats everyone else did.

Looking at her cell phone, Arizona noticed that Callie hadn't called yet. That was strange. Most unlike her wife. Maybe Callie had decided against coming? That didn't make any sense though. The brunette would not miss a chance to see her children. There had to be another explanation for her absence. Her obvious absence that Monty begin to question.

"Wheres mama?" The four year old asked Arizona.

"I don't know baby. She will probably be here soon."

"How long is soon?"

Knowing these questions would likely persist, Arizona picked up her phone and called once again. Still, there was no answer. Choosing to leave Callie a message, Arizona spoke into the speaker when the time came to speak. "Callie, its me. Where are you? I have called and called. The boys are wondering if you're coming to the rodeo. Call me back as soon as you get this. I'm starting to get worried. Bye."

Hanging up, the blonde mother turned to Monty. "I left her a message and maybe she will call me back in a little." Sitting her son in her lap, the trio continued to watch the rodeo. Sitting through several events, none were particularly interesting to Arizona. The blonde had something else on her mind. The afternoon had arrived and still no sign from her wife. Waiting for the crowds to clear, Arizona looked around. Something was wrong. Terribly wrong. Feeling a lump start for form in her throat, Arizona was questioned by Gavin as to his mother's whereabouts.

"She said she was coming? Why didn't she come?"

"I don't know baby." Arizona answered Gavin with a truthful answer. Because she didn't know herself. They all knew Callie Torres well. If the brunette said she would do something, she would do it. So her absence today was quite disturbing.

"Are we going home now?" Monty asked his mother.

That was a very good question. Arizona had pictured today a lot different that it had turned out. She thought that Callie would have come today. She assumed they would have stayed for this competition and the four of them would have traveled back home. Arizona thought that she and Callie would have an argument today at some point and that the brunette would likely be upset with her leaving. The tension that Arizona had felt as the day started out, now turned into concern.

Callie had failed to show. And, Arizona had no one pulling her back home at this point. So that was a good question. Was it time to go home?

Looking at her four year old son, Arizona saw the complexity of his young innocent face. He was ready. More than ready to go back to his house. To sleep in his own bed. And most importantly, he wanted to see his mama.

Arizona was torn about returning home. On one hand she understood how her sons felt. Deep down she really did. Because no matter how difficult, how hard, or how imperfect home is...it's still home. It is what you know. It's familiar. Every room in Arizona's home was filled with memories: the dining room where we they all ate holiday meals, and the kitchen where she and Callie had cooked together over the years. The dock that she would sit on in the late afternoons and look at the sunset. It was where she and Callie had taught their sons to ride their bikes, and where Callie taught both of their sons how to swim. Home held many memories. Some good, and some bad. Although she and Callie had been at odds, and Arizona had left, the home in Lake Tahoe was still just that...it was home. She never intended to leave permanently, she just needed a less confining life.

On the other hand, home also held some deep-seated concerns for the blonde. Arizona knew that when she got home, she and Callie would likely have words. There would most definitely be several hurdles for the couple to overcome. Callie did say they had something to talk about. Arizona was ready to stand her ground and face her wife. She didn't really have much choice but to face Callie sooner or later. And, maybe it wouldn't go so bad. Maybe they could really sit and talk. Maybe they could actually listen to one another. Maybe they could reach a compromise. There were a lot of maybes that...maybe could happen. But, most likely would not. Yes, the two wives definitely had something to talk about.

The more Arizona stared at Monty, the more clear her decision became. Her kids were ready for this. And, she was too. Breaking Arizona from her thoughts, Monty said, "Mommy, quit staring."

Snapping out of her trance, Arizona smiled at her sons. It was time. Gathering their stuff, Arizona said, "We are going home."

Twenty minutes into their drive back to Lake Tahoe, Arizona was on the outskirts of Reno. The traffic from the arena was very congested that afternoon, unusually backed up for a weekday. They were not making good progress with their travels as the blonde looked at the clock on her dash. Arizona had once again tried reach out to Callie. There was no answer on her cell phone nor at their home. Things we unusually out of sorts, and Arizona was concerned. In fact, the blonde had begun to feel that she would feel more at peace once they got back to Lake Tahoe and she knew what was going on. Had something happened?

Passing a small shopping mall just outside the city, Arizona's cell phone rang. It was an unknown number that flashed on her screen. Pressing the button on the steering wheel, Arizona answered, "Hello?"

A broken and desperate voice came through the phone. It was heavily accented, and although it sounded somewhat garbled, Arizona immediately recognized its owner. "Arizona, where are you?" Carmela asked.

"Mama, are you alright?" She could hear the upset tone of her mother in law and Arizona knew something was wrong. Taking her phone off of the bluetooth, the blonde held it close to her ear.

As the older mother cried, she spoke as best she could though her broken English, "You need to come to the hospital. It's Callie."

"We often tend to forget during times of tragedy we are provided one, unintended service: It brings us closer together and allows us — for one fleeting moment, anyway — to feel we share common bonds of humanity. We become more human and more focused on the things which really matter in our lives."

A/N: Thoughts?