"Wait she kissed you?" Alex asked in shock when Arizona just nodded quietly.
"Then why aren't you skipping down the halls and shouting from the roof tops?" Alex asked confused.
"Because right after she admitted it was a mistake, that she got swept up in the moment and then asked me if I could forget it ever happened" Arizona sighed as she dropped her head to rest on her desk.
"Riz, tell me honestly… whats going on here, do you still like her?" Alex asked from the opposite side of the desk.
"God Alex I am such a fool… no I don't like her… I'm completely in love with her... still… I fought it for years, denied it for years… but the more time I spend with her the more reasons I remember that I loved her in the first place, the more reasons I remember I came back from Africa for her, the more reasons I remember why I married her. God this is so messed up" Arizona whimpered.
"You know shes in love with you too right" Alex stated seriously.
"But shes not Alex… she loves me, I'm the mother of her child, of course she loves me, but that's it. That's where the line is drawn for her" Arizona said adamantly.
"You're an idiot if that's what you really believe, an actual idiot… you know what I would be doing if I were you?" Alex asked softly after his harsh start. When Arizona looked up at him questioningly he continued.
"I would be trying to win her back… slowly, there's no rush. You love her, and I'm telling you, she loves you. So remind her of that fact. Little gifts that only mean something to the two of you… like how happy you were when you got that slice of pizza, throw that shit right back at her. Spend time with her… you don't need to call it a date, but take her on a date… show her what shes been missing, remind her of why she's in love with you… fight for your wife and your daughter Arizona. When they left that sparkle in your eyes disappeared with them and they second Callie walked back in this hospital it reappeared… I wanna see you happy Riz… please just trust me and try and get your wife back" Alex sighed.
"I'm not promising anything, but I'll think about it" Arizona sighed.
The rest of the week passed with no further mention of the kiss, in fact Callie and Arizona had barely seen each other until the Friday night when they had moved Callie's stuff into her new house. On Saturday morning various faces started arriving and asking for jobs to do, Arizona set Karev, Hunt and Avery to removing the fence between the two back gardens whilst the women were all in the house emptying shopping bags and putting things away.
Callie and Arizona had taken Friday off work and had gone around ordering sofas, fridges, tables and the like and organizing delivery for Saturday and had then gone to purchase necessities that she would now need, towels and cutlery and the like. By the time the sun was sinking on Saturday night, the barbecue was lit as all the men gathered around it with beers and cooked whilst the women drank and laughed.
"Hey mom" Zola grinned as she entered the house and kissed the top of her moms head. "Hey Aunty Cal, nice digs" Zola offered.
"Thanks Zola… want a wine or a beer?" Callie offered.
"Nah I'm good thanks, I brought my own drinks" Zola smirked as she dumped two brown paper bags on the table before pulling down the paper and revealing four bottles of tequila.
"That's my girl" Mer grinned proudly. Zola sat down and fell into the conversation easily, smiling when she saw her cousin in the kitchen kissing her girlfriend in privacy.
"Sloan detach the lips and get out here" Zola called with a laugh when Sofia glared and flicked the finger at her.
"She's still so shy, it's sweet. She's scared to kiss her in front of us" Arizona smirked.
"Well who did she get that from cause you two and Mark were all sluts and exhibitionists" Yang laughed.
"Ouch… that hurts" Callie scoffed as her daughter entered the alfresco.
"Hey baby, good day?" Callie smiled as Sofia grabbed her and Stacy a drink before pulling a chair out for Stacy to sit down and opening the beer for her.
"Yeah we went to the zoo for a few hours, it was good. I cant believe how much you guys got done today, it looks amazing" Sofia smiled.
"I haven't done your room yet for when you want to stay over. You need to tell me what you want in there ok?" Callie ordered.
"Sure mom, but I'm not moving in, I just got rid of you" Sofia smirked.
"Damn right your not moving in… first time I get to live alone in a very long time. I'm looking forward to sleeping naked, walking around the house without having to wear clothes it's gonna be awesome" Callie offered excitedly.
"Are you planning on leaving the blinds open please?" Arizona asked with a smirk, rewarding herself with a mock glare from Callie.
"Not now I know my neighbors a perve I'm not" Callie laughed as she threw a bottle cap at the blonde.
"Damn!… actually on this topic, where are we standing on pool attire?" Arizona asked playfully, ignoring the smirk on Alex's face.
"What do you mean?" Callie asked dumbly.
"I just wanna know if I'm going to get told off for skinny dipping" Arizona laughed.
"Yuck mama seriously!" Sofia scoffed. The entire table laughed at their interaction, each smirking knowingly at the flirting and playfulness between the two ex-wives.
"But seriously… am I gonna get in trouble" Arizona asked when the laughter died down.
"If you want to go wild and free, you go for it… I cant promise photos wont end up on instagram though" Callie grinned.
"What is it with you and taking photos of me nude and in water?" Arizona asked seriously, waiting for her daughter to react.
"Woah too much information! Jesus do you not have a filter?" Sofia screeched.
"Yeah I use filters after I take the photos Sof, wanna see?" Callie grinned as she grabbed her phone playfully, laughing when Sofia closed her eyes and covered her eyes and sang loudly.
"It is way too much fun grossing her out" Callie announced, receiving a round of laughter as Sofia peeked an eye open to check it was safe.
"Your so gullible Sof" Arizona smirked.
"Well I can never tell with you two perverts. Its easier just to assume you've done it all" Sofia admitted with a smirk.
"Not it all" Arizona shrugged nonchalantly.
"Most… but not all" Callie agreed, laughing when Sofia covered her ears again.
A few hours later and the alcohol had been flowing freely, more people turning up for the unofficial housewarming, everyone deciding to stay over, between the two houses they had plenty of sleeping space. The music was playing, party lights had been hung up around the garden and for once it was a beautiful warm night, despite it being the first weekend in December.
"Tuck, watch your hands!" Bailey chastised her son who was dancing with his girlfriend and getting a little too handsy.
"Hey Arizona, come here" Callie whisper shouted, pulling the blonde into the chair next to her.
"So I've been missing a while… so you need to fill me in on your boy" Callie asked.
"Huh?" Arizona frowned.
"Well whats going on with him and Mer…" Callie nodded towards the pair who were dancing and clearly flirting.
"Holy shit… when did that happen" Arizona whispered back with a huge grin.
"I was hoping you could tell me" Callie smirked.
"Holy shit… Karev and Grey" Arizona grinned as she watched the pair for a few more minutes.
"Wanna dance?" Arizona asked, not daring to look at Callie.
"Umm… maybe that's not a good idea" Callie offered sadly instantly noticing the way Arizona's shoulders slumped.
"Ok… I'm gonna go get a drink" Arizona announced as she jumped up and walked away, ignoring Callie's attempts to call her back.
"Uh oh, trouble in paradise" Stacy commented after watching the scene.
"They've been weird since that night at Joe's with Penny… something happened but neither will talk about it. But mom seems to have shut off a bit" Sofia admitted sadly.
"Ok well we need to get them back on track" Stacy announced.
"But how?" Sofia asked.
"Leave it to me" Stacy winked as she got up and walked into the house.
"Oh hey Arizona, you look nice tonight" Stacy offered sweetly when she found Arizona sulking in Callie's kitchen.
"Hey Stacy" she offered sadly "thanks. You look nice too and happy" Arizona forced a smile.
"I'm very happy… I'm sure I don't need to tell you of all people this, but Sofia is amazing" Stacy gushed causing a real grin to spread on Arizona's face.
"I'm glad you two are getting along so well" Arizona admitted.
"Hey I wanted to ask if you knew if Sofia had any plans for Christmas day. The roster just came out and I'm working Christmas eve until five on Christmas morning and Sof has bagged Christmas eve and Christmas day off. So I can't go to my folks so was hoping to plan something with Sof" Stacy smiled shyly.
"Oh I'm not sure, I haven't spoken to Callie about it yet so I'm not sure what her plans are" Arizona frowned at the thought.
"My plans for what?" Callie asked as she entered the kitchen to find Arizona and Stacy talking.
"Plans for Christmas day" Stacy smiled sweetly.
"Oh… I was going to talk to you this weekend to see if you wanted to do something together. I was actually thinking we could maybe do an open house for Christmas eve, Christmas and Boxing day and people can just come when they aren't at work and we can just get a load of food and drinks in and all party together like the old days" Callie suggested hopefully.
"Sure lets suggest it to those that are here and see what the response is like" Arizona smiled.
"Hey Stace… could you possibly just give us two seconds. I just need to run something by Arizona quickly" Callie asked pleadingly.
"Sure… catch you both outside" Stacy offered before she returned to her girlfriend with a smirk.
"You talking to me now then?" Arizona asked tightly.
"Ok I deserved that. I'm an ass, I know. Would you believe me if I told you that I'm sorry?" Callie begged.
"Probably not" Arizona teased.
"How about if I said I'm really really sorry" Callie offered and Arizona faked a thoughtful look.
"Nah I'm still not buying it" she shrugged.
"What if I make it up to you?" Callie flirted.
"I'm listening" Arizona grinned.
"What will it take?" Callie asked.
"What are you offering?" Arizona laughed.
"Absolutely anything you want, as long as it will help you forgive me and let us go back to being nice to each other and not awkward" Callie smiled sweetly.
"Hmm…. Well if absolutely anything is on offer… what about the skinny dipping?" Arizona asked with a flutter of her eyelashes.
"Fine you can skinny dip in the pool… I just ask that you don't bring any guests to skinny dip, that could be a little awkward" Callie shrugged as her stomach churned at the thought and Arizona noticed it.
"Ahh that's not what I was asking for, and for the record I would never do that to you Calliope" Arizona promised.
"Ok well what did you mean?" Callie asked in confusion.
"If you want me to forgive you… really want me to forgive you…" Arizona trailed off as she leaned in towards Callie who was staring at her lips longingly and not at all subtly.
"Then I want you to break the pool in with me, one night when were alone" Arizona drawled.
"Huh?" Callie gulped as she continued to stare at Arizona's lips.
"You, me, our pool, skinny dipping, having fun…." Arizona flirted, leaning back slightly and watching as Callie closed in on her like a magnet.
"Sure…" Callie promised, not even sure if she knew what she was agreeing to.
"Arizona… why are your lips so alluring to me?" Callie murmured softly, her eyes focused only on Arizona's lips.
"You know… they are probably so alluring because you know how incredible it feels when your lips touch mine, you know how incredible our kisses taste and you know how perfect it feels when we are connected by our lips" Arizona offered, losing herself in the sight of Callie's lips. Long moments passed as they stared at each others lips longingly, Callie's frustrated sigh the only sound they could hear.
"My lips need you" Arizona whispered her confession painfully as she watched Callie wet her own lips with her tongue before she began to ease herself forward towards Arizona, all will to keep things friendly only was lost as she reached out towards her.
A loud bang on the side of the house echoed around them and they sprang apart before hearing half of the guests screaming at Alex in anger and the other half leaning in to watch them with no shame. Realizing they had been spotted watching the scene unfolding in the kitchen they guiltily jumped back and began muttering to hide the fact.
With a smirk, Callie motioned towards the toilet before walking off leaving Arizona to run her hands frustratingly through her hair before returning to her friends on the deck and glaring at Alex who shrugged apologetically.
"Don't!" Arizona warned as Sofia began to speak. Sofia smirked cheekily before pouring her mama a shot of tequila which was thrown back within seconds and the glass held out for another helping.