"Okay, so I wasn't sure what to get Sofia. I'm not sure what kids are into these days. My sister is happily single, so I don't have any nieces or nephews and most of my friends are just starting out in their careers so they don't have any kids." Callie rattles off. "I did some research earlier today, but I still wasn't sure. So I got a few things. A puzzle, a fun chemistry lab for kids, cause you know, science. Oh and I got some books because books are always good, right?" Callie finishes her rant and holds up two bags of gifts.
"Do you want to come in first?" Arizona moves out the way so her girlfriend can come in. "I'm sure Sof will love all of them." Taking the bags from the brunette, she puts them on the nearby table and leads Callie over to the couch."
"I kept all the receipts so if she wants something else I'll be happy to exchange it."
"Seriously, I'm sure she'll love all of them. She crashed after her party, so she's in her room sleeping, but I promise you she'll love them. She got so many gifts today it's going to take her a while to get through them all."
"How did the party go?" Kicking off her shoes and pulling her feet up on the couch under her, she turned to give her full attention to the blonde. "Kids parties always seem stressful."
"Oh it was, but I enjoyed it. Most importantly Sofia loved her party and had a great time. I don't get to see the other parents much because of my work schedule, so it was nice to hang out with them and get to know them better. I think we had about twenty kids."
"Wow, that's a lot of six and seven year olds."
"Tell me about it." Arizona got off the couch and headed towards the kitchen. "You want something to drink?"
"No, I'm fine. Thanks." Taking a second to collect her thoughts, she watched as Arizona poured herself a glass of wine. "So about last night. Again, I'm really sorry. The idea to go out was last minute and I had a little time before I planned to meet you, but then…"
"Listen," Arizona started as she returned to her seat. "I'm all for you wanting to go out with your colleagues and have fun. Our line of work is stressful so going out for some drinks can be a good relief. I do it too, not as much anymore, but on occasion I still do. Honestly if you would've just called me and explained I probably wouldn't have been as upset. You didn't do that though, you came late and you came buzzed. I just felt that it was inconsiderate."
"It was." The brunette agreed. "It won't happen again."
"We've known each other for basically a year now, but that first year we were hardly together. Now we are and we're committed to this relationship, so we just have to learn together. Last night was bad, but we just have to move forward."
"That I can do. I did think about our conversation again this morning and I want people to know. I think if we let our friends know it'll be easier for both of us."
"Callie, I don't know." Arizona said taking a sip of wine. "I don't want to make the hospital dynamic uncomfortable."
"From what I've heard doctors, nurses, you name it are always hooking up in the hospital or going out on dates." Callie adds. "Besides, we knew each other before I even got accepted into the program. It's not like you moved my application to the top of the pile and got me in. From the hospital view point we've done nothing wrong. So maybe a few people will gossip and stare at first, but who cares. I surely don't." Taking the glass from Arizona and setting it down on the coffee table, she moves closer to her. "We don't have to send an email blast, but if it comes up we acknowledge it. Of course we'll still act professional at work. I just think it'll make a lot of things easier."
"I hear what you're saying. Let me just think on it. I've always separated work from personal stuff, so bringing it together will be new for me." Leaning in, she places a quick kiss on full lips. "But I promise to think on it."
"Fair enough." Pulling the blonde back, she captures her lips once again as they get reacquainted. Arizona decides to straddle Callie to get more comfortable as she runs her hands through long, brunette hair. "Wow, I've really missed kissing you." She says kissing a soft neckline.
"Mhmm, I've definitely missed more than just the kissing." Taking that as a hint, she unbuttons the blondes jeans and moves her hand over a panty-covered mound.
"Is this better?"
"So much better."
"Tell me what you want. I'll do anything, baby."
"Don't hate me, but…"
"I could never hate you."
"I want you to stop." Arizona says pulling Callie's hand away. "Sofia's room is right down the hall. If I told you what I really, really, wanted you to do my poor child would be scarred for life."
"Well now I'm just curious." She smirked back.
"How about some food?" Arizona suggested. Getting off Callie, she headed back to the kitchen to rummage through the fridge. "I'll be honest I don't have much in here besides some left over birthday cake. I'll order us something." Picking up her phone, she begins to place an order through an app. "Sof will be up soon and I'm sure she'll be hungry. Speaking of sweet Sof, I want to tell you about her."
"Go for it." Callie said as she got and moved into the kitchen.
"As you could probably tell she doesn't look much like me. As much as I wish I could take credit for her beautiful looks I can't because she isn't biologically mine. When she was about two and a half I adopted her." Callie nodded her head for Arizona to continue. "It's a long story, but I want you to know. Her mother came to me as a patient. She was a young girl who was just dealt a horrible hand in life. The father wasn't in the picture and her parents weren't much help to her. It was a unique case that required all my attention for weeks. We had to do test after test and she, Casey, was in the hospital for a long time. We got close because I would stay with her a lot of nights because she was all alone. Unfortunately she died giving birth."
"I'm so sorry, Arizona. I know that's never easy."
"It's not. While we talked she just imagined what kind of life she would give her daughter. She wanted her to have the entire world like all parents wants for their kids. She knew it would be tough being a young, single mom, but she was just so determined. Anyway, her daughter was placed in foster care, but would come to the hospital for checkups. I got so invested, everyone in the hospital could tell. I applied to be a foster mom. That took months and she was initially placed in another home, but I was able to prove in court that I could provide for her better compared to the home she was in. It was a bad situation, the parents mostly counted on the government checks and didn't give Sofia the attention she really needed. Plus they had four other kids. So she came to live with me. It was different looking after a child, but she just brought so much joy to my life. I took off a few months just to be with her. I knew I wanted her to be my daughter legally so I applied for adoption. It took over a year, I had countless interviews, home studies, the Chief, Bailey, and Teddy wrote letters of recommendation for me and supported me all the way through. Then one day I got the call. It was a life changing call." Arizona smiled recalling the moment. "Sofia was officially mine. Of course she was so young that she didn't know what happened, but I was thrilled. Some hospital folks threw us a little party and ever since then it's just been the two of us."
"Wow, that's just…wow." Callie said in awe. She figured there was a story about Sofia, but didn't imagine it was anything like what she just heard. "I mean I'm so sorry to hear about Casey, but what you did shouldn't be overlooked. Not many people would go through that. She's lucky to have you."
"I feel that I'm lucky to have her. I wanted you to know. So to your question yesterday, no jealous exes claiming to be her mom will be around. I have a few exes, but last I heard they've all moved on; and I've happily moved on with you." She grinned before they shared a kiss. "Do you mind if I take a quick shower before the food comes? "
"That's fine with me."
About fifteen minutes later a newly-showered Arizona wondered back into the living room to see her daughter laughing and smiling while putting together a puzzle. "What is so funny out here?" The blonde asked as she took a seat on the floor next to her daughter and began to help put the puzzle together on the coffee table.
"Callie was telling me a funny story, mommy."
"Yeah I was just telling Sof about unfortunate event with a frog in medical school." Callie smiled back at the mother and daughter duo.
"Oh well I definitely want to hear about that. Hey Sofia, did you thank Callie for this pretty puzzle? She got it for your birthday."
"Of course, mommy." The little girl said with a grin.
"She even gave me a sweet hug too." Callie added. The two adults shared a meaningful look with each other before continuing to chat with the young girl. A few minutes later the doorbell rang.
"Go wash your hands for dinner, Sof. I'll get the food." Arizona got up and headed for the door while Callie went into the kitchen to get cups and plates out.
"Hi…Teddy?" Arizona asked in surprised when she opened the door. The fellow surgeon walked right in past the stunned blonde. "Um, what are you doing here?"
"I told you I would stop by after my emergency. I felt bad I had to leave the party early and I brought an extra gift with me." She said holding up a big party bag. "What's my girl anyway?"
"Auntie Teddyyyy!" Sofia gushed as ran into the tall blonde's legs. "Want some cake? I have lots of extra cake!"
"I'd love some cake, girlie." All three walked towards the kitchen as Arizona was thinking about what to say when Teddy saw Callie.
"Hi, doctor Altman." Callie said when everyone walked in. Arizona looked at her best friend who was clearly surprised. "I'm Callie Torres, I'm not sure if you remember me."
"Oh I do. You're part of the new residency class at the hospital." The cardiac surgeon said more towards Arizona than the brunette. "It's nice to see you again."
"Why is it so quiet?" Sofia said after a long quiet pause between all three adults.
"You know what? How about you and Callie continue working on the puzzle while I talk to Auntie Teddy on the balcony."
"Okay." Sofia said satisfied as she pulled Callie's hand to walk them back to the living room.
"Oh wow, wow, wow. So I have so many questions." Teddy said once the two of them were outside behind closed doors. "First off, she's only been at the hospital like a month! How are you two already this close? And meeting Sofia? That's a big step. I mean if I'm being honest I think that's a little fast. Listen, you know I love Sofia like my own and heaven forbid anything happened to you I would look after like she was my daughter. I just think it's fast for the two of them to meet. Are you guys dating? I mean where do you find the time? I barely got enough sleep as a resident. Also, how old is she?" Is she—"
"25." Arizona answered calmly. She thought it was funny to see her friend ramble with all kinds of thoughts. "Take a breather, Teddy."
"To put it in Teddy's terms. She's Miami Mystery Girl." Arizona joked. "I've known her for almost a year. It'll actually be a year really soon cause the Miami conference was her birthday weekend."
"No wonder you were so excited for the conference."
"I didn't even know until I got there and she told me. I was excited cause one, it's Miami, and two, I need a little vacation away from Seattle and Sof. Her being there was an added bonus."
"How long has she known Sof?"
"Officially like a day and half. I've mentioned her obviously, but they just met yesterday." Arizona answered. "We weren't that serious for a while. It was definitely a fling, but once she got into the program and moved here we took it a step further."
"Don't hate me for asking, but did you help her get into Seattle Grace?" The surgeon asked nervously. She didn't think her friend would, but she had to know the situation.
"Not in the way you're thinking. I gave her advice on interviews and essays, but I had no part in her getting into the hospital. That was all her. We met on her tour. We flirted and wanted to keep in touch, so we exchanged numbers and every now and then she would ask questions about residency programs. No one at the hospital knows about us except you."
"You should've told me. Especially when she got in here."
"I wasn't sure if there was anything to tell, but I am sorry for keeping from you. I wanted to tell you a few times." The both finally sat down on the outside bench. "I like her a lot, but I still have my guard up. I mean we're in a relationship, but I'm still being careful."
"Is it the age thing?"
"A little, but mostly it's just me being completely vulnerable with someone. I haven't done that since I got Sofia. She wants to tell people in the hospital. I'm not if I'm ready for that."
"I agree with her." Teddy said after a pause. "If you're going to be in a relationship you're going to have to learn to become vulnerable and give the other person all of you. It's the only way it can work. People at the hospital won't care. Just keep it professional, which from what I can tell you two already have. You have a good judge of character, I mean you have me as your best friend." Teddy cutely added. "So if you really like her and want to give the relationship a fair chance I say a good first step is telling people at work in a casual way."
"Sorry to interrupt." Callie said coming outside. "The food got here a couple minutes ago."
"Thanks Callie. We'll be in in a second." Arizona answered with a warm smile.
"You want me to stay or go?" She asked after the brunette went back inside.
"Stay Teddy. Meet her a little in a casual setting. I do care about your opinion, and Sofia loves having you around."
"I do have a few more questions, but I guess we can save those for a later date." The two best friends shared a hug before getting up and walking back in.