Though it was well after midnight when everyone left, Callie found herself wide awake and noticed the sun was just starting to rise. Quietly getting out of bed, she went to the bathroom to wash up, grabbed her phone and a hoodie from the closet and padded into the kitchen to make coffee. As she prepared her favorite mug with cream and sugar, she took a moment just to enjoy the silence, the peace and quiet. She felt a warmth wash over her as she realized just two short months ago, the silence nearly drove her mad, filled her with sadness. That silence was deafening and filled with melancholy. That silence reminded her that she was alone and would remain that way for as long as she stayed in the house or until she gathered the courage to change it. Though she learned to live with it, function and find happiness in other ways, it was still a reminder of what she no longer had. But this silence, it brought a smile to her face because she knew within the hour, the silence would be gone and replaced with running water from a shower she wasn't taking, the sound of bacon sizzling in a pan, and her favorite sounds of all, her daughter's high pitched giggle and her girlfriend's lyrical voice. This was a silence she could live with for the rest of her life because she knew it would soon be filled with joy and love. So now, it was times like this that she chose to take advantage of that silence and spend some time with her own thoughts.
Once the black liquid was finished brewing, she poured it into her mug and decided to take a walk through the yard out to the rock garden. Normally she would choose her favorite spot on the patio, but she was feeling the need for a little uninterrupted time and knew if she were out there, someone would join her soon. A great deal had happened over the course of the last week and while it was all good, she still wanted to sift through her thoughts and feelings and put them where they belonged because currently, some of them were just swirling around inside and distracting her. It was times like this she understood Arizona's great need to process, to think things through.
Sitting on the small bench in front of the fountain, she took a sip of her coffee and inhaled deeply. There was always something so satisfying about that first drink, the way the liquid burned and soothed at the same time as it went down your throat. She closed her eyes and looked up to the sky to allow the rising sun to warm her face while the cool morning air still brushed against her skin. She loved mornings like this. It reminded her of growing up in Miami when she would take long walks on the beach by herself. Only then it wasn't because she chose to be alone, it was because she had no one else. She was the outcast, or that's how she thought of herself. There were many groups she could have fit into; she just didn't feel like she did, she even felt alone in her own family. She wondered now if that was when it all started for her, the idea that her mind didn't coincide with the image she portrayed. She remembered how alone, how lonely she felt at the time and had no one to talk about it with. There was no way she could express how she was feeling, so she held it all in and dressed and behaved as she was told by her teachers, her nannies, and her parents.
Her parents…it felt like such a long journey, but she was starting to feel that they accepted who she was, who she had become. They accepted who she loved and she knew her dad adored Arizona, now it seemed that her mom did as well. They both adored her daughter and doted on her. They accepted her career, they even said they were proud of her for choosing to go her own way. For them, that was a lot, they were all about family and keeping business in the family. They took it as a slap to the face when she wasn't interested in following in either of their footsteps. Her father always said she walked on a ledge and he felt like he had to catch her. What she didn't understand at the time was to him, that ledge was the line between religion and secularism, family business and sure success or a different career and possible failure. What he never understood was Callie was someone who needed to fall, she needed to skin her knees and learn her own lessons. She didn't want everything handed to her on a silver platter like it always had been. She wanted the choice between filet mignon or a cheeseburger, caviar and toast corners or chips and dip, lawyer or doctor, husband or wife.
Thanks to Arizona, he finally got it, he finally understood she could make the choices he wouldn't and still have the same morals and values and be the person he raised her to be. She wondered now, even after her reconciliation with her mother, even after everything they saw this week, if they would feel the same way after she talked to them about her gender identity and presentation. She knew her father had asked Arizona about it and it would only be a matter of time before one of them asked her. She was in no way ashamed, she was just…worried. It took her mom eight years to come around to the idea that she was with a woman, now she had to explain to these old-fashioned hard-core Catholics that their daughter felt like…both man and woman…neither man nor woman…but, somewhere in between. She knew she could do it and she knew if they took their love away for that, then it wasn't the type of love or relationship she needed in her life. She knew her worth now and it didn't depend on whether or not someone loved or approved of her. Somehow, deep down though, she knew Arizona was right, her mother finally understood what losing her felt like when she looked at her family and didn't even know them. So maybe, just maybe, for once in her life, they would accept her as she is.
She sipped her coffee which was much cooler now and savored the flavor of the mixture of dark roast, vanilla creamer and just a touch of sugar. She could never taste it in the first drink, that first drink was always just pure heat and a hit of caffeine to get her juices flowing. She heard the timer click on the fountain and watched as the mini waterfall began to trickle with water then increase in pressure. She enjoyed the sound of the water, the way it splashed against the stone and added to the birds chirping, the trees rustling, and the sound of the rest of the world coming to life. Staring into the water, she recalled how it was just a few days ago that she sat out here trying to think of every reason in the world they shouldn't even discuss having a baby when she knew all along it was her own fear holding her back. So many times in their past, it was either her fear or Arizona's that kept them from finding the happiness they sought. Fear that even having the conversation would destroy them and she knew for her, it all stemmed from that first argument, the argument about kids that did destroy them. But she knew now, she understood, they were stronger, they were more logical and the fear that kept them quiet before made them talk now, it made them listen. They knew now, their love could withstand the differences, they just needed to let them be known.
Looking to the rocks that seemed to be still now, she sent a silent thank you to her best friend. She knew it was his voice she heard telling her to wake up, to face her fear, to stop running. Once she did, once she allowed Arizona to talk, once she made her own fears known, once they both listened, she realized she couldn't let that fear keep them from something they both wanted, to grow their family. She stared at the rocks again and was reminded of that saying on the back of Arizona's tribute to Mark, 'I'm a mom, you're a dad' and she couldn't help the anger that rose in the pit of her stomach. When Addie told her about that argument between Mark and Arizona, she was devastated, not just by knowing what Mark would have chosen, but from hearing how he treated the love of her life. She knew Arizona was struggling to figure out where she fit into the whole situation, especially with Mark's 'I'm the father' nonsense. She could only imagine how his words must have shattered her. The hardest part for her though, was knowing she basically did the same thing. She had been struggling to forgive herself for the whole court mess in the first place, but to learn about that, it felt like she had added insult to injury. She had a hard time understanding how Arizona not only forgave Mark, but how she forgave her.
She knew this was something she still had to work on…forgiving herself. She thought she had, but this new information, in her mind, it made what she did feel so much worse. Even with both Mark's words and her actions, Arizona's place in Sofia's life was validated by the courts, but at that point, what had she won? Callie thought she understood the depth of Arizona's love for her until she heard that story. Arizona turned around and gave her daughter back to her, after everything that Mark said, after everything that was said in court. She had no doubt she did it out of love for her, but she did it because she understood, she knew what it was like to be treated as nothing in your child's life and she wouldn't allow Callie to know that feeling. Now, she had not only forgiven her, but she also wanted to share another child with her, she wanted to bring another child into their family after everything that had happened, knowing there were no guarantees.
She felt the tears start to fall, wiped her eyes, rubbed her temples and tried to make sense of the fact that two short months ago she was lamenting the loss of her family and now she not only had her daughter back with her, but she had Arizona and they were discussing their future and preparing to have a new baby and she had her mother back in her life as well. She was almost in awe of how quickly things can turn around. She knew all too well how easily life could fall apart, but she was now understanding that if you allowed it to, if you worked at it, it could just as easily fall back together. She also knew in that moment there was one thing left to do, one thing that would make it all perfect. Taking a final drink of her coffee, she breathed a sigh of relief as she realized she felt more settled having found a place for all of her thoughts and worries and her mind was quiet and at peace once again.
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Approaching the house, Callie's face broke into a huge smile as she heard her daughter's laughter ring out through the open door along with the aroma of frying bacon and eggs. Stepping into the house, she noticed Arizona at the stove flipping an omelet while Addison stood next to her chopping vegetables and Sofia sat on a stool on the other side of the island showing them Arizona's phone. Sneaking up behind her daughter, she tickled her sides and asked, "What's so funny?" Sofia squealed and nearly dropped Arizona's phone into the pan of bacon if it weren't for Addison's quick reflexes. Sofia scowled at her mama and responded, "You scared me, that's not nice." Duly chastised, Callie kissed her daughter's forehead and apologized, "I'm sorry baby girl, you're right, that wasn't nice." She then made her way around the island, gave Arizona a quick morning kiss and as she started to pass by Addison to get to the coffee pot, the red-head cleared her throat and tilted her head indicating she was feeling left out. Callie chuckled, kissed her cheek then laughed as Arizona mumbled, "Watch it Red."
Pouring herself another cup of coffee, she asked, "So what was so funny?" Sofia skipped over to Callie and handed her Arizona's phone informing her, "Mommy just got this text from Jordyn." Taking the phone, Callie looked at the message and laughed out loud as she saw a picture of her dad, Stevie, and Jo all standing in front of the smoking grill wearing the ridiculous glittery top hats, oven mitts on one hand, and clinking their beers together with the other. Callie took a drink of her coffee and pulled out her own phone to see the pictures she got yesterday. Scrolling through, she stopped and laughed as she held out her phone for the two fetal surgeons and suggested, "We should get this printed for the center." Arizona laughed as she saw a shot of Becca sitting on Jordyn's lap with Addie and Arizona on either side 'examining' her protruding abdomen. She nodded and quipped, "Nothing says trust your surgeon more than a silly picture where everyone but the pregnant lady is tipsy." Addison laughed then commented, "She might want to hang on to that though, it's not everyday you get two world-class surgeons paying that much attention to you." Callie reached behind her and opened the door wider and at Arizona's questioning look, she responded, "I needed to let more air in, Addison's big head is sucking up all of the oxygen." All three adults laughed and Sofia just shrugged, sometimes adults didn't make any sense. She scrolled through the pictures and said, "Aww, mommy look at this one." Arizona looked up and saw a picture of herself and Lucia with their backs to the camera, Lucia's arm around her waist and her arm slung over Lucia's shoulder. She looked to Callie who was looking over her daughter's shoulder and smiled as the brunette shrugged and responded, "What? I saw that and just needed to snap it; it's been a long time coming." Arizona winked at her then cooed as Sofia flipped to the next picture and declared, "We are definitely framing that one." Callie looked and saw it was an impromptu family shot Maria took of her, Arizona, Carlos, and Lucia, who had her arms wrapped around Sofia's shoulders. She nodded in agreement.
As the four sat around the table eating breakfast, Arizona's phone indicated she had a text from Jordyn. Opening the message, she looked to Callie and asked, "Jordyn wants to know if Sof is going to camp since we aren't working, she said she could take her if we wouldn't mind picking up." Sofia nodded her head up and down in excitement, "Please, can I go?" Callie looked at the clock and replied, "I hadn't intended on taking her but it looks like she wants to go, so sure, I'm sure one of us can pick them up." Arizona responded to the text and Callie reminded Sofia, "Finish up breakfast then go wash up." Sofia nodded and continued eating quietly. Addison smiled and looked at Callie then teased, "Mom, Nicole wanted me to come hang out today. Can I borrow the car?" Callie laughed and shook her head then responded, "You're taking this preparation thing just a bit too far, but yes, you can borrow the car." Addison laughed then answered, "If you give me the address to the camp, I can pick the kids up on my way home. I'm assuming they are both coming back here?" Arizona nodded, "It's at Brooklyn Bridge Park. Jordyn asked if we could keep Jess for a while. They have a late night at the salon and her sister has Steven." Callie nodded and commented, "Guess that leaves us on clean up duty." Arizona nodded, "True, but there isn't much thanks to everyone pitching in last night. Besides, we have a board meeting at 11:00 am." Callie groaned, "Ugh, I forgot it's the first Wednesday of the month." Addison laughed, stood from the table and gathered her dishes as she commented, "You two have fun with that."
Arizona was out in the yard collecting the remnants of cardboard shrapnel from the fireworks as well as random cups and other debris that was lying around. She knew they would probably be finding things for days, but it was well worth it to her. She enjoyed getting more acquainted with members of both staffs and watching how they all interact. Callie was in the house collecting Tupperware dishes, plastic bags and aluminum foil from the house to take out to the pool house to try to sort out the leftovers so she could return the dishes to their rightful owners and they could supply both staff lounges with food for their employees to snack on. She kept watching the door to see Arizona's whereabouts while waiting for Addie to appear from her room. When her friend finally came into the dining room, Callie pulled her into the office and demanded, "I need you to get an opening date for the center from Nicole and ask her what her plans are for a celebration. Like, are they just doing a ribbon cutting or what?" Addison eyed her friend suspiciously and asked, "What are you up to Torres?" Callie laughed nervously then just begged, "Please?" Addison smiled at her desperate friend then demanded, "Fine. But whatever you are up to, I need to be in on it." Callie smiled mischievously and said, "Oh, trust me, you will be."
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Callie and Arizona were both at their desks with their laptops open going over the notes and agenda for today's meeting when Callie's eyes skimmed down the page and she muttered, "Oh shit!" Arizona's eyes shot across the room and asked, "What? What's wrong?" Callie ran her hand down her face and directed, "Top of page three." Arizona scrolled down and exclaimed, "Are you fucking kidding me?" Arizona scanned down further and complained, "They are wanting to sell off ALL of my equipment, the scopes, 4-D ultrasound, hysterogram sheathes, everything I had to beg and bargain for!" Callie didn't know whether she was supposed to agree or try to soothe her irate girlfriend in this situation. She could see their point from a business aspect; they no longer had a fetal surgeon. But she wasn't an idiot and knew trying to make Arizona see the sense in it was NOT the thing to do at this point. Callie listened to Arizona rant and pace the office and glanced down at her phone when she saw a text from Addie giving her the information she asked for, being reminded of the center she got an idea and asked, "If you had a choice, would you buy the same equipment now?" Arizona furrowed her brow and answered, "I do have a choice and I am pricing these exact same…OH!" She ran across the room and gave Callie a quick hard kiss complimenting, "You, my love, are a genius." Callie shrugged and responded, "We've already established that, but I'll take the kisses any day."
Arizona laughed then immediately called Nicole and told her what Grey-Sloan was doing, informed her of Callie's idea, and nearly squealed in excitement when her partner agreed she should make a bid. Even though this equipment was used, it was only used by her, she was familiar and comfortable with it, and most importantly, it would be cheaper. Seeing her girlfriend's excitement, Callie suggested, "I know you're excited and upset, but don't jump right to that point. Let them get to it, let them squirm because they all know you and know you would react like you just did. When they bring it up, let me make the motion to sell it to your center at a discounted price." Arizona thought about it for a moment and she knew Callie was right. They would all expect her to become emotional about it. She replied, "Okay, it's almost time, I'm going to go refill our cups." Callie nodded, then moved Arizona's chair next to her own at her desk and clicked on the link for the meeting. Arizona arrived with their coffee just in time for the boardroom of Grey-Sloan to come onto the screen.
Both women smiled as they saw their friends' familiar faces pop on the screen. They truly did love their new community and the relationships they were building, but these people were family. Callie and Arizona watched as Bailey leaned in closer to the camera, snorted, glanced back at everyone and nodded her head. Meredith smirked and held out her hand and they watched as everyone grumbled and shoved money in her direction. Callie and Arizona looked at one another and Callie asked, "Did we miss something?" Meredith straightened the bills, put them in her pocket and replied, "Nope! Looks like you've finally figured it out." Arizona furrowed her brow and remarked, "I'm still not getting it." Bailey huffed and blurted, "Those damn necklaces." Callie and Arizona both looked down at their chests, then it occurred to them and Callie asked, "You bet on whether or not we would be getting back together?" Everyone in the room shook their heads no and Meredith explained, "You're Callie and Arizona, we never questioned that it would happen, we just bet on when it would happen." Avery piped in with, "I said six months." Richard added, "Five for me." Bailey shrugged, "I had two." Meredith smiled and said, "I gave you a week, two tops." Callie and Arizona both turned red knowing their friend was spot on and Arizona started to say something when Mer asked, "Remember what I whispered in your ear the day you were packing up?" Arizona nodded and answered, "You told me to take care of our girls and not fuck it up this time." Mer nodded and informed her, "You didn't argue or fight me on it. You just nodded. Besides, neither one of you have called me to bitch about the other yet, so I knew it was already a done deal." Both women just shook their heads and Callie responded, "Well, that was our piece of good news. How about the rest of you?"
As it had become tradition for them to each share something good about their lives, either personally or professionally, they each went around the room and shared something that was going well for them. After they got that out of the way, they went through the agenda and both Callie and Arizona noticed how nervous Bailey was getting as she got closer to the point where they were opting to sell the fetal equipment. Callie took Arizona's hand under the table and they looked at one another thinking of the many board meetings in the past where they did the same thing. As they went through each point, motions were made, votes were tallied, and they finally got to the fetal equipment. Bailey started, "Since we no longer have a fetal surgeon and the majority of the equipment is being locked in a room unused…" She paused and glared at the two women who were no longer affected by the Bailey stare, then continued, "We feel it would be in the hospital's best interest to sell that equipment and allocate the earnings from the sale amongst the other departments." She paused, as did everyone in the room and they all looked to Arizona awaiting her response. After a minute or two, Callie cleared her throat and declared, "I make a motion to offer the equipment to the Robbins-Herman Center for Women's Health at a discounted cost given the fact that it has been used quite frequently over the past few years." Meredith lifted her cup to hide her smile, took a drink of her coffee and replied, "I second that motion." Arizona squeezed Callie's hand and watched as Bailey smiled as well and asked, "All in favor?" Everyone raised their hand and looked at Arizona who had to get a nudge from Callie and raised her hand as well.
Bailey shook her head and said, "I should have known you two had something planned, figured I'd have gotten an earful by now." Everyone laughed and Bailey responded, "Dr. Robbins, as you know the wear and tear on the equipment and what each item is worth, could you please speak with Dr. Herman and send us a bid…A REASONABLE BID." Arizona nodded and responded, "I'll have it to you by tomorrow morning." Bailey laughed and responded, "I miss you two and I'm glad you finally got your heads out your asses." Callie and Arizona laughed, told everyone they missed them too, then Callie looked to Meredith and stated, "Mer, I looked at that file you sent me earlier and I'll call you in a bit about my recommendation." Meredith nodded and tried to keep her face as neutral as possible. She had no idea what the hell Callie was talking about, but she'd find out soon enough. They all said their goodbyes and disconnected the call. Arizona squealed and threw her arms around Callie, pulling her into a deep kiss. Both of them breathless, Arizona said, "Thank you for thinking of that." Callie blushed slightly and responded, "It's the least I could do for giving you such a hard time when you tried to purchase it all the first time around."
Arizona just smiled and brushed their lips together again then stood and went to her desk complaining, "I can't believe they actually bet on us." Callie shrugged and replied, "I would've taken that bet." Arizona stopped and stared at her with her hands on her hips and declared, "That's because you already knew you planned to seduce me the minute I stepped off the plane." Callie threw her head back and let out a bark of laughter and replied, "Oh and you put up such a fight." Arizona walked over to her, threw her arms around her shoulders and teased, "I was new in town, I wasn't gonna pass up a sure thing." Callie laughed and asked, "We were a sure thing weren't we? I mean, Mer said they all knew it wasn't a matter of if, but when." Arizona brushed their lips together and answered honestly, "I won't lie and say I'd given up all hope that we'd find each other again. It was more than hope though, it was…" "A feeling, an instinct." Callie cut in. Arizona nodded, "Yeah." She then leaned on her tip-toes and nibbled on Callie's bottom lip before pulling her in for a deep sensual kiss. Feeling her phone vibrate in her pocket, Callie broke the kiss, more out of habit than anything, they always checked their phones when Sofia wasn't with them. She smiled as she opened the text from Lorraine that showed a picture of her, Lorraine, and Maria wearing the glittery top hats and hugging one another, all of them laughing at something. She passed her phone over to show Arizona who also smiled brightly. She honestly was happy that Callie found a village here and they were an unlikely bunch, but they were family for sure.
Still holding Callie's phone, she tapped it a few times and they heard the printer come to life. Arizona handed the phone back, dug through one of the boxes she had yet to unpack, found an empty frame, popped the picture in and handed it to Callie saying, "Our new family needs to go on the wall too." Callie smiled, looked at the three faces smiling back at her and said, "I really don't know what I would have done without these two." Arizona pulled Callie to the sofa and asked, "Will you tell me about them? About your friendship? How you became close?" Callie looked at the picture again, sat it on the small coffee table and asked, "It's a long story are you sure?" Arizona rubbed the side of Callie's head and answered, "We missed a lot of each other's lives and I want to know about your time here. I want to know whatever you're willing to tell me. These two women are important to you, so that makes them important to me." Callie brushed her lips together and responded, "I'll tell you whatever you want to know." She then pulled Arizona into her lap and tried to remember back to when she first met the two people she now considers her best friends.
Callie ran her fingers through Arizona's hair and started, "I'd only spoken to my Chief on the phone or the computer. I interviewed from Seattle so I never even toured the building or anything. The only thing I had to go by was pictures from the website." Arizona nodded and Callie continued, "I had only been here a few days before I started working and I had planned to get to the hospital and take a tour and everything, but I was so busy unpacking and trying to learn my way around. So Monday morning, I found myself outside this huge brick building with all these small windows and I couldn't help but do comparisons you know? I mean Grey-Sloan is so huge and looks like it's made of glass and you can see so much from the outside and this was just on a main street corner." Arizona agreed, "I remember thinking how different it was that day my dad and Sof had their accident." Callie nodded and continued, "So I'm standing outside just staring at it and part of me is wondering, 'What the fuck did I do?' I mean I left everything familiar behind and I knew when I walked through those doors, I wouldn't know anyone or anything and it both scared the shit out of me and excited me at the same time. Then I hear this voice behind me ask, 'Are you just going to stand there and stare at it all day or are you coming in to do what you were paid for?' I turned around half expecting to see Bailey and was shocked to see this sweet older lady with greying blonde hair looking at me smiling." Callie laughed then just thinking about what her first thought was.
Arizona turned and could see tan cheeks turning red and asked, "What?" Callie snorted and answered, "As soon as I saw her, I had this vision of Barb and I instantly relaxed." Arizona sat up and turned then asked, "My mom?" Callie nodded. Arizona tilted her head and answered, "I guess I can see that. They have the same demeanor. Lorraine's a little shorter, but yeah I get it." Callie started again. "So I stutter out, 'I…um…I'm going in.' The woman laughed and said, 'You must be Dr. Torres. I'm Lorraine, the Chief of Surgery's administrative assistant.' I uh…" Callie stopped and looked at her girlfriend, shook her head at herself then continued, "I don't even know where it came from, but I blurted, 'Lorraine, I can remember that. My…Arizona, she wanted to name our next child Lorraine after her aunt.'" Callie looked at Arizona and asked, "Why doesn't that surprise you?" Arizona laughed and recalled, "Ohhh I never told you about the best friend talk Maria and Lorraine gave me. I already knew that part." Callie looked shocked, "They what?" Arizona waved her off and demanded, "That's for a different time, continue please." Callie nodded and finished, "Lorraine laughed, linked her arm through mine and responded, 'I think I'm going to like you, anyone who would agree to that is alright in my book. Let's get you in and set up, Dr. Torres.' I remember walking through the halls expecting people to be staring at me. But no one was looking at me with sympathy or anger, or…anything. Those who did only expressed a bit of curiosity then continued on with their conversation or whatever it was they were doing. That's the first time I remember thinking this was what I really wanted, the anonymity."
Arizona smiled at her sadly and responded, "I get it. Sometimes being so close felt good, but everyone always knew our business. I hated that the most, the looks." Callie nodded; she knew Arizona knew exactly what she meant. She continued, "So she pulled me onto this elevator and took me to the 4th floor, dragged me to the nurses' station where this tall skinny Latina woman is standing and said, 'Maria, this is Dr. Torres, our new ortho attending, be nice to this one, I like her.' Maria snorted, eyed me up and down and muttered, "Ella no se parece a la gran diosa ortopédica para mí.'" At Arizona's confused look, she translated, 'She doesn't look like the great ortho goddess to me.'" Arizona gasped, "She did not!" Callie nodded and laughed, "I kid you not. I was about to turn and run the other way, then I just smirked, and retorted, 'Sin embargo, puedo matarte de al menos cinco maneras diferentes con solo mover mi muñeca.'" Without waiting, Callie translated, "Yet I can kill you in at least five different ways with just the flick of my wrist." Arizona laughed and patted Callie's cheek and cooed, "That's my badass. What did she do?" Callie laughed and answered, "Maria threw her head back and howled with laughter and said, 'Oh yeah, you're a keeper.' Lorraine looked at us like she had no idea what was going on, but seemed satisfied that we would be okay, told me where her office was and left us to it." Arizona nodded and suggested, "Tell me about the part where you visited the peds ward." Callie's jaw dropped and asked, "You know about that too?" Arizona smirked and nodded. Callie decided she was going to kill her friends.
Taking a deep breath, she recalled, "Maria told me she was only taking me to the places I would need to know right away and we'd get to the rest later. We stepped on the elevator and she told me I'd see a lot of kids with broken bones so I'd need to know the peds ward. When the doors opened, I swear I gasped Arizona. There were cartoon characters and paintings that were clearly done by kids and it was just so colorful and cheery and I opened my mouth and 'Oh man, Arizona would love all the murals and patients' artwork all over the walls. She's been dying to paint the peds ward but they always claimed it was never in the budget.' just fell out without me even thinking about it." Arizona smiled and asked, "Does it make me a bad person that I'm happy you thought about me first?" Callie kissed her nose and responded, "You were never far from my thoughts, I was just still fighting it." Arizona nodded and waved her hand for Callie to continue. Callie thought for a minute and started again, "Since Maria was my head nurse and my scrub nurse, we spent a lot of time together. We both learned very quickly that we had daughters the same age and they just happened to go to the same school, well, the school Sofia would be going to. We started spending time together outside of work and we invited Lorraine as well since she and Maria were friends before I came along. Most of the time, we took the girls with us and they showed me around town. I think I told you that's how I ended up going to Stevie and Jordyn's shop. Maria mentioned getting Bella's hair cut and I realized both Sof and I could use a cut as well. So we made a day of it."
Arizona listened as Callie talked and recalled what the other two women said about not knowing about Penny and asked, "Where was Penny all this time?" Callie thought for a minute then answered, "Most of the time she was working but, I just…on the days I had to spend with Sof, she…she didn't really…Sofia wasn't adjusting well to having Penny around a lot. She blamed her for us moving to New York. I tried to get us to do things together to bond, but honestly, neither of them seemed too into it. It's like, we got back together when I moved here, but we did a lot of things on our own. I kept telling myself Sofia and I needed to make new friends and I needed to spend time with my coworkers and well, I just spent a lot of time with Maria and Lorraine. The two girls really got attached to Lorraine and that's when I learned she lost her daughter and she enjoyed spending time with the girls and sometimes she would take them out on her own to the movies or something." Arizona just nodded and started to see this was about the time Callie started figuring things out.
Callie paused for a minute, she knew Arizona knew part of what happened next, but not all of it. She leaned her head against Arizona's and started, "The day you flew in, when they took us to the hospital, Lorraine knew you were coming in and heard the name Arizona over the police scanner and rushed to the hospital. I had to wait outside your room while they did the work-up and everything and she came running up to me. Until that point, all either of them knew was you and I were divorced and you were coming to enroll Sofia in school. I um…I broke down. I kept looking into the room and you were strapped to the bed and you just looked so small and I just kept seeing you lying in the bed at Grey-Sloan after the crash and I fell apart and told her everything and kept blaming myself and beating myself up." Arizona wiped the tears from Callie's face, she knew now how hard that whole situation was on her girlfriend and said, "It's okay. We talked about this part. You can skip it." Callie nodded and blew out a deep breath then just as she started to open her mouth, Arizona said, "I also know about the fight with Penny a week later and how neither of them even knew about her so you can skip that too." Callie shook her head and mumbled, "Damn traitors" under her breath making Arizona laugh.
Callie closed her eyes and continued, "Lorraine told Maria about my breakdown, not everything about us, but after that and the fight with Penny, the three of us decided we needed a night out so we sat at Lorraine's and got drunk and ate take out. That's when I dumped everything about you and me and Maria confided to us that she and Miguel had been fighting horribly and she thought he was cheating. She found some texts from one of his co-workers that was more than personal and she confronted him. He told her he had never done anything but he felt like he was starting to develop feelings for this lady." Arizona gasped then furrowed her brows as she thought about how happy they seemed now. Callie could read the expression on her girlfriend's face, turned bright red and said sheepishly, "I recommended couples therapy." Arizona laughed out loud and exclaimed, "You did not!" Callie crossed her heart and responded, "I did." She then tilted her head and explained, "I always wondered what could have happened. I mean, if I had been more opened to it, if we would have went right after…if I would have participated and listened to her. So I just…I didn't' want to see my friend go through that." Arizona nodded in understanding, she wondered some of the same things herself, if she had gone to therapy sooner or asked for help. Finally she observed, "Well it must have worked right?" Callie nodded and smiled.
She knew for a fact Arizona didn't know this part and was nearly ashamed to tell her. Arizona could see Callie's hesitance and leaned in to kiss her softly and said, nothing you say is going to change anything sweetie. Callie nodded and started, "Needless to say, neither of them were surprised that Penny and I broke up or why. They remained supportive and Maria suggested I see Dr. G, she's the therapist they went to. I started seeing Dr. G on a weekly basis and we were just getting to the meat of things when I had to send Sofia to you for Christmas." Arizona knew that first Christmas must have been hard, she didn't know the half of it though.
My heart nearly broke putting our daughter on that plane even though I knew I would see her again in a few short weeks. It made me wonder, if I felt that way, how did you feel knowing it would be months before you saw her again. Months where you thought another woman was doing all the things you should be doing, tucking her in, reading her stories, doing her hair, picking her up from school, listening to her read her first chapter book?" Arizona could feel that Callie was starting to shake. Callie continued, "I took time off from work, refused to take calls, missed therapy appointments and rejected anything that had to do with the stupid festive holiday. I ignored invitations or declined them politely. I mean, what was there to celebrate? I was alone and it was because of my own foolish mistakes. All I did for the first week Sofia was gone was sleep and walk the streets of New York. So I did what I always did, I acted on impulse and I was reckless and in this case selfish. I wallowed and almost drowned in it." Arizona was afraid to ask, "What did you do baby?" Callie closed her eyes and just let the memory wash over her and fall out of her mouth.
I was lying on my couch, nearly passed out drunk when the maintenance man opened the door and allowed three people in. I stared at the redhead, the brunette, and the older lady with the nice smile, I thought they looked familiar but I wasn't sure I even knew three people in New York. Then I wondered why they were there or why they cared, no one should care. I was a mean awful person who took her daughter to the other side of the country and expected her traumatized ex-wife to fly on a plane to see her. I wondered if this is what you did when Sofia left, did you turn into a drunk? I looked up then and saw the brunette staring at me asking, "What the hell is wrong with you?" I just scowled and asked, "Do you think Arizona is a drunk?" The dark haired woman replied, "No, but it looks like you are well on your way to being one." The older woman stepped in front of me and said, "Arizona called us, your phone is dead and your daughter wants to talk to you so she called the hospital asking someone to contact you." I nodded then and responded, "Good, she's not a drunk then. Lemme see your phone, I'll call her and tell her I'm glad she's not a drunk." The brunette was mean, she snatched the phone away and scolded me, "You are not going to call Arizona. You are going to drink this coffee and this water, then you are going to take a shower and go stay with Lorraine." I looked at the woman who was holding some empty liquor bottles in her hand and asked, "Should I trust you? Are you a drunk?" The brunette scoffed, tossed all of the bottles in the trashcan making me wince at the loud noise. I looked at the older woman and asked, "Are you Lorraine? Because I'm not staying with her, she's mean." The older woman nodded and replied, "You won't get much better from me. You need to pull your head out of your ass and get it together. But first, shower, you stink." I nodded my head then looked at the other person in the room and asked, "Who are you?" The redhead responded, "I'm your therapist." I nodded and answered, "Good, that's good, I think I need a therapist."
Callie and Arizona both had tears running down their cheeks. Arizona had no idea it had gotten that bad. She just thought Callie had thrown herself into her work and didn't charge her phone as was her habit. She pulled Callie into her chest and soothed, "Oh baby. I had no idea it got so bad. I wish…I don't know what I wish…I just…what happened then?" Callie wiped both of their tears, she knew Arizona didn't know what to say, she was probably going to say she wished she would have known, but at that time, what would she have done. Finally she answered, "I went to stay with Lorraine until Sofia got home. I started taking depression and anxiety meds and by the time Sof came back, I had my head above water again. Maria and Lorraine stuck by me and never let me get too far over the edge after that. They helped with Sof and truly became my village." Arizona caressed her cheek and replied, "Good, that's good." Callie nodded and explained, "That was actually my big breakthrough. After that is when the hard work began. I started facing the real stuff and owning up to my own part in our problems and recognizing and working on my weaknesses. Shortly after that was when I met with Penny in Dr. G's office." Arizona nodded just taking everything in.
Callie went on and explained "I also started working on all my projects and prototype again and was really making a name for myself again. Just before school got out, Sofia was absolutely miserable and she missed you so much. I knew I was supposed to have her for the summer, but I just got the grant to open my center and knew that's where my focus would be and decided it wasn't fair to have her in camp or daycare the majority of the time when she could be with you, so I sent her home. I found a location for the center, and quit my job. I remember the day I was packing up my locker, I heard someone come into the locker room and two boxes were set down on either side of mine and I looked up to see Lorraine and Maria smiling at me and Maria asked, "You ready to go boss?" I looked at both of them and just couldn't fathom how much they believed in me after everything they knew and saw. They told me they saw enough both personally and professionally to know that I was something special and they'd be damned if they weren't going to be there from the beginning. They've been my left and right hand ever since." Arizona smiled and responded, "You're amazing and they saw that." Callie smiled and responded, "They're pretty amazing themselves." Arizona nodded, "They really are." Arizona laid her head back on Callie's chest and asked, "Tell me the rest."
Callie chuckled, took Arizona's hand in hers and started playing with her fingers as she continued, "I threw myself into my center and worked myself sick. Maria and Lorraine picked up the slack and we somehow got it up and running. I was still seeing Dr. G and I remember this one appointment, I told her I was going stir crazy in my little apartment and the commute was too far from the center and I needed to change, I needed to make things right. I needed to make my life fit the person I was turning into and told her it was time, I felt ready, I wanted my wife back. She looked at me and said, 'We already knew that, so how are you going to do it?' So I made a plan, part of the plan was to find a house. I searched and searched, this came on the market, and it was everything we always dreamed of." Callie pulled out her phone, went to her lists, and opened a document that was dated several years ago and titled 'Our Dream Home.' Callie handed her phone to Arizona who instantly recognized it, then said, "I consulted with construction companies, occupational and physical therapists, and well, six months later, this was the result. I moved in and a month after that, all my dreams came true even though I was too chickenshit to make the call myself." Arizona giggled at that.
She then turned in Callie's arms, straddled her lap and pulled her in for a long deep kiss. When it came to its natural end, she tilted her head and said, "Thank you for sharing all of that with me. I know some of it wasn't easy." Callie smiled, rested their foreheads together and softly declared, "The hardest part of the whole thing is hearing how often thoughts of you came up and I never recognized it and when I did, I was too afraid to do anything about it." Arizona understood that. But still she realized something else and shared, "I will always believe it happened when it was supposed to happen. Nothing was forced this time, there was no desperation on either of our parts, there was want and need, and forgiveness and healing and it was time. We're here and we are growing our family and we have a whole new life and community and I believe with every fiber in my being this is our time Calliope Torres." Callie nodded and answered, "No looking back." Both women smiled and connected their lips in a sweet kiss.
XXXX
Arizona was in the kitchen making dinner when Addison came into the house followed by two giggling girls who instantly ran outside. Walking up to the blonde, Addison commented, "I always thought I'd want a girl, but Henry is so much easier." Arizona laughed and asked, "The giggling driving you nuts?" Addison rolled her eyes and asked, "Are you sure you want another one?" Arizona smiled so big it hurt her cheeks and answered, "Absolutely!" The red-head could feel the excitement radiating off her friend. She didn't want to diminish it but lowered her voice and inquired, "You know with all the treatment…" Arizona nodded and replied, "I know, but I also know with my age, the chances of getting pregnant are lower." Addie nodded and agreed, then asked, "Where's Cal?" Arizona pointed toward the office and answered, "She was working on a case with Mer, but she should be off the phone by now." Just out of courtesy, Addie asked, "Do you need any help here?" Arizona shook her head and offered, "No, go hang out with Callie." Addison smiled and went toward the office.
Walking into the office, she bit back a laugh at the way Callie slammed her laptop shut and said into the phone, "Yeah, it looks like he just needs a hip…" She then realized who came in, gestured for her to shut the door then said into the phone, "It's just Addie. I'm going to put you on speaker phone so you can all help me figure this out. Callie went through her detailed plan then listened as the others added their input. Addison sat back and listened as she heard familiar voices all shoot down or add ideas. She added her own comments then laughed as she heard a person who had not yet spoken declare, "This is the last damn favor you get from me Torres, so you better make it good." Callie laughed and promised, "It will be so good you'll even cry again Herman." The older fetal surgeon snorted and retorted, "Fat chance and I wasn't crying, I had something in my eye." Everyone laughed at that, firmed up their plans, then said their good-byes. Addison looked at Callie, shook her head and asked, "Whatever happened to 'I like penis…I'm a huge huge fan of penis?" Callie smirked and asked, "Do you really want me to answer that question?"
A/N: You all are so amazing! Your ideas are awesome and I saw that some of you asked for a little more background on Callie's relationship with Maria and Lorraine, so I hope this satisfies your curiosity. As for other requests, I'm adding my own twist, but I promise you won't be disappointed.