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 : All mistakes are mine, I am sorry.
Chapter 13
"Mommy, mommy, look!" The little girl squeaked as she found something on the sand. Uncoordinated little body bent down trying to pick up her discovery, messy long blonde hair blew freely in the wind.
Callie was watched her with a smile.
"What is that, baby girl?" The mother walked up to the girl, asking.
"A seashell, mommy." A wider grin spread across the chubby face, the flushed on the cheeks made the toddler even more adorable.
"Here's your coffee, Callie." Arizona handed over a cup of coffee to her girlfriend who was sitting on the bench, overlooking the Miami Beach. She hadn't seen the smile on the caramel face since last night. Curiously, she followed the brunette gaze to where she was watching, and her own face fell.
"Thank you." Callie took the offered coffee, still had her eyes on the mother and daughter just few feet away from them.
"Callie, I..." The blonde opened her mouth, and there was a pregnant pause. She didn't really know where to begin.
"I just don't get it." The brunette sighed. "You like children."
"I like children, but I don't have to have them, Callie." Arizona shifted on the bench, trying her best to put on a soft smile.
"Why not? Look at that." Callie tilted her head toward the little girl that she had been staring at for minutes. "Look how cute she is?"
"Yes, she is very cute." Blue eyes glanced at the girl that captured the brunette's mind. She could understand why. Let alone the blonde hair, the girl had big beautiful round blue eyes and chubby rosy cheeks. This little girl was a doll.
"I've seen your baby pictures. You were every bit as cute as her." The brunette couldn't hold back a smile seeing the little arms wrapped around her mother's neck, giving her a big kiss when the mother put the seashell in their bucket. "Doesn't that just melt you?"
"Callie, I like children." Arizona declared again. Not wanting to have her own children didn't mean she hated them. "I really do. I just don't see myself having one."
"But I want them. At some point in my life." Callie's eyes drooped to the coffee cup in her hand. She felt a knot in her stomach.
"I know. Your mother told me." Couldn't bear to see the disappointment on the caramel face, the blonde turning her gaze upward looking at the blue sky.
"But why?" After another moment of awkward silence, Callie raised the unanswered question once again. "Why don't you want to have kids?"
"I..." Not every action needed to have a reason, but Arizona knew that the brunette wouldn't just let it go. "Having children is a huge responsibility."
"So, it all comes back to your commitment issue." Callie drew a sharp breath. The conversation with that annoyingly flirtatious old colleague of Arizona flashed back in her head. "Boswell was right. You don't believe in commitment. You still don't believe in commitment."
"This is not fair, Callie." Arizona clenched her lips, looking deep at the brown eyes as a surge of shock and frustration written all over her face. How could Callie question her after all they had been through? "We've talked about this in the beginning. I thought that being with you, being in love with you have shown you that the commitment issue isn't an issue anymore."
"I know, and I'm sorry." The brunette apologized immediately. They had agreed to talk. The least she wanted was to make this into a fight. "I don't mean to upset you. I just..."
"My lack of interest in having children has nothing to do with my issue. Bringing a human life in the world is a big responsibility. You can't just feed them with love and kisses, bringing them to the beach for a seashell hunt from time to time." Still in a row, Arizona flung her arm toward the happy mother and daughter, her voice shock with excessive emotion. "It's more than that. You have to take care of them, educate them... Do you know how many kids lying on my table because their parents failed them?"
"But if we had a baby," Saying hurriedly, Callie let slip the dream she had. "Our baby's not gonna be one of those kids in your NICU."
"You don't know that." The blonde looked down when a hand of Callie's slipped in hers. Taking a brief minute to calm down and regrouped her mind, she gave the brunette a bitter smile. "And it's a full time job, Callie. I like my life. And I like it the way that it is."
"What do you mean?" The brunette frowned.
"I don't want to wake up at 3am in the morning after a long day of work because the baby is crying for no good reason. I can go anywhere anytime I want because I don't have to find a babysitter, or think about if that baby would behave during the flight. And I don't have to worry..." Arizona had a thousand examples in her head and she was more than happy to let it out, but she stopped abruptly when she found the brunette was staring at her with an air of perplexed and sorrowful earnestness.
"So, you're telling me, you don't want to have children because you want your freedom." Callie pursed her lips and nodded, withdrawing her hand from her girlfriend's.
"No Callie, you're missing the point." The blonde sighed. Usually she was good with words but apparently, she wasn't explaining it well enough. "It's not just about the freedom. Having a human completely depends on me... it's horrifying."
"But you don't have to do that alone." Callie said with a slight whimper in her voice. The whole point of having this conversation was that she wanted this with Arizona, and the blonde should have known that.
"Wouldn't it be better if we don't have to do that at all?" And Arizona pleaded with her eyes.
"So it doesn't matter to you that I want them?" Callie asked. A second passed, 2 seconds passed... Arizona just stared at her with mouth agape, but nothing came out.
It was too much for the brunette. It hurt so much that she couldn't sit still. Getting up from the bench, she wasn't going to leave the blonde there, she just needed to... not sitting so close to this woman. A hand grasped her wrist as soon as she stood up on her feet.
"Why do you want to have kids?" Blue eyes gazed up, Arizona asking helplessly.
"Everyone wants to have kids." Shrugging her shoulders, Callie answered in a matter-of-fact tone. "It's the circle of life."
"And...?" The blonde raised her eyebrows skeptically.
"And... what?" The brunette was puzzled by the sudden question.
"I've given you the reasons why I don't want them, but you haven't had a real reason why you, Calliope Torres have to have kids." Tugging at the wrist in her hand, Arizona was relieved when Callie settled back down on the bench.
"I don't need to have a reason, Arizona. Everyone wants to have kids." Brown eyes found the mother and daughter once again. The two had moved further to the shore, building sand castle and the laughter from the little girl could still be heard from where Callie was sitting. "Everyone has kids."
"Cristina doesn't want kids." Arizona's eyes never left the face of her girlfriend.
"Have you met her?" Callie chuckled contemptuously. "She doesn't like kids, and kids don't like her."
The blonde chuckled along because it was true. During the handful of times that Cristina was on Peds rotation interacting with the tiny human, it was pretty sure that the feelings were mutual.
"And yet, you don't think that is ridiculous. You even picked her side while she and Owen were fighting."
"I didn't pick side. Both of them are my friends." The brunette rolled her eyes annoyingly. She did defend Cristina in front of Owen a couple of times, but she was doing that for both of her friends.
"What I'm saying is," Arizona clasped Callie's hand with both of hers as she spoke. "You understand her. You accept that she values her career, her freedom of..."
"I am not dating Cristina, Arizona." Cutting the blonde off, Callie punctuated her point with a hard glare. "I'm dating you."
"And I love you, Calliope, with all my heart. I'll give you the whole world if you want me to." Pulling Callie's hands against her chest, Arizona asked in a whisper. "But can you at least try to understand... try to accept that I do not want to have children?"
"Hello, you must be Ms. Torres and Ms. Robbins." The old woman in a maid costume opened the door of the luxurious mansion. She put on a wider smile when the women answered her with a nod. "Please come on in. Sir is in the living room and ma'am is in the kitchen."
"Why am I not surprise that your parents have a maid?" Arizona teased her girlfriend when the maid was out of earshot. Callie just smirked and led the way to the living room.
"Calliope, Arizona." Carlos put down the newspaper as the girls entered. He jumped up to greet his guests and then headed toward the drink cart. "Some wine? Arizona, I remember that you like white."
"Thank you, Carlos." The blonde smiled sweetly.
"Girls, you are early." Lucia emerged from a side door, wearing an apron around her waist. She gave Callie and Arizona kisses on the cheeks as she explained. "Dinner is not ready."
"Mom, the cook's off tonight?" Callie looked at her mother up and down. "You should have told us then we'll meet in the restaurant."
"You know I like to cook, especially not everyday that my daughter's coming home with her girlfriend." The mother sat down on the couch opposite to the young couple, accepting the glass of wine that her husband handed her. "Since you're already here, you can help me in the kitchen."
"Uh... Arizona doesn't cook." The brunette looked at her girlfriend, and she added with a mischievous smirk that made the blonde blushed. "Actually, she's a real threat in the kitchen."
"I am not." Arizona muttered in embarrassment. "I'm just... not so skilled in the cooking department."
"Well, I can keep Arizona company." Carlos offered, leaving both Callie and Arizona dumbfounded.
"Daddy, don't." Callie squinted at her father. She kinda had an idea what the man had in mind.
"What?" The man put on an innocent look. He turned to the blonde. "Do you play chess, Arizona?"
"Yes sir, I do." Arizona managed to stutter a reply. "I used to play with my dad and my brother."
"I have a very nice chess set in my study. We can have a game of chess while they prepare the dinner." Smiling satisfyingly, Carlos rose up from the couch and gestured the blonde to follow him.
"O-okay." A little baffled and uncertain, the blonde got up on her feet while looking at her girlfriend, who was mouthing 'I'm sorry' to her.
"Oh before I forget." Lucia called after them. "I received a call from Agustina this morning. They've brought the baby to hospital last night and you were right. Baby Tina is jaundiced."
"What happened?" Callie looked between her mother and girlfriend.
"Arizona hasn't told you? Last night Agustina showed us pictures of Kiara's baby, and Arizona saw that the baby was abnormally yellowish." The mother smiled at Arizona with gratitude, and a hint of pride. "You saved her life, Arizona. And as I said, you're a good doctor and I have no doubt that you'll be a good mother someday."
"I'm just glad that I could help." Arizona smiled back as she stole a few sheepish glances at her girlfriend before following Carlos toward the study.
"So, you told Arizona that she'd be a good mother." Callie said whilst walking with her mother toward the kitchen.
"Yeah, without a doubt." Lucia nodded her head enthusiastically.
"And then you told her that I want to have children." The brunette chewed her lips.
"Yeah." The mother nodded again while passing the apron to her helper, oblivious of the frown between Callie's brows. "And I'm surprised that you haven't talked about that yet."
"Mom, we are dating for just 6 months." Balling up the apron in her fists, Callie flopped down on the stool by the kitchen island. This time, her mother noticed her frustration.
"Something's wrong, mija?" Leaning on the kitchen island with both hands, Lucia asked with concern.
"Arizona doesn't want to have kids." The brunette pouted plaintively.
"That's crazy." The mother laughed. And the smile quickly turned into a frown seeing the seriousness on the young woman's face. "She told you that?"
"Of course. Where else would I know that?" Callie heaved a deep, heartfelt sigh. "She told me last night, and we have kinda talked about it this morning."
"Who would have thought..." The preparation of dinner was forgotten. Lucia took a stool to sit directly in front of her daughter. "You said that you've talked about it, how did it go?"
"We talked, and... she asked me to try to understand her." Drawing another sigh, Callie glanced at her mother.
"And...?" Lucia asked after a pregnant pause.
"We agreed on putting some times to think about it. It just..." The brunette daughter picked up her wine glass for a sip before shook her head. "I don't know."
The older brunette could tell that her offspring's mind was in turmoil. She knew that she had Carlos to blame. Like father like daughter, Callie was not good at handling things when they didn't go the ways she wanted.
"What do you want, Calliope?" Lucia asked thoughtfully.
"You know what I want. I want babies. And I want Arizona." Callie threw up her arms and cried out.
"And you can have only one of them." Pursing her lips and nodding her head, the mother threw down a statement before getting back to the other side of the kitchen island.
"Why do I have to choose, mom?" Callie's eyes followed her mother. "I want them both. I want to have babies with Arizona. She wants me to understand her, why can't she understand me?"
"She told you why she doesn't want children?" Lucia asked without lifting her eyes from the ingredients of their dinner that was spread across the kitchen island.
"She said that having a child is a big responsibility. Having another life depends on her terrifies her." The brunette grimaced with annoyance. She knew what those words meant. She just didn't know why Arizona couldn't pass through those negative feelings, trying to imagine how amazing it would be to take on this responsibility, being a mother to a tiny baby.
"Huh, a Peds surgeon is terrified of having a young child's life depends on her." Lucia couldn't hold back a snort of laughter. She wasn't going to criticize Arizona's decision, but it was just too ironic.
"I know!" Callie exclaimed aloud, glad that her mother agreed with her.
And then, there was silence between the mother and daughter for a little while. Lucia's hands were busy with the foods, and Callie rested her elbows on the table and cupped her chin in her hands, staring out into the wall, her mind elsewhere.
"As your mother, I'd tell you that I love to see you having children, giving me and your father some grandbabies." Lucia said softly, catching the attention of the dejected young brunette. "But also, as your mother, I'd say... raising a child is not easy. Arizona is right, it's a huge responsibility."
"Jeeze, thanks for your advance, mom." Callie rolled her eyes. It wasn't helping.
"Every coin has two sides, Calliope." The mother smiled seeing the confusion on her daughter's face. "I'm saying, you're looking at one side of the coin and Arizona is focusing on the other side. Don't rule out any possibility just because you two want different things in lives right now. You are together for what? 6 months?"
"Yeah." The daughter nodded.
"This relationship is still young." Shrugging a shoulder, Lucia started to analyze the situation. "I don't really know Arizona, but being a successful surgeon in such a young age, I can tell that she's as headstrong as you. Suddenly you laid everything out there and demanded her to change, of course it's hard for her to just give in."
"So, you think..." A smile slowly crept upon Callie's face. She was hearing something that she wanted to hear. "She'll change her mind, seeing my side of the coin?"
"Or maybe you will, who knows?" Lucia didn't want to give her daughter any false hope, but when there's love, everything's possible, right? "I watched her last night, anyone could see that woman loves you very, very much, mija."
"I love her very, very much too, mom." The daughter declared instantly.
"I know. And I have never seen you that happy." Giving the young woman a wink, the mother turned to the stove checking on the casserole as she spoke. "You told me that you've never thought that you'd love a woman. And you changed your mind after you met her."
"And she has changed for me..." A smile touched the corners of Callie's lips. "She didn't want to be in any relationship at first but she gave in eventually."
"See? Both of you are capable of changing." Lucia said over her shoulder. After seasoning the casserole, she turned to her daughter again. "Just give it time, why rush it when you're in the good place right now?"
"Yeah, we are in the good place right now." Callie nodded slowly, letting her mother's word of wisdom sank in. And she added. "Except that, she still hasn't moved in with me."
"No?" With an eyebrow raised, the mother seemed divided between surprise and amusement. "Huh, Jeffery told me that lesbians bring a U-haul on a second date."
"That's rude, mom." The remark petrified the brunette an instant until she let out a belly laugh. Her mother did talk to Jeffery a lot about her newfound sexuality. "We don't need a U-haul because she lives exactly a floor above me. But she said that she has signed a 2 years lease, she doesn't know if she can get out of the contract yet. So, we spend half of time in her apartment, and half of time in mine."
"See? The relationship is still young. True love doesn't come easy, Calliope. Why worry about the thing that doesn't have to happen right away?" Passing a wooden spoon to her daughter, a mischievous look crossed the mother's face. "Right this moment, you should worry that what kind of torture your father's giving Arizona. C'mon, help me with the rice. The sooner we get the dinner ready, the sooner you can go save your girlfriend."
"So, you're named after the battle ship, not the state of Arizona." Carlos said while moving his bishop.
"No sir. It was the USS Arizona. My grandfather was serving on the Arizona when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, and he saved nineteen men before he drowned." Arizona took a long puff at her cigar, looking at the chess set pondering her next move.
"Yes, I remember that you've told me that three generations of Robbins had served the country." The man sipped his single malt scotch. And he made a remark both on the patriotism of the Robbins' men, and the chess move that the Robbins woman just made. "It's remarkable."
"Thank you." The blonde gave the father of her girlfriend a sweet smile. "Pretty much everything my father did his whole life was about honoring that sacrifice. And he passed that passion onto my brother."
"I know that it was your choice to choose Peds over Trauma surgery, but have you ever regretted that decision?" Carlos looked across the chess set at the blonde. He followed up when met with a puzzled look. "Not following your father, your grandfather's foot step?"
"To be honest, no." Sitting back in the leather chair, Arizona exchanged the cigar to a glass of scotch. "I was raised to be a good man in a storm, raised to love my country. But the don't-ask-don't-tell policy really goes against my principle. I can't be in a place where the real me is not welcomed."
"That's why Calliope told me about your relationship, instead of hiding you from me." Carlos nodded his head slowly, putting his focus back on the game.
"Carlos, that was Calliope's choice." Arizona cried hurriedly. "I didn't... I didn't force her to..."
"Relax, Arizona. I know my daughter. That girl wears her heart on her sleeves." The man waved his hand after moving his pawn. "She wouldn't hide you from anyone when she knows that's not something that you'd do."
"Actually, I tried to..." The blonde wetted her lips, swallowing thickly recalling the time her parents arrived at the hospital. "When my parents came to Seattle, I told Callie that I don't want them to find out about us."
"Why?" Carlos was surprised.
"I uh... The relationship between my father and I was a bit tense at that moment. I didn't want him to think..." Taking a deep breath, Arizona chose her words carefully. "I just arrived in a new work place. I didn't want him to think that I wasn't serious about my job, but chasing after beautiful woman."
"That's why that evening when we were having dinner, Barbara seemed having no clue about you and Calliope." Carlos raised his eyebrows as a sudden recollection flashing upon him.
"No, she didn't know, but she saw through me. She figured it out from the interaction between Callie and me." The blonde tossed her head and laughed. "Apparently we were not doing a good work concealing it."
"Women are very observant, I have to say." The contagious laugher made the man smiling along. "Last night Lucia kept pointing out to me that how affectionate you and Calliope were. I have to thank you for making her so happy."
"She makes me happy too." Arizona smiled as she moved her white bishop, capturing a black pawn and in the meantime, dominating the black knight.
"Nice move. Your father taught you well." With a hand rubbing his chin, Carlos glanced at the blonde before putting his gaze back at the game before him. "I'm not just talking about the chess game."
"Thank you, Carlos." Arizona continued after a pause, saying sincerely. "I love your daughter. And I protect the things I love. Not that I need to, she doesn't need it. She's strong, and caring, and honorable. And she's who you raised her to be."
"You know, I have dreamt of this moment." Taking his concentration off of the game, the man waved the cigar in his hand and leaned back in the chair. "Sitting in this room, smoking cigar and drinking scotch with the person she brought home. Of course, I've never thought that I'd be sharing this moment with a woman."
"I'm sorry about that." The blonde sipped her scotch nervously, and she secretly thanked the man for offering the strong liquor once they stepped in the study. She knew that Carlos wasn't just wanted to play chess with her. Apparently, the hard part was coming and she really needed the liquid courage right now.
"As Lucia said, it doesn't matter it's a man or a woman, as long as my daughter is loved, that's the most important. But still, I have to ask the question." Carlos paused dramatically for a puff from his cigar. He liked the blonde, it didn't mean that he was gonna go easy on her. "What are your intentions with my daughter?"
"My intentions..." The blonde's eyebrows knitted together as she pondering the question.
"I just realized that this is a sexist question." The man grinned sheepishly, feeling embarrassed when he heard the words that came out of his mouth. "I'm still new with this. I know that you two are equal in this relationship... just... Calliope has money. She has a trust fund that..."
"I can guarantee you that I am not after yours, or her money." Arizona spoke firmly with her back straightened. "My family is not as worthy as yours, but as the chief of the Peds department in a ranking hospital, I'm comfortable."
"I hope that I didn't offend you, Arizona." A smile touched the corners of Carlos's lips. "It just..."
"I understand, Carlos. You're just looking out for Callie." The blonde nodded her head and gave the man a reassuring smile. Of course she understood the father's worry. "And as for your question, my intentions with Callie..."
Arizona suddenly found her mind going blank. If Carlos had asked her last night, she would have no hesitation of telling the father that she wanted to spend her life with Callie, making her happy every day. But after the conversation this morning, she wasn't sure that this was a promise that she was capable of making. Not when she and Callie were not on the same page.
A knock on the door snapped the blonde out of her trance.
"Dinner's almost ready." Callie cautiously popped her head around the door. The smile on her face turned into a frown when she noticed there was not just one lit cigar, but two. "Arizona, you smoke?"
"I..." Arizona looked over to the ashtray next to her before turned back to her girlfriend with her jaw dropped.
"I offered her the cigar, Callie. We're bonding." Carlos grinned at both women, explaining for the poor flustered blonde.
"There's a lot of ways to bond, daddy. That doesn't involve stinky breath and cancer." Giving her father a pretentious pout, Callie picked up Arizona's ashtray and put it far away from them on the desk on the other side of the room. She went back to sit on the arm rest of the blonde's chair, wrapping an arm around the slender shoulder, asking lovingly. "How does the game go?"
"Your dad won the first game." Arizona tipped her head answering with a smile. A little surprise to see the tension on the brunette's posture had eased greatly comparing to earlier.
"And apparently I'm going to lose the second one." The father waved at the chess set. There was an approving smile on his face. "She'd checkmate me in 2 more moves."
"You beat my dad at chess? How dare you?" The brunette quipped, a big grin on her face.
"She won this game fair and square." Standing up to put the bottle of scotch back to the cabinet, Carlos said to the blonde over his shoulder. "Arizona, I'd like to have a chance to play with your father someday. It's not easy to find a good chess opponent."
"That can be arranged, right?" Shrugging nonchalantly, Callie asked the blonde and she got a nod in returned.
"Okay, if you ladies don't mind, I'm gonna freshen up before dinner." The man winked at the women whilst walking out of the study. "Just like her daughter, Lucia doesn't like it when I stink with cigar smell."
"Did my dad scare you?" Once her father left the room, Callie asked her girlfriend softly.
"Huh?" Arizona looked at the brunette enquiringly.
"I know my dad." Gently, Callie tucked a strand of blonde hair behind Arizona's ear. "Did he pull the 'if you upset my daughter, I know people that can make your life miserable' crap?"
"No." The blonde chuckled, and plastered on a smile that didn't really reach her eyes. "We were just talking, and playing chess."
"Yeah? Good, 'cos I really don't want him to scare you away." Callie leaned down to capture the blonde's lips for a kiss, but she pulled back as soon as their lips touched. "Okay, you really taste like cigar and scotch. I'm not going to kiss you for the rest of the night until you brush your teeth."
Giving the blonde a mischievous smirk, Callie pulled Arizona up on her feet leading the blonde to join her parents.
"Callie?" Tagging at the hand in her, Arizona pulled the brunette to a stop before they reached the dining room.
"Hmm?" A quizzical look on Callie's face.
"You seem... relaxed... and relieved." The blonde surveyed her girlfriend with uncertainty.
"Yeah, I had a good talk with my mom." Callie said casually. And she missed the look of pensive on the blonde's face as she turned around resuming their way.
"I need the bathroom." Callie said hurriedly whilst opening the door with the keycard. "I'm gonna use the one out here, you can use the en-suite one if you have to."
Arizona murmured an answer under her breath. She watched her girlfriend ran to the bathroom around the corner of the living room, and then slowly, she went to sit down on the couch and returned to her thought.
She was quiet during dinner, and on the way back to their hotel. And she knew that Callie noticed it. The brunette tried to make her open up but she was just too engrossed in her distress to respond.
Moments later, the blonde heard the door of the bathroom opened and it halted her thought progress. She didn't need to lift her eyes to know that Callie was watching her from a distance.
"So, are you going to tell me what is going on?" Callie sighed. It was a sound that was both frustrated and exhausted.
"Nothing." The blonde started weakly. She leaned back, resting her head on the couch with eyes closed. Her body language told her girlfriend that there was not nothing.
"You barely say anything the whole night." Taking the few steps between them, Callie sat down next to the obviously afflictive woman. And she could only think of one reason that would put the blonde in this status. "Did my father say something that upset you?"
"No, Callie. He was very nice to me..." Arizona twitched her lips attempted to smile, but it failed terribly that made the brunette affirming her assumption.
"I can not believe it. He said that he has accepted us and then he pulled that stunt. I knew that I shouldn't leave him alone with you." Callie grunted and shot up from the couch, reaching for her handbag. How stupid of her for believing that her stubborn old man really had a change of heart. Taking the cellphone out, she was going to call her father, giving him a piece of her mind. "I swear to God..."
"No, Callie! He didn't say anything offensive. As I said, he was very nice to me." The sudden outburst made Arizona's blue eyes popped out. Quickly, she snatched the cellphone from Callie's hand and muttered. "Just... he asked me..."
"What did he ask you?" Callie gave the blonde an intently inquisitive gaze.
"He asked, what my intentions are with you." Arizona gave a bitter smile.
"And...?" The brunette's stomach knotted painfully and she felt out of breath. Something told her that she was not going to like the answer. Slowly, she sat back down on the couch bracing herself for what was about to come.
"I don't know." Arizona said honestly, gazing into the pair of brown eyes with a very thoughtful expression. "I mean, I don't know anymore."
Callie's mouth tightened at her girlfriend's words. She had never been punched in the gut, but she was pretty sure it'd feel about the same as what she was feeling right now.
After an agonizing couple of moments, the brunette finally opened her mouth.
"So you don't think there's a future with me."
"No, Callie... Calliope, I want a future with you. I want to grow old with you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you." Arizona exhaled like she was trying to let go of a huge weight on her chest. "But I don't... I don't know if we can keep going."
"Why would you say that?" Callie eyed the blonde warily.
"Because you want to have children and I don't." The blonde's lips tagged to a sad smile with her eyes glistened.
"Oh..." Swallowing thickly, Callie didn't know how to respond to that.
"And you have talked to your mother. I know that she wants grandchildren. I wouldn't be surprised that she told you to find someone else that wants the same thing in life as you do." Arizona chewed on her bottom lip doing her best to fight back the tears. She had told herself not to cry, but the idea of Callie, her Calliope being with someone else just broke her heart into pieces and her eyes flooded with tears.
"Are you saying, if I insist on having baby, you rather break up with me?" Brown eyes bored into the woman sitting before her, but the glossy blue eyes just refused to meet with hers.
"Don't you get it, Calliope? You're the one holding all the cards. In order to have a future with you, I have to want to have children." The blonde smiled drearily, looking down upon her hands on her laps after wiped off a lone tear on her cheek. "But it just... it isn't me. I don't see myself as a mother..."
"We are in a relationship, Arizona. I don't hold any card. We'll talk..." Callie said hurriedly as a quiver of fear went through her. The words and the gestures from the blonde told her that she was going to put an end of their relationship. It wasn't supposed to be like this.
"We have talked about it this morning, and you got upset. And then you were relieved after talked to your mother because you knew that she was right." The blonde sniffed. She was certain that Lucia had advised Callie to reconsider their future when the brunette didn't deny her assumption regarding that talk earlier.
Callie was about to open her mouth but then Arizona's phone chose this time to chime indicating an incoming message. And one after the other, and the other... She waited for the blonde to get the device out of her pocket checking on the seemingly urgent messages. And the pale face went paler as Arizona read the contents.
"What? Something's wrong?" The brunette asked with concern.
"I... I have arranged a surprise for you." Smiled bitterly, Arizona turned the phone toward her girlfriend. There was a selfie from Teddy, and the background was Callie's apartment with boxes around the place.
"What was that?" Taking the phone into her hand, Callie swiped to see more pictures of Teddy and Henry, and more boxes.
"Teddy and I talked about it. She lives too far away from the hospital and Henry's apartment is too small for both of them. We made a deal that she'd take my apartment and I can move in with you. She and Henry are moving my stuff in your spare room. I was going to surprise you when we returned home from this trip." The blonde sighed. It was supposed to be a sweet surprise but now... She reached out trying to get back the cellphone. "I'm going to text her back, telling her to move everything back upstairs."
"No." Callie leaned back with the phone clenched tightly in both of her hands, saying firmly.
"Callie..." Arizona shook her head and sighed again.
"This is what I want, Arizona. You, you are everything that I want." Holding up the cellphone in her hand, the brunette declared emphatically.
"Don't..." The blonde whispered, twitching her shoulders nervously. She knew what Callie was gonna do, and she didn't want to be the reason that the brunette couldn't get what she truly wanted.
"You said that I looked relieved after talked to my mother..." If the blonde was willing to let her go because of this baby issue, Callie was not going to tell her that the conversation with her mother had lit a hope that the blonde would change for her someday. "She reminded me that true love doesn't come easy. You are my true love, Arizona."
"I can't be the one keeps you away from having children." Arizona's head drooped down, avoiding the eye contact once again.
"I don't want to have kids if that means I don't get to have you." Tenderly holding the blonde's face in her hands, Callie brought their gazes to meet. There was a hint of vulnerable in the blue eyes that she had never seen before. It made her heart ached knowing that she was the cause of it. "If I have to choose, you always come first."
"But that is your dream..." Gazing into the soulful brown eyes, Arizona searched for any hesitation.
"My dream is to spend the rest of my life with the person that I love and loves me back." Smiling softly, Callie caressed the porcelain skin with her thumb. She said to the blonde, and to herself. "I love you, Arizona. And I know that you love me too. We have each other. And that is enough."
"I love you too, but... you want to have babies..." The blonde voice was barely a whisper. She had the worst scenario formed in her head in the last few hours. This, was too good to be true.
"I want you." Leaning closer, the brunette punctuated each word as she softly brushed her nose against her girlfriend's. It wasn't a lie. She wanted Arizona. Even if it meant that she had to give up the one thing that she wanted for so long, she'd do it for love.
"Are you sure?" A look of vast relief spread across Arizona's face. Holding back the smile, she breathed out the question.
"Definitely." Callie answered instantly, wholeheartedly before pressed her lips against the blonde's pink lips.
It was slow and soft, comforting in ways that words would never be. Callie's hand rested below Arizona's ear, thumb caressing her cheek as their breaths mingled. The moment was broken when the blonde started to giggle suddenly.
"I thought you're not going to kiss me until I brush my teeth?" Arizona jestingly quipped, glancing skyward.
"Hmm... you're right." Plump lips found the slimmer one once again. The brunette muttered into the kiss. "But nothing could stop me from kissing you."
Arizona's lips spread to a wide smile. Her hand clasped gently into the back of the raven dark hair, deepening the kiss as her tongue pressed to the seam of the pillowy full lips, silently asking for access. But this time it was Callie who broke away from the kiss.
"Happy 6 months anniversary, my love." The brunette stared deep into the ocean blue eyes. "And promise me, we'll celebrate all the anniversaries together for the rest of our lives."
"You have my word, my love." Beaming widely, Arizona brought their lips back together.
"And that's enough." Callie muttered into the kiss once again.
A/N 2: I know what you are thinking - oh no, Callie said it's enough right now, but she's gonna change her mind eventually... To be honest, I've thought about it. I know, it's cliche and predictable :-p Normally I don't like to reveal my plan, but I can tell you that this story is not gonna be part of the baby-or-me nonsense, especially after what happened to Sanvers (I haven't seen any Supergirl since mid of S1, not my cup of tea, but I've heard about this ship and the same crap that they have gone through like Calzona). I'd like to ask you to be patient (really, kinda busy for the moment), and trust me ;-)