Disclaimer: I don't own Grey's Anatomy, I just borrowed the name of the characters for entertaining, no intention to violate any copyrights.
A/N : Sorry and thank you for coming back to this story. I hope this long chapter could make up the fact that I've been AWOL for so long ;-p
All mistakes are mine, sorry in advance.
Chapter 12
"Miss Torres, this is your room." The bellboy opened the room for Callie and Arizona, and carried their luggage inside. "The complimentary fruit basket will send to you later."
"Wow..." Arizona entered the hotel room with a low exclamation of surprise. It was not a room. It was as big as an apartment.
"Leave it here is all right, Jim." Callie instructed the bellboy before handing him the tip money. The boy gave her a grateful smile and then left the women alone.
"Callie, this room is huge." The blonde made a grimace as she continued exploring their hotel room. "We don't need all these space, do we?"
"Yeah, that's my dad." The brunette dragged the two suitcases into the dressing room, sneering over her shoulder. "Always exaggerated."
"The view is spectacular." Standing before the large window in the master bedroom with the prefect view of the white sandy Miami Beach, Arizona had an idea. "Hey, the party is in a couple of hours, you wanna go for a walk?"
"Can we do that tomorrow?" Callie said, while busy opening the suitcases, putting their belongings away. "I want to go over my speech one more time."
"Again?" Leaning against the door frame of the dressing room, Arizona pulled up her best dimpled smile. "I am sure that you know your speech by heart. I know your speech by heart."
"Arizona," The killer smile didn't work this time. Still had her back to the blonde, Callie hanging up their dresses that were prepared for the evening. "I have to do it in less than 4 hours. It has to be prefect."
"Exactly. That's why I want you to relax. Every time you pick up the notes you wanna throw up." Arizona walked behind the tall brunette and wrapped her arms around the woman. Resting her chin on Callie's shoulder, she teased. "Your voice got hoarse after you hurled. Not that I don't like your sexy voice, but I prefer not to share it with 300 people."
"300 people!" Callie dropped her head and grumbled out loud. "Why do I have to do this? I'm not a public speaker. It's not my thing."
"It's gonna be okay. All you have to do is talk about being a great surgeon." The blonde said softly. They had a pleasant time on the flight from Seattle to Miami. 5 hours they shared silly childhood stories and a lot of laughers. But at soon as the plane touched down, the anxiety struck again that turned the brunette to a nervous wreck, again.
"Easy for you to say. You're not the one to talk in a giant room full of people, on a stage, with a microphone..." Callie started to rant, but she was interrupted by the door bell.
"You can do it. Just relax." The blonde walked away with a smile. And it spread wider when another groan coming from the dressing room.
Opening the door, Arizona was expected a bellboy coming with the fruit basket that was promised, but instead, there was a well dressed middle aged man with a smile.
"Can I help you?"
"Hi, you must be Arizona." The smiling man nodded his head in a friendly fashion. "I'm Jeffrey, Mrs. Torres's secretary. Is Callie here?"
"Jeff?" Callie came out to the living room in time hearing her name. She squeaked and ran to throw herself to the man's waiting arms. "What are you doing here?"
"Happy to see you again too, Callie." Jeffrey laughed, tightening his grasp to a bear hug before letting the brunette go. "Just want to see if you two are settling in okay."
"Oh gosh, where's my manner?" Smiled beamingly, Callie wrapped an arm round Arizona's shoulder pulling her closer and started the introduction. "Arizona, this is Jeffrey, he has been my mom's right hand man since I can remember. He helped me getting away with a lot of troubles with my mom. And Jeff, this is..."
"Your girlfriend, I know." Jeffrey leaned forward giving the blonde a cheek to cheek kiss. "Nice to finally meet you, Arizona. I've heard so much about you."
"Oh..." Callie was astonished, so did Arizona.
"Oh is right. I can't believe that you haven't told me. I have to hear about it from your mother." Jeffrey gave Callie a playful glare as she led them to the living room.
"Believe it or not, I only realized that when this woman walked into my life." Sitting down on the couch opposite to the man, Callie patted her girlfriend's knee with a sweet smile. "So, my mom told you, huh? I don't even know that she acknowledges this. Is she mad?"
"You will be surprised." The man unbuttoned the suit jacket button making himself comfortable. His mischievous smirk went wider seeing the puzzled looks on both women's faces. Waving his hand dramatically, he laughed. "Give her some credits. She would have fired me the time I brought a boyfriend to the Christmas party if she's a homophobia."
"How would I know? She hasn't talked to me since I told daddy about us." The brunette pursed her lips to a childish pout. "Where is she now?"
"Downstairs in the ballroom. She wants to come say hello, but you know her..." Jeffrey answered, and Callie interjected with a sarcastic laugh.
"Bossing around the servants?"
"Making sure everything goes smoothly." The man laughed along. He pulled out a little box from his pocket and handed it over. "She wants me to give you this."
The brunette opened the box. There was a pair of platinum earrings with small diamond drops. It was simple, yet elegant.
"This is gorgeous." Arizona said admiringly, but the brunette just pursed her lips in thoughts.
"Mrs. Torres always has good taste." Jeffrey nodded his agreement.
"Thank you, Jeff." Callie gave the man a smile that didn't really reach her eyes. "For bringing this to me."
"Well, I really like to catch up with you, but I should go back down before your mother killed someone, or set the place on fire by her flame." The secretary stood up with a feigned sigh. And he explained to Arizona with his exaggerated hand gestures. "She tends to be a little wired before the big events."
"Now I see where Callie got that from." The blonde giggled as she saw the man to the door. And when she returned, she was met with a hint of nostalgia in the brown eyes.
"It was our thing. My dad always brought me earrings before attending his parties." Waving the box in her hand, Callie put on a bitter smile. "He joked that he didn't like my hoops, but I know that he just wanted to give me a gift."
"Oh Callie..." Quickly sat down next to the brunette, Arizona wrapped her arms around the upsetting woman. "Maybe he's busy. You know, things to take care before..."
"Yeah, right." The brunette sniffed contemptuously.
"On the bright side," The blonde's voice perked up, trying to uplift her girlfriend's mood. "It looks like your mother's taking it pretty well."
"It seems that my mom is not as negative as my dad. Yet, she was silent in the last few months." Callie sighed, resting her head on Arizona's shoulder.
"Maybe your father forbade her from contacting you?" Arizona prompted, but the brunette shook her head slightly.
"I know how much power my father wields, but believe it or not, my mother is her own woman."
"You think that your mother chose to ignore you?" A frown formed between the blonde's brows. She didn't want to speak ill of Callie's mother, but what else would that be?
"Probably." Callie sighed again. She threw the box on the coffee table with frustration. "Well, at least now I can move on with my life. Stop entertaining any thoughts of actually getting back with my family."
"No, Calliope. That doesn't make sense. Your mom wouldn't have Jeffery brought you the earrings if she doesn't want to make up with you." Arizona put a hand on Callie's back rubbing circles. She hated to see her girlfriend this upset. A light bulb went on in her head. "I know exactly what you need right now?"
"What?" Callie was baffled when the blonde jumped up from the couch, slipping the keycard and her cellphone into the back pockets of her jeans.
"We're going downstairs to your mother." After taking everything she needed, Arizona took Callie's hand in hers and pulled the woman up on her feet. "Come on, you've met mine, I'm going to meet yours now."
"Arizona..." The brunette's mouth opened wide when her girlfriend led her to the door.
It was not easy to drag the unwilling woman down to the third floor, but the persistent blonde had managed to bring the whining woman to the entrance of the ballroom.
"I don't think this is the right time, Arizona. My mother is like a monster when she's in the party planner mode." Callie looked over Arizona's shoulder, she could see that her mother was pointing her fingers animatedly around a couple of people with headsets on.
"You want your answer, don't you?" Arizona lifted her eyebrows to a teasing smile. "You can do this now, or wait till later with 300 strangers in the same room."
"At least she wouldn't yell at me with the guests present." The brunette shook her head, putting her foot down. "No, I'm not going in."
But it was too late. Jeffrey had spotted the couple standing by the entrance. He leaned closer talking to a woman, and the said woman swirled around instantly.
"Crap!" Callie cursed under her breath, she couldn't flee now.
"No time like the present." Arizona turned her head, seeing a woman walking toward them with a grin. The resemblance was uncanny that she had no doubt that this was Callie's mother. "Time to face the monster."
"Calliope," Lucia Torres approached her daughter with a wide smile. Taking her girl's face in her hands, she kissed both cheeks before studying the face of her offspring with affectionate. "Jeffrey said you look tired and you do. Why don't you take some rest?"
"Mom, I'm fine." Callie answered awkwardly. No matter how old you got, your parents always treated you like a child, and you'd always be embarrassed by it.
"The lines under your eyes told me otherwise." The mother threw a disapproved glare toward her daughter, and then turned to the other woman standing before her. To both Arizona and Callie's surprise, Lucia gave the blonde the same cheek kisses with a warm smile. "Good to see you, Arizona. And you look much prettier than the pictures."
"Pictures?" Arizona blinked at the mother of her girlfriend with astonishment. She turned to Callie whispering the question. "You sent her pictures of me?"
But the brunette shook her head.
"Hey, I'm not so old that doesn't know how to Google." Lucia looked at the two with hands on her hips, with a little smirk on her face.
"You... Google me?" The blonde swallowed thickly. True to be told, she was prepared to fight for her girlfriend. The overly warm welcome really took her by surprise.
"You're dating my daughter, of course I'd look you up." The mother darted a mischievous intimate glance to the stunned women before turning back inside the ballroom, indicating them to follow. "I'm gonna take a little break. Arizona, you like coffee?"
"Only with my oxygen." The woman in question answered promptly, and that cracked up the mother of her girlfriend.
"You are funny. I like you." Lucia gave the blonde a wink over her shoulder.
"You like her?" Callie stared in amazement and her jaw dropped. "What- how- why?"
"Hey, I'm likable." Arizona hissed and swatted the tall brunette's shoulder when the mother wasn't looking.
"I know, babe. Just..." The brunette rubbed her shoulder with a pout. Not that she had doubt about her girlfriend's likableness. The whole exchange just left her stunned and stuttering.
Lucia heard the conversation behind her and a smile stretched her lips. Stopping in front of the group of staffers who apparently were waiting for the boss lady, she gave out some orders.
"Jeffrey, can you tell them to get us some coffee? Abby, I don't want to hear it anymore, just move Mr. and Mrs. Glover to table 29, make room for Conroy and his guest on table 3. And Stevie, about the centerpiece..." Lucia frowned between the flowers on the table and one of the staffs that had an anxious expression on his face. "Calliope, what do you think about the centerpiece?"
"They look really beautiful." They did. The centerpiece was a combination of white hydrangeas, roses, babies breathe in a tall glass vase. Simply classy and graceful.
"Don't you think it's a little too... white? And they are too big." The boss lady bit the corner of her lips in her thoughts. "I just saw the picture. I really should have asked them to send me a sample. See, this is what happened when..."
Lucia went on and on, and now her daughter had a pretty good idea what was the problem - Mrs. Torres wasn't happy with the flower arrangements. It was too white, too big, blocking the view of the guests and it didn't smell right. And knowing her mother, she was about to ask the pale looking man replacing all centerpieces in less than 2 hours if nobody stopped her. Judging by the silent plead coming from the eyes of the staffers, the young brunette knew that she had to be the one.
"Mom, the centerpieces looks really nice." Callie stepped next to her mother, putting a hand on her shoulder. "They are beautiful and smell really nice. And they're not that oversize. The glass vase elevates the bouquet so the guests can look across the table. This is prefect. Leave the flowers alone."
Arizona watched the interaction with amusement. Lucia's nervous ramble was exactly liked Callie's when she was anxious. She really was her mother's daughter.
"Fine fine... Just make sure the centerpieces are in the center of the tables. It calls the centerpiece for a reason." The mother threw her hands up in surrender. "Jeffrey, the coffee?"
"They're setting it up in the corner." The capable secretary pointed to one of the tables. Lucia patted his shoulder with an appreciative smile before leading the girls to their coffee.
"So, how was the flight? I knew you girls had to get up really early this morning." Lucia asked while the waitress poured their coffee.
"A little hiccup on the way to the airport, but everything went well." Callie shared a look with her girlfriend, who agreed with a nod.
"What happened?" The mother asked.
"My car broke down." The brunette answered casually, with a hint of smile in the corner of her lips. "Arizona tried to fix it by pulling out the horn wire."
"Hey." The blonde protested. All the while, the flush was on her face.
"Abuelo's old car? Calliope, I've told you to replace it." Shaking her head, Lucia said with a laugh. "That car is as old as you."
"I love my car." Holding the coffee cup in her hand, Callie got right to the chase. "Speaking of... what do you mean you like Arizona?"
"Are you going to give me a reason not to?" Lucia looked at her daughter without any expression on her face except the uplift eyebrows.
"No!" Callie exclaimed instantly. "I mean... I have no idea you... You've never acted this way with any of my other boyfriends."
"I've never liked any of your other boyfriends." The mother shrugged a shoulder before taking a sip of her coffee.
"What?!" The young brunette gasped. "Okay, obviously George wasn't great..."
"Nope." Lucia answered without missing a beat.
"But... Mike was nice." Callie referred to her high school boyfriend.
"Nice and old." The older brunette chuckled, and she explained to the other woman at the table. "Calliope was a junior in high school, and the guy was a senior in collage. We paid him to be her tutor for god sakes."
"How about..." The daughter squinted at her smirking mother. Sure she could recall someone good. "How about Pablo from the ninth grade? You guys were always encouraging me to invite him over."
"So your abuela could keep an eye on the little perv. He always tried to peek under your skirt." Lucia broke into a sly grin. And Arizona couldn't hold back a laugh.
"So what?" The reactions around miffed the brunette. "You think I have bad judgment about guys?"
Instead of answering the question, Lucia just blinked at her daughter with a grin. The answer was obvious.
"Okay, fine!" Callie grunted into her hands before ran those through her hair, giving her mother a grimace. She was not going to argue about that right now. "So you're glad that I'm not dating men and you like Arizona. Why didn't you call me telling me that?"
"Have you tried to call me?" The smirk never left the mother's face.
"How can I? You disowned me!" Callie stared at her mother with unbelieving eyes.
"Hey young lady, I didn't disown you." Holding up a finger, Lucia said in a tone that contained a mixture of banter and seriousness. "And as far as I know, you told your father to disown you."
"I..." Replaying the last conversation she had with her father, the brunette's face blushed with shame. "He made me."
"If you say so." The older brunette sang before picking up her coffee cup again.
"What was I suppose to do? He wouldn't listen to me." Callie spread her hands and exclaimed.
"It takes two to make a quarrel, mija." With assumed indifference, Lucia said into her cup of coffee.
"Mom..." Stumbling backward to her chair, Callie pouted like a little child. "I know you'd take his side."
"I'm not taking side. Don't you see that I'm taking myself out of your stupid fight?" The mother chuckled, saying innocently.
"This is not a stupid fight mom!" Still pouting, the brunette reached out and took her girlfriend's hand in a gentle confiding clasp. "Arizona almost broke up with me because of him."
"You did?" Lucia asked in some surprise.
"Family is the most important thing in life. I don't want Calliope..." A dusky blush rose to the creamy cheek. Arizona didn't expect Callie telling her mother about that. Clearing her throat, she explained. "I know that she'd be devastating if we don't have yours and Carlos's blessing."
"And I had to convince her that I wasn't doing this for her. I am doing this for myself." Holding the hand in hers tightly, Callie looked deep into the blue eyes. And she turned her glaze to her mother with the same resolution. "You always tell me to be true to myself, standing up for what is right. Just like how you stand up in the courtroom against the unfairness in the world, defending the truth that you believe. This is me, in love with an amazing woman. I don't want to pretend to be someone else so that daddy would accept me."
"I'm glad that you take my advice to heart." Nodding her head, Lucia looked at her daughter with pride "And that's why your father is proud of you."
"Yeah, right." The young brunette rolled her eyes, sniffing at the statement.
"I know that you're mad at him, Calliope. But you do know that he's always proud of you. He's proud of you and supports everyone of your decision. Peace Corp, med school, going into Ortho. But this..." Lucia shrugged her shoulders. "Really took him by surprise and against his belief. Freaky, me too."
"I didn't plan it, mom. It's not like I know that I am attracted to men and women and hide it from you guys my whole life. It's just... I've met this woman," Thinking back the first time they met, Callie held her gaze at the woman sitting next to her, smiling almost imperceptibly. "And the attraction is too strong to deny."
"As Jeffery said, love is love." The older brunette would have to be blinded to not see how in love her daughter was. And by the genuine smile on Arizona's face, the love was reciprocated. "I'd be a hypocrite if I accept and understand the relationship between Jeffery and his husband, but refuse to acknowledge the choice of my own daughter's. It took your father a while to go there though."
"So you and Jeff convinced him?" Callie's face lit up, hoping that her father really had a change of heart.
"Nope. I've told you that I'm not gonna meddle with this nonsense." Lucia paused to reaching for the coffee pot, refilling the cups leisurely, knowing very well that her daughter was eager to know what had happened. Dramatically took a sip of coffee, she continued. "He changed his mind on his own. Well, he said that a wise man told him that God loves everyone. And God wants us to love and accept one and other, especially our own flesh and blood."
"Don't tell me that was Father Kevin." If anyone could change her stubborn father's mind, it had to be their priest. But would that be possible?
"That would be crazy." Lucia burst into a laugh. It did sound like a speech from a priest, but apparently it wasn't. "No, it was Arizona's father."
"My father?" Blue eyes scrunched up in disbelief. "When?"
"The last time he was in Seattle." Judging by the surprise on both women's faces, Lucia believed that they didn't know about the secret meeting. "As far as I know, they had a brief conversation when Mr. Robbins was hospitalized."
"It was months ago. Did the colonel say something to you?" Callie looked over to her girlfriend, who was as confused as her. "Then I don't understand. Daddy has accepted this, why didn't he come talk to me?"
"Do you know how headstrong your father is? Just look into a mirror." The mother chuckled lightly. "Do you think he doesn't miss you? His little girl? He's just too stubborn to admit that to you. He wants you to come to him."
"And you're too stubborn to call him." The blonde agreed with a knowing smile.
"So the donation to the hospital is his bait?" Callie made a wry grimace. Not that she didn't appreciate the generosity of her father, she just hated that the man once again throwing his money around in order to get what he wanted, like the last time.
"That was a promise that he has made before your fight, and he has every intention of keeping it. But I'm not gonna lie to you, this party is his excuse." Lucia waved her hand around the ballroom. "He pretty much arranges this just so he has a reason to invite you over."
"This is just... stupid." Callie threw her hands in the air. "All he has to do was to pick up the phone! How difficult is that?!"
Lucia and Arizona shared a smile. They couldn't have agreed more.
From the corner of her eyes, Lucia saw that Jeffery was hovering around, apparently needing to talk to her but didn't know if he could interrupt their little meeting.
"Jeffery?" The boss lady addressed her staff.
"Mrs. Torres, your hairdresser appointment is in 20 minutes." The man stepped closer to them, saying deferentially.
"Oh, thank you Jeffery." Answering with a smile, Lucia got up from the chair and said to the women. "Okay girls, I have to go. I still have a few things to go through with the guys and then prepare myself for tonight. I'll see you in a few hours?"
"Mom, do you think..." Callie asked sheepishly before her mother walked away. She had to try. "Is there any chance that I can skip the speech? Dad just wants me here, he doesn't really need me to get on that stage, right?"
"Not a chance. He wants to show you off, letting everyone know how talented his little girl is." The mother grinned at the request. She knew very well about her daughter's stage fright. "Just make sure you clear out your stomach before coming down here. And Arizona, I hope you don't mind holding her hair while she throws up."
"You can count on me." The blonde answered with a wink.
"This is just stupid." Callie grumbled the whole way from their hotel room to the ballroom. Unconsciously, she picked up a strand of hair and put it under her nose.
"Stop smelling your hair." Arizona swatted Callie's hand playfully. "You've washed your hair twice. You already got the puke out of your hair."
"I can still feel it. Maybe I should..." The brunette turned around, wanting to get back to the elevator but Arizona put her hands on Callie's shoulders spinning her toward the ballroom once again.
"No, you look good and you smell amazing. Come on, you can do this." Keeping her hold on her girlfriend, the smiling blonde nudged the tall woman forward the reception table by the entrance.
"Callie Torres." Callie told the lady at the table.
"Welcome, Miss Torres." It took the receptionist less than a second to find the name on the guest list. Smiling beamingly, she handed a table card to the daughter of her boss. "You and your guest are at table 1."
"Great, table 1, the one that gets all the attention." The brunette gave a grunt whilst led her girlfriend by the hand entering the ballroom.
After meeting with her mother, Callie was relieved of doubts about her father's donation, and was glad to know the old man had finally accepted her, it seemed. But the joy was short lived. As the time of the party getting closer, the anxiety returned. And yes, she had spent a little time with the toilet bowl. And yes, Arizona had kept her promise of taking care of the anxious woman.
"I have never seen you this grumpy. It makes me starting to question this thing between us is gonna work out." Arizona said in a whisper, but it was loud enough for the woman walking next to her to hear. She broke into a full dimpled smile seeing the shock on her girlfriend's face. "I'm kidding! I'm just kidding."
"I hate you." Callie scrunched at the blonde. She was not in the mood for jokes.
"You love me. And you need to relax." Tugging their joint hands, Arizona pulled the brunette closer placing a peck next to the pouting lips. It did the magic to bring a small smile on Callie's face. "What are we gonna do now?"
"We probably should go say hi to my parents." Callie looked around and found not so far away that her parents were surrounded by a group of people chatting animatedly. "They're busy. Maybe later... I don't think I'm ready to talk to my dad just yet. We're at the same table anyway."
Callie pulled her girlfriend to the opposite direction, but her plan was failed when the hostess of the party saw them and called from behind.
"Calliope, why do I have a feeling that you keep trying to run away from me?" Lucia cocked her head with an impish smile. She gave a satisfied grunt when her daughter turned around and placed a peck on her cheek.
"You seemed busy over there." Callie explained whilst kissed her father who was standing next to them. "Hi, daddy."
Carlos was trying to remain an emotionless expression, but a swift smile crossed his face when the soft lips touched his cheek. He addressed the blonde after she exchanged a greeting peck with his wife.
"Nice to see you again, Arizona." Behaving with a politeness, the man leaned forward kissing the ivory cheek lightly. And Arizona returned with a bright smile.
"Thanks for inviting us, Carlos." The blonde said, and she felt Callie's hand clasped at hers.
"Well, it's... uh... it's for the charity." Carlos responded faltered out. Not that he minded seeing the girls holding hands, just... it was new to him and he didn't know how to react. So, he glanced at his wife for help.
"Oh my gosh, don't you two look lovely." Being married to the man nearly 40 years, Lucia knew the man too well. Quickly, she picked up the conversation and complimented the ladies. "And Carlos, you're right. Calliope is gonna wear a black dress and the earrings that you picked out really go well with it."
"The earrings are from Dad? I thought..." Unconsciously, Callie raised a hand to touch her earring, looking at her father with questioning eyes.
"He had a meeting this afternoon, so he gave it to me since I'd come here early." Lucia answered for her husband when the man remained silent and just smiled awkwardly. "Of course he wouldn't forget your little tradition."
"Thank you, daddy." The brunette tugged the corner of her lips to a force smile. She was as bashful as her old man, and it was hard for her mother to watch.
"You two..." Lucia rolled her eyes dramatically. "This has had gone long enough. I don't want to have my husband and daughter being in the same room acting like strangers."
"Mom..." "Lucia..." The father and daughter said in unison, but the real boss of their family just held up a hand to stop them.
"I don't care how, you two have to figure out a way to make it up." She added with a stern glare to her husband. "Carlos, you know what you have to do."
"I..." Carlos signed. He knew there was no way to argue with his wife when she used that tone on him. Taking a deep breath, he gave Callie a soft smile. "Calliope, you'll stay for another day, right? Maybe... maybe we can have a talk..."
"No! Right now, Carlos Torres!" The man tried to stall, but Lucia Torres had none of it.
"Lucia, we have a room full of guests. I have to..." Carlos tried to reason with his wife. And he had a legitimate reason. He was the host of this party and he had a responsibility. But once again, he was interjected by his determined wife.
"I will take care of the guests. You take care of our daughter. You don't fix it tonight, you better check with the front desk to see if you can have a room in here tonight." Lucia gave her husband another glare before taking Arizona's hand, wrapped it around her arm and pulled the blonde away from the dumbfounded Torres father and daughter. "Come on Arizona. We have quite some guests from the medical fields tonight, let's go talk to them."
"Oh, okay." Still stunned with the whole scene, Arizona's feet followed the mother of her girlfriend without much of a question until she glanced over her shoulder, seeing the poor brunette was looking at her with wide eyes. She asked as the older Torres woman had no intention of stopping their tracks away from her family. "I thought you have said that you're not gonna meddle in this?"
"The art of meddling is to know the right time to interfere. Those two bullheads just need a little push, especially Carlos." Lucia patted the hand on her arm. She knew the only and the fastest way for those two to sort out their differences was to have them talk to each other. And she had no doubt that the man that she had loved and been with for decades was going to do the right thing. "Don't worry about them. You had your residency in Johns Hopkins, right? The chief is over there."
"Mom hasn't changed a bit." Callie huffed seeing her mother really took off without looking back at them, with her girlfriend in tow.
"No, she hasn't." Scratching the back of his head with a sheepishly smile, Carlos asked. "Calliope... do you want to go out to the balcony?"
Nodding her head slowly, Callie walked toward the other side of the ballroom where had a door leading to the balcony. Carlos picked up two glasses of wine on the way as he followed his daughter out.
"Thank you, daddy." The brunette took the offered wine. She took a gulp before leaning against the railing of the balcony, overlooking the view before her. "I've always liked the view of the beach from here."
"Yeah." Standing next to his daughter, Carlos turned his glance to the same direction. "Ever since you were a little girl, whenever we had a party in this room, you always wanted to come out to the balcony."
"And you always caught me sneaking out to here." Callie said with a smile. She remembered that every time she got out to this balcony, her father would be behind her almost instantly; no matter what kind of heated discussion he was having with somebody in the party.
"I told the waiters to keep an eye on you. They knew that you wouldn't listen to them to get back in. They'd come find me the moment you headed toward the door." The father smiled, sipping his wine.
"What?" The brunette blinked at her father.
"You didn't just standing behind the balusters, Calliope. You always climbed on the railing, trying to get a better look from above it." Carlos patted the top of the railing emphasizing his words. "I was afraid that you'd fall... or even worse, leap down on the other side to the ground."
"I was careful, daddy." Callie couldn't hold back a snort of laughter. Daddy was always a bit melodramatic when it came to her.
"You were a little girl. You didn't know how dangerous it was. And if that happens... if anything happens, I have to catch you." Ignoring the sarcastic laugh, Carlos held his gaze at his daughter. "I have to be there to catch you before you get yourself hurt, even if you think you don't need me."
"Daddy, I'd always need you." Callie responded instinctively. She knew her father was not just talking about her climbing on the railing. Hearing the sincerity in the old man's voice, seeing the love in the pair of blue eyes before her, she felt her own eyes quickly coating with a layer of tear. No matter how tough she acted, how much she lied to herself, she missed her caring father. "I just... Arizona and I... I know you think it's irrational..."
"I need you to listen to me, Calliope." Carlos cut her off with a soft smile. He needed to get this off of his chest. "Your whole life, you never choose the easy route. I had everything lay out for you, you could be a spoiled brat, have a comfortable life but that isn't you. You went to Botswana. You chose a specialty that doesn't have many female doctors... I don't really understand it but I support you every step of the way."
"I know, dad." The brunette nodded her head. Of course she knew how supportive her father was.
"And once again, you have done something that I don't fully understand." The man let out a long sigh. "I acted out because I was afraid that you'd get hurt. Like I said, I have to catch you."
"You don't have to catch me, dad." Callie said with a slight whimper in her voice. A light of gratitude came into her eyes realizing deep down, all her father did was out of love.
"Yes, I do. It's my job." Carlos looked deep into his daughter's brown eyes saying solemnly, yet, his countenance radiant with tenderness. "You won't always be a child, but you will always be my child."
Hearing the declaration coming from her father's mouth, the brunette couldn't hold back her emotion any longer. Taking the few steps between them, she threw herself into daddy's arms, letting her tears of joy dropped onto the lapel of the man's expensive suit.
"I wouldn't get hurt, daddy. Arizona is not going to hurt me. You know her, and you like her." Callie took a deep breath, contentedly relax when she felt the strong arms wrapping around her back.
"Does she make you happy?" Carlos asked.
"Yes, dad." The daughter nodded, nuzzling deeper into her daddy's neck. "She makes me very happy."
"That's all I need to know." The man took a long, deep breath. After all, what more important than knowing his daughter was happily in love? "You're happy, that's enough for me."
"What do you mean?" Callie pulled back her head, looking at her father hopefully.
"If this works out between you and Arizona," Carlos smiled at his daughter's radiant face. "I'd be more than happy to walk you down the aisle."
A brilliant smile spread across the brunette's face. She and Arizona haven't talk about marriage yet, but that was not the point. Saying that he is willing to be there when that day come, which implied that her father has finally accepted this relationship.
"I love you, you know that, right?" Callie breathed out, choking back a little sob.
"I love you too, mija. And remember, I'm always here for you. Even though you don't think that you need me, I'm always here for you." The father caressed the daughter's flushed cheek tenderly, soothingly, and his voice was soften. "I wish that we can spend more time together... How about coming for dinner tomorrow? I'd like to meet Arizona, not as the colleague of yours, but your girlfriend?"
"Sure. I think she'd like that." Callie wiped her eyes with a smile. It turned to a little grunt seeing the smudged mascara on her fingertips.
"Come on," Carlos chuckled mischievously, clasping his hand with Callie's walking toward the door. "You need to fix your makeup, and I have a room full of guests to deal with. Let's get back in there."
After a short trip to the ladies room, the brunette looked around searching for her girlfriend. It took her a moment to find her blonde in the sea of people, talking with some other blonde vivaciously.
"Hi, am I interrupting?" Callie approached her girlfriend from behind. And Arizona greeted her with a beaming smile.
"Hey Calliope, how did the talk go?" Arizona asked, but then quickly remembered that she had company. "Oh wait, I'd like you to meet my old colleague from Johns Hopkins. This is Dr. Lauren Boswell. And Lauren, this is Callie..."
"Dr. Callie Torres, I'm a big fan of your work. I've read your paper about the artificial cartilage. It is amazing." The old colleague reached out a hand before the blonde finished the introduction.
"Thank you, Dr. Boswell." Callie took the offered hand, saying with a smile. "You're on ortho too?"
"No, Lauren is a Craniofacial surgeon." Arizona answered for her old friend.
"It doesn't mean I'm not interested in cartilage. Actually, I've used your innovation in a couple of surgeries." Lauren said to Callie, and then she bumped her hip against Arizona's playfully. "You'd have known that if you are still in Johns Hopkins."
"You guys worked together for a long time?" Sensing a strange vide between the women, Callie sized Lauren up curiously.
"Since our internship in there." The Craniofacial surgeon shared a smile with the Peds surgeon. One of her hand lingered on Arizona's exposed upper arm rubbing up and down as she talked. "I was devastated when this woman left to Seattle."
"Com'on, you haven't even shed a tear." The blonde just rolled her eyes, was oblivious of the intimate touch from her old friend and the questioning gaze coming from her girlfriend.
"I was crying inside." Lauren feigned a sad face, making the blonde giggled, and the brunette frowned.
Lucky for Callie, suddenly music playing indicated that the dinner was about to start. She was about to say their goodbye but the old Johns Hopkins colleague already raised a question.
"Hey, you're not rushing back to Seattle after this party, right? Maybe we can get a coffee or something tomorrow?" Lauren asked the blonde, hopefully.
"Oh," Arizona stood there chewing over the invitation. She would like to catch up with her old friend, but as question gaze to the side met with an indifferent expression on the tall brunette's face, she decided to decline the offer. "Actually, this trip is more of a vacation for me and my girlfriend. We have already had plans..."
"Get out of here! Arizona Robbins doesn't do girlfriend. You said that you don't believe in commitment." Lauren laughed out dramatically as if she had just heard the funniest joke in the world. "Just tell your girl of the week that your old flame is in town and..."
"Lauren!" The blonde darted a look of displeasure at the laughing woman. She didn't need to turn her head to see that Callie wasn't pleased with it as well.
"Oh, I'm sure Dr. Torres knows about..." The clueless woman took the outburst as Arizona didn't want to expose her private lift in front of her highly regarded colleague, not until she saw the ivory hand reached for the caramel one into a tight clasp. "Uh... sorry, I didn't know..."
"It's okay." Callie gave a force smile. "We really should get to our table. Nice meeting you, Dr. Boswell."
With that, the brunette pulled her girlfriend toward their table.
"Callie..." The fast pace of the long legs told Arizona that the brunette was bother by this encounter. She pulled the woman to a halt before they arrived at their table. "Calliope."
"You slept with her?" Callie turned around in a huff, jealousy was written all over her face.
"We... we had a thing, and it was over a long, long time ago." The blonde shrugged nonchalantly. They all had histories, and she didn't see why Callie was upset other than Lauren's big mouth.
"It seems that she is not over you yet." Putting her hands on her hips, Callie sent a glare to somewhere she thought the flirtatious blonde was in.
"Don't be ridiculous, okay?" Arizona's face broke into a wide grin. She had never seen the jealous side of her girlfriend and it was kinda adorable. Taking the brunette's hand in hers once again, they took the last few steps to their seats. "We're just friend now."
"Really? Really?" But the green eye monster was not ready to retreat to its cave yet. Flopping down on the chair, Callie continued through gritted teeth. "The touching, the laughing... She was flirting with you right in front of me."
"She's always a little... touchy feeling. It means nothing." Arizona sat down next to Callie, trying to explain for her friend. In the meantime, she couldn't help to tease the brunette. "At least, you possible won't be seeing her again after tonight. It's not like you're gonna see her everyday at work."
"Excuse me?" Callie blinked at the blonde, not getting where this was going.
"Mark Sloan, ring a bell?" Shrugging her shoulder again, Arizona picked up the bottle on the table slowly pouring wine into hers and Callie's glass with a smirk.
"Mark... Mark... He's just a friend." Caramel face turned pale and brown eyes darted around. How could she forget that Arizona was facing the same situation everyday? "And... and... and what we had was..."
"Way- way in the past, just like what Lauren and I had." Putting down the bottle, the blonde looked deep into the brown eyes, giving the panicky woman a sincere smile. "Can't say that it's not fun to see you jealous, but you have nothing to jealous about. Those are in the past. We are in the present, you and me. And I love you."
"Sweet talker." Callie wrinkled her nose to a grimace. If there weren't in public, at the table with a couple of people around them, she'd definitely pull the blonde closer for a kiss, showing the woman that how much she loved her too. "So, you said that you can't meet her up tomorrow because it's our vacation. Does it mean that you wouldn't want to have dinner with my parents? My dad invites you."
"Your father invites me, huh?" Arizona answered with a smile. It was a good sign that Carlos initiated a dinner, with her. "I don't mind going. I like your mother."
"Glad to hear that. I like you too, Arizona." Lucia suddenly came up behind the girls made them both jumped. Chuckling lightly to their reaction, she turned to her daughter. "Callie, your father is going to give a speech first, and you're next."
"Great." Callie said sarcastically while her mother sat down on her other side. She turned to Arizona asking hopefully. "You just told me that you love me. You love me so much that you'd take this for me?"
"Nice try, Calliope." The mother interjected before sending a wink to the girlfriend of her daughter.
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the party of the 40th year anniversary of Torres Corp." Carlos's voice coming thought the speaker stopped the brunette from arguing with her mother. They all turned their attention to the stage where the chairman of the company was giving the speech, until Arizona leaned over to the brunette.
"You know what? Tim had taught me a trick to overcome the stage fright."
"Really?" Callie raised her eyebrows, remembering what the blonde had learnt from her brother about fixing cars. "He taught you to pull out the cables of the microphone?"
"No!" Arizona exclaimed silently while took a swat on the brunette's lap.
"If your trick is to picture everyone in the room naked, it's a terrible idea." The brunette shifted closer to her girlfriend, whispering into the blonde's ear. "Look around, all those people are pretty old. I don't want to have the mental images of their wrinkle bodies underneath their clothes."
"Of course not. Do you think that I'd like to know you imagining someone else naked?" Arizona yielded up a few giggles. "Seriously, focus on one person among the audience, as if you're talking to just one instead of hundreds of strangers. And lucky for you, there's a blue eyed blonde bombshell in the room that you can stare at."
"Yeah? Charlize Theron is in here?" The brunette joked, and earned herself another playful swat.
Even her attention was on the stage to her husband, Lucia couldn't help to smile seeing the antic of the lovebirds from the corner of her eye.
"With further ado, let me introduce you Dr. Calliope Torres, who happens to be my daughter." Carlos stepped aside from the podium, wearing the biggest smile as he waited for Callie to take the stage.
Taking a deep breath, the brunette gave her mother and girlfriend a kiss on their cheeks before walking up the few steps to her father.
The banter with Arizona minutes ago did help her relax a little bit, but standing on the stage, with hundreds pairs of eyes focusing on her, the anxiety returned to the brunette.
"Uh... Hi, everyone. I- uh- I am Callie Torres... Dr. Calliope Torres..." Callie swallowed thickly. The lights seemed too bright and the crowd apparently grew larger by the second. Nervously flicking thought the notes, she had trouble of finding the talking points. "I- uh- I'm an orthopedic surgeon at..."
"I thought... I thought it was a joke, when you told me that she has stage fright." Carlos watched with his mouth agape, taking the seat next to his wife.
"You'd have known if you were there for her 12th grade debate. It was hard to watch." Lucia sighed, giving the man a glance before turned back to where their daughter was. "I was hoping that she'd grow out of it, you know, being a successful surgeon and all. She has just forgiven you, Carlo, I'm pretty sure that she'll be mad at you again after this."
Arizona's ears picked up the conversation of the Torres', but her mind was focusing on the stage, where her girlfriend was fidgeting behind the podium, big eyes glued on the notes and words stammered out of her mouth. The blonde could hardly conceal her agitation, as if she was the one having hundreds of eyes staring at her in this quiet ballroom. She needed to pull the brunette together, and she could only think of one way right now.
Brown eyes snapped up when the silence was broken by a cough. Instantly, she searched for the pair of blue eyes that could calm her nerve. As soon as their eyes met, the blonde gave her a dimpled smile from afar.
"Just talk." Arizona mouthed to the nervous woman, with a firm nod.
"I'm..." Callie cleared her throat, keeping her gaze at her girlfriend, words started to flow out like while she was having the one-on-one presentation with Arizona. "I'm an orthopedic surgeon by trade. For most of people, they'd think that orthopedic surgeons are carpenters. Trust me, I've heard a lot of that."
The crowd broke into a laugh, and that boosted the brunette doctor's confidence greatly.
"And I agree with it in some ways. Imagine your body is a house, Cardio is the pumping system and Neuro is the wiring. Both are important. As well as the stability of the structure of this house. We ortho, are the one that keep this structure stable." Callie looked around the room, relieving from seeing her audience was engrossing in her speech. A few of them were even giving her a look of approval. Arizona was right. She had nothing to afraid of. She just had to talk about doing the things that she loved, just be who she was. "I work with cartilage. So I've spent a lot of time thinking about what hold us together, when things fall apart..."
Lucia nudged her husband with her elbow pulling the man's eyes from their daughter, silently hinted him to look to the side. The couple shared a smile seeing Arizona's mouth moved in sync with Callie on the stage. And from time to time, a wide smile crept upon that face when she held the gaze from the brunette. And a matching smile was reciprocated.
"I think, Calliope has got a good one." Lucia whispered into her husband's ear, and the man clasped their hands together saying nothing, but a satisfied grin on his face.
The party went on smoothly. The dinner was served and people continued to catch up with their business cronies. Callie was dragged by her father reluctantly to chat with a bunch of uncles, and Lucia stayed at the table to keep the blonde company.
"This is a great party, Lucia. You have outdone yourself again." A woman came up to the hostess of the party with a big smile, and the Latina got up to pull her into a hug.
"Agustina! Good to see you. And I'm glad that you approve." Lucia laughed with the woman. They exchanged some small talks and then the mother turned to the blonde who was looking at them. "And this is the girlfriend of Calliope's that I've told you about."
"Oh my gosh, I've always said that Calliope has good taste." Agustina looked the blonde up and down while the woman stood up from the chair, caused a faint flush suffusing the ivory cheeks.
"Don't scare the girl, Agustina." Lucia shook her head with a grin. "Arizona, this is my oldest friend Agustina Gamez."
"Nice to meet you, Mrs. Gamez." Arizona nodded a greeting, still feeling a bit bewildered and embarrassed. But the older woman broke it by pulling her into a tight embrace.
"Call my auntie Agustina, sweetheart. Just like Calliope does." Agustina let go of the blonde and smiled to her old friend. "Lucia and I are like sisters from another mother. Our children grew up together."
"Speaking of... how is Kiara? I haven't had time to visit her after the baby was born." Lucia asked.
"Oh she is good, so does the baby girl. I have pictures." Like every new parents/grandparents, Auntie Agustina carried the baby pictures with her and was more than happy to share them. She fumbled with her phone and then passed it to Lucia.
"Oh my... she is just precious." Lucia took the phone and swiped the photos left and right, exclaiming at every one of them that captured the cuteness of the newborn baby. "Look at her. Aww..."
"Yeah, my son-in-law gave her a bath the first time and it seemed that the baby didn't disapprove." The newly grandmother chuckled at that particular photo, where a man was holding the fussing baby, with lips cracking about to burst into a howl.
"How old is she?" Arizona asked with a smile, but there was a furrow between her brows.
"Almost 2 weeks now." Agustina answered, and her eyes lightened up when another picture came in view. "This one was taken yesterday. I'm telling you, this baby is a handful. She cries a lot, and does sleep much during the night. I teased Kiara that now she understands how difficult it is to be a mother."
Both mothers laughed, but the blonde was clearly concerned.
"Are her eyes a bit yellow? Looks a bit like it to me..." Arizona reached out to swipe the photo back to the previous one that the baby was looking right into the camera. "I don't want you to worry, auntie Agustina. But if she hasn't seen a doctor, she could probably use a checkup."
"It's a little yellow... but isn't it common on newborn? A little jaundice?" Lucia looked between the photo and the blonde doctor.
"It is, in the first few days. But this picture was taken yesterday..." Arizona chewed her lips. "The jaundice should have gone down after a week."
"Are you sure?" The grandmother stared at the young woman with wide eyes, color drained from her face.
"Arizona is a pediatrician..." Lucia put a hand on her friend's arm saying seriously. Yes, when a doctor told you there's something wrong, you have to take it serious.
"Pediatric surgeon." The blonde corrected the mother of her girlfriend. "She's probably fine, but jaundice is a symptom of hyperbilirubinemia in babies. It wouldn't hurt to bring her to the doctor."
"I... I'm going to call Kiara." Agustina took back her cellphone and headed toward the exit, searching for a quieter place to call her daughter. "Thank you, Arizona."
"Call me if you need..." Lucia called after her friend, but Agustina was already gone.
"I'm sorry." Arizona said as they sat back down on the chairs. She continued when the mother looked at her confused. "I don't mean to scare her."
"No, honey. It's a good thing. As you say, it doesn't hurt to bring the baby for a checkup." Lucia patted the blonde's hand. "You're a good doctor. And you're gonna be a good mother."
"A good doctor, maybe. A good mother, I don't know." The blonde cracked up a little by the woman's logic. The two things were totally irrelevant.
"You're being modest, honey. A mother's job is to keep their children healthy and safe. I'm sure that you can keep them healthy. And the safety part..." Lucia picked up the wine glass with a mischievous smile. "I hope that would never happen, but Calliope would be able to put their limbs back together."
"We... we haven't really talked about that." Oops... Arizona wasn't expected to have this conversation with Lucia, just half day after they met. Suddenly feeling the dryness of her throat, the blonde reached for her glass.
"You know, one of Carlos's concerns was that he wouldn't have any grandbaby since both of you are women." The older woman rolled her eyes, chuckling at her husband's absurdness. "I don't need a medical degree to know that it doesn't really need a man involve in the making."
"I... I..." Having the sex talk with her own mother was bad, but not as bad as hearing the mother of her girlfriend talked about how to make a baby. Arizona took a big gulp of wine and almost chocked.
"It was very hard for Jeffrey and his husband to find a surrogate mother. But you and Calliope have two set of wombs." Oblivious to the blonde's stunned stare, Lucia went on and on. "With the good swimmers, you two can have as many children as you want. Calliope always wants a lot of children."
"She said that?" The blonde asked between coughs.
"Yeah. She's the only child in our family. She always says that she'd have more than one." The mother nodded. Her smile turned to concern after finally noticing the blonde's face was white as a paper. "Are you all right?"
Arizona just shook her head, soothing her own chest with a hand. And she felt another hand on her back rubbing up and down.
"Hey, what's going on?" Callie just came back in time to find the blonde was coughing non-stopped. She sent a playful glare at her mother. "Have you tried to poison my girlfriend, mom?"
"No... I'm fine. Just... the wine went into the wrong pipe." The blonde said hoarsely.
"You sure?" The brunette asked lovingly, and Arizona returned with an equally sweet smile. "Okay. Are you ready to go?"
"You're leaving already?" Lucia got up on her feet with a pout. She had spent time with Callie and Arizona, but it was never enough for a mother.
"It's been a long day, mom. Arizona and I should get some rest. And we'll see you tomorrow." Callie gave her mother a goodbye kiss, and waited to clutch her hand with Arizona's after the blonde said her goodbye.
"The evening has gone much better that I have thought. My mom likes you. And my dad actually apologized to me." Callie was doing all the talking on the way back to their room. The blonde was listening quietly. Too quiet. "And they like my work. The chief of Walter Reed Army Medical Center wants to read my research about the robotic limb."
"That's good." Arizona answered absentmindedly, opening the door with the keycard.
"And someone said that my artificial cartilage is going to put me in the short list of the Harper Avery Award." The brunette closed the door behind, unaware of the lack of enthusiasm from her girlfriend.
"I have no doubt about that, Calliope. You are doing great." Finally, Arizona turned to face the ecstatic woman, plastering on a force smile on her face that didn't reach her eyes. She wanted to show her support. She wanted to be happy for this woman that she loved. But there were just too many thoughts in her mind right now.
"No, we are doing great." Taking the few steps forward to close the distance between them, Callie wrapped her arms around the slim waist, pulling the shorter woman into her.
"I haven't done anything." The blonde was bewildered. Callie's cartilage researched was completed way before they started the relationship. And all she did for the robotic limb project was to bring foods to the lab for the woman that sometimes forgot to eat when she was preoccupied.
"You convinced me to come here, Arizona. If it wasn't you, I wouldn't know my work is acknowledged by my peers. I wouldn't make up with my father. I wouldn't know that my mother has no problem of me loving you." Tenderly, the brunette leaned closer, grazing her lips against Arizona's soft pink lips. "You encourage me when I doubt myself."
"You just don't know how amazing you are." Blue eyes closed, a shiver running down her body as sensation of love surged through her.
"You are the amazing one. And I love you, so much." Callie barely slid her tongue along Arizona's lower lip before pressing her own lips against the pink ones. The blonde's content hum that rang through their kiss was all Callie needed to know that Arizona was feeling the same.
"I thought... I thought you said that you want some rest?" The blonde panted out the question when their lips parted for air.
"We'll rest... later." The brunette whispered between capturing the lips once again. She nudged her girlfriend toward the bedroom. "I want you, Arizona."
"Calliope..." The blonde moaned when plump lips nipping at that sensitive spot behind her ear.
Slowly, the couple arrived at the bedroom and Arizona's dress was already lost in the hallway. When the back of her knees hit the bed, Callie gently pushed the blonde backward onto the bed.
There wasn't much time for Arizona to marvel at how soft the mattress was before the brunette was crawling over her. Callie put her hands on either side of Arizona's head and just gazed down at her, brown eyes soft and caring. Pushing the hair out of the porcelain face, the brunette grinned in amusement.
"You're so beautiful, Arizona." she breathed.
"I don't want children." Arizona blurt out before she realized what she was saying.
A/N 2: The part where Arizona saw the picture of the baby and pointed out about the jaundice was an actual story that I've read a while ago. You know you're in the show too deep when you read an article and think to yourself, this is what Arizona would do XD I miss Peds Arizona.