After dinner, they came back to the villa, took a walk on the beach which turned into sex in the ocean, then in the shower to warm up, then in the bed until the early hours of the morning. Arizona was laying sideways on the bed, her head resting on Callie's stomach, both of them trying to catch their breath as they watched the sun rise over the ocean through the open patio doors. Callie lightly scratched Arizona's back while Arizona traced patterns on a muscular tan thigh. When she finally felt like she could talk, Callie revealed, "This first month anniversary gift kind of puts mine to shame." Arizona rolled over so she could look at her wife and asked, "You got me something for our one month Anniversary?" Callie ran her fingertips down Arizona's side and caressed her hip, answering, "A small gift and I was going to take you out for a romantic dinner. But yeah, I think it's important that we continue to romance each other and show our love through these little gestures. But you blew me away with this one." Arizona shimmied up Callie's body so her head rested on her chest and brought her arm up between her breasts and argued, "Oh like an amazing carriage ride and proposal in Central Park and surprise wedding didn't blow my mind?" Callie caressed the swell of Arizona's ass, chuckled and responded, "Okay, we're even." Arizona tilted her head back, kissed the soft skin underneath Callie's jaw and suggested, "We should probably get some sleep." Callie kissed her forehead and agreed, "That sounds like a good idea. Thank you for my gorgeous ring and an amazing day with my wife." Arizona traced patterns on Callie's abdomen and replied, "You're welcome, thank you for being my wife." She then pulled the covers up, and both women were asleep before they knew what hit them.
When they awoke, it was after 1:00 pm and they were too exhausted to do much of anything and true to their plan, they lounged around the villa for the entire day. Callie decided since Arizona got to plan most of the trip, she got to plan the activities for the day and declared clothes were off limits. Therefore they spent the entire day either in bed naked, sunbathing naked, in the pool naked, and on the beach or in the ocean naked. Later in the evening, per Arizona's instructions or demands rather, Callie put on a t-shirt and shorts to cook steaks and vegetables on the grill for dinner so she didn't burn anything vital. As soon as she was finished however, she removed her clothing and the two ate their dinner on the patio, Arizona sitting in Callie's lap as they fed each other and discussed how they wanted to spend their last day in Mazatlán. After a late night swim in the pool, they spent the rest of the evening in bed cuddling and talking.
Friday they drove to the other end of the Malecon and explored the places they hadn't yet seen. There were a few shops in which artisans were demonstrating their crafts of jewelry making, leather work, or painting. Noticing Arizona was eyeing a specific beaded bracelet, Callie bought it on the spot and placed it on her wife's wrist. They stopped at some of the street vendors and Arizona decided she was absolutely in love with the spiced corn on the cob and the street tacos. She had also developed a taste for the orange Jarritos or Mexican Soda Pop. Deciding they collected enough souvenirs for themselves and everyone else, they chose to window shop rather than go into any of the stores. They did stop and look at the carts however and Callie couldn't resist but to buy Michael an apron with chili peppers all over it. After hearing many tourists rave about El Quelite which was a small town roughly thirty minutes away, they decided to go there for dinner and see what all the excitement was about.
As they approached the town, they saw a bright yellow arch and large bougainvillea bushes of many colors that marked the entry to the main street. Callie noticed across from the arch was El Meson de Los Laureanos where all the cars were parked and understood that the one lone street made up the entire town. They got out of the car and walked through the arch to find colorfully painted homes lining both sides of the street, and standing in the middle of the main square, or plazuela, was a statue of a man playing ulama, an ancient Mayan sport. They were absolutely fascinated by the free roaming chickens and horses that would walk right up to them as they wandered down the street. Callie laughed at Arizona, who seemed to have gained an admirer of her own, as they looked down and saw a small chicken was following them and pecking at Arizona's right foot. Arizona bent down, spoke to the little bird who allowed her to pet it and they both laughed even harder when it squawked at her and continued to follow them. Arizona looked up at Callie longingly and Callie shook her head and stated, "Don't even ask." Arizona pouted playfully making Callie chuckle and kiss the pout off her lips.
Walking a little further, Callie saw a sign written in Spanish and knew Arizona would love to see what was inside, so she led her into the small building. Once they were inside, they sat at a large table with several others and a man stood at the end of the table speaking in broken English and explained how to make tortillas, three different kinds of salsa, and guacamole dip to the group of tourists and walked them through the process so they could each take their own home with them. Though they made their own tortillas at home, this was a completely different experience and process. Here, they ground the mesa themselves with the mortar and pestle and the tortilla press or tortilladora was far more rustic than the one they had at home. Once every one was finished with their tortillas and salsa and dip, the instructors fried some of their own chips and they all tasted the dips made by the craftsmen. Leaving the small building, Arizona linked hands with Callie and exclaimed, "That was so much fun. Taco Tuesday is going to be way more interesting after this trip." Callie laughed and asked, "Oh so you're an old hand at this now eh?" Arizona shook her head and replied, "No, but learning how to do this and with the recipes from your family and your mom, I can make more of the foods you like and with practice, they may even taste the same soon."
Callie stopped in the middle of the street, pulled Arizona into her arms and replied, "I love that you're doing all of this and taking such an interest in my culture and heritage, but…I don't…I mean…" Arizona cut her off and asked, "Why now?" Callie nodded her head, hoping she didn't hurt her wife's feelings. Arizona kissed Callie softly, took her hand and kept walking as she explained, "Honestly, there are a few reasons. Part of it, most of it, is because I DIDN'T take the time before. I mean I listened when you talked, I knew the stories, but I think…I think we were both more focused on who we were at the time and not what made us who we were, like where we came from, what our childhoods were like. We've both said we've learned so much about each other in these past few months that we didn't know and that kind of makes me sad. You are my everything Calliope, and one of the things I learned in therapy is that sometimes we were focused so much on the big things, we let the little things that really build a relationship slip past us. Another part is that I want you to see that it truly is important to me, the things you hold dear to you, I want you to be able to express that and I want to share it with you. Finally, I think it's important that our children know this part of their heritage and I want to be a part of that. I don't want to say, 'Go ask mama', I want to be able to answer their questions too." Callie was really trying to fight back the tears. This was one of those times that Arizona's words surprised her.
Callie stopped once again, turned to face her wife who was normally closed off and didn't express herself much at all and asked, "Does this go both ways? Will you share those things with me too?" Arizona tilted her head and thought about it for a moment, in her mind, she didn't have the type of history Callie had, but at the same time, she realized she did have a story to tell and her wife knew very little about it. Reaching up, she caressed the caramel cheek that was even darker from her time in the sun and replied, "It goes both ways Calliope. I'll be more open and share my stories with you. Though I'm not sure we will travel to all the places I've lived in my life, I have memories that I'd like you to know about and I think it's time both you and Sofia learn more about Timmy." Callie smiled brightly at that. Arizona rarely talked about her brother and this was a big step for her. Leaning forward, she placed a gentle kiss on full pink lips and replied, "I'd love to hear about him. Maybe we can visit a couple of your favorite places?" Arizona nodded and replied, "Yeah, I'd like that." The two continued walking and Callie pointed out the restaurant everyone was talking about and suggested, "How about we go get some dinner, then enjoy our last evening here together on the beach?" Arizona smiled and answered, "That sounds amazing."
After packing up Saturday morning, the couple took one last walk on the beach by the ocean. Arizona wrapped her arm around Callie's waist and leaned into her body and Callie's arm rested on her shoulders pulling her closer still. They walked for quite a while, neither of them saying a word, just enjoying their last little bit of time alone. Once they turned to go back toward the villa, Callie kissed Arizona's temple and proclaimed, "This week has been amazing, I couldn't have asked for a better honeymoon or birthday. Thank you for planning this." Arizona rested her head on Callie's chest and responded, "I've loved every minute of it. I'm so glad you've enjoyed yourself." Callie nodded and answered, "I really have, but I am ready to get back and see our girl." Arizona nodded emphatically, "Oh yeah, definitely missing Sofia." Walking back up toward the house, Callie asked, "Were you serious about bringing the kids back?" Arizona nodded and replied, "Absolutely. I've seen how happy being here has made you and I want to give the kids that same feeling. I want them to have a home away from home, to know the rest of their family." Callie stopped, pulled Arizona into her arms, brushed their lips together and whispered, "Thank you for understanding how important this is to me." Arizona replied, "I meant what I said yesterday, this is important to you so it's important to me and they are my family now too."
All too soon, they found themselves back at the airport, this time driven by Tia Marta for which Arizona was grateful since she seemed to know a less…bumpy route. Once the plane was loaded with the luggage and all of their gifts, Tia Marta took a small box out of the back seat, opened it and Callie gasped when she saw the old quilt her abuela made many years ago. Arizona looked at the beautiful worn blanket questioningly and Marta explained, "Berto, my sisters and I, we all used this as babies and Calliope herself had a great love for this blanket. It would only be right if your new baby used it as well." Both women looked at each other, silently asking if they said anything to the older woman. Marta chuckled and offered, "Calliope forgets I can sense these things and no offense Arizona, but it is very rare when a gringa can tolerate the types of spices you were eating and going back for more." Both women laughed then and Callie started to say something when Marta interrupted, "No one knows and no one will know until you choose to tell us all. Calliope, take care of your wife and Arizona, take care of our new addition. Safe travels to both of you." She handed the blanket to the blonde who clutched it to her stomach as if she were already giving it to her babies and blinked back the tears while hugging the older woman, whispering, "Thank you," in her ear. Callie hugged her tia as well and the two women boarded the plane.
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Though they spoke to their daughter every day, both women were extremely excited to see her and apparently the feeling was mutual, since they barely made it out of the car before each of them had an armful of tiny Latina exclaiming, "I missed you so much, I'm so happy you're home." Despite their protests, Daniel helped the driver get all of their belongings into the house while they tried to settle their daughter's excitement. Callie finally lifted the little girl into her arms while Arizona walked beside her running her hands through her hair. Arizona tipped the driver, closed the door, then was surprised when her mother was right there pulling her into a hug as well. Daniel stood back and proclaimed, "Barb, let the girls get in the door." The older woman looked at her husband and replied, "Oh hush, I can hug my daughters whenever I want." Callie put Sofia down and she instantly went to her other mother while Barb wrapped Callie into a big bear hug. When she pulled back, she looked at both women and declared, "Oh my, you are both so tan. Did you wear your sunblock?" Callie and Arizona shared a knowing look, then Callie explained, "It didn't do much good down there, she didn't burn much, but she tanned obviously."
Finally getting further into the house, Barb looked at everything they brought with them and declared, "My goodness, did you do some shopping?" Callie chuckled and responded, "Actually, my family greeted us with a second reception, these are all wedding gifts from my family and the people from the small town where I spent a great deal of my childhood." Barb held her hands over her heart as her blue-grey eyes sparkled with tears and she replied, "Well wasn't that sweet of them. So they were accepting of you? They made you feel comfortable dear?" Callie was touched that her mother-in-law was so concerned for her and answered, "They were, it was like no time had passed at all. They were amazing." She looked at Arizona then and continued, "Somehow this one finagled all of the family recipes out of my aunts that I've been trying to get since I was a teenager." Both Daniel and Barb answered at the same time, "It's the dimples." Arizona popped said dimples and teased, "I told you." Callie chuckled, looked around and asked, "Where's Tobin?" Just then they heard a bark from the mudroom and Sofia explained, "He is in time out because he chewed on something he wasn't supposed to. Grandpa is helping me train him until we start our classes." Callie nodded her head at Daniel in gratitude, she knew he'd get the puppy into shape for them.
Arizona's head snapped up and she exclaimed, "Oh! That reminds me, come here Sof." The little girl followed her mommy into the living room, watched as she rifled through the bags and suitcases, then giggled when she saw what her mommy pulled out. Arizona handed her daughter the present then nodded toward her father. Sofia ran up to Daniel and squealed, "Grandpa, look, mommies got you some new slippers." Daniel looked down at the godawful colorful slippers, then up at the two women who could barely contain their laughter, then at his granddaughter who looked so excited for him, smiled, slipped them on his feet, and replied, "Thank you, this was very…thoughtful." Sofia was bouncing on her toes and exclaimed, "I asked them to find you some, do you like them?" Daniel pulled the little girl onto his lap, kissed her on the cheek and replied, "I love them sweet pea." Callie went to the same bag and explained, "We didn't forget you Barb." She came back with a pair of oven mitts that had chili peppers all over them and Mazatlán written on one side and Hot Stuff written on the other. The older woman laughed, kissed and thanked both girls and replied, "I can't wait to use them."
After chatting for a while and talking about some highlights of their trip as well as Sofia detailing their entire week, Daniel proclaimed, "We'd better get on the road if we want to make it home before dark." Callie furrowed her brow and asked, "You aren't spending the night?" The older man shook his head and responded, "We'd love to, but we've been gone for two weeks and have some things to take care of and we figured you'd want to spend some time with this one before you go back to work and she goes back to school." Arizona pouted, "We barely got to visit." Barb hugged her daughter and replied, "You're closer now dear and now that your father is healed, we can visit more often." Callie stood up and offered, "Let me at least help you get your bags in the car." Daniel smiled and answered, "Thanks, but we're all packed." The brunette shook her head, hugged both of her in-laws and thanked them profusely for coming for her birthday and staying an extra week to watch Sofia. Barb told them there was a casserole in the refrigerator for them to heat up for dinner and Arizona walked them to their car to say her goodbyes.
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Once the elder Robbins left, Sofia was nearly coming out of her skin with excitement waiting to see what her parents brought back for her. After putting all of her gifts away, the family played outside with Tobin for a while and Callie went in to heat up the casserole for dinner. While the puppy ran around the yard, Arizona sat on the double lounger with Sofia sitting on her lap lying against her chest. The blonde kissed soft brown hair, squeezed her daughter tight, and revealed, "We missed you so much." Sofia nodded and proclaimed, "I missed you and mama too. Grandma and grandpa are fun and we did lots of things, but it's not the same. They don't read my books like you and mama do with the voices and grandpa was so afraid I'd get hurt again, we barely did any of the stuff we used to do, but we did go see a lot of places, so that was cool. Oh, and we finished our battleship. I let him take that one home since it was so big and now we are working on a smaller Arizona so I can keep it here." Arizona laughed at her daughter's ramble, she most certainly got that from both of them.
Sofia sat quietly for a moment then noticed something was different, she picked up her mommy's arm and compared it to her own, observing, "You're as dark as I am." Arizona giggled and responded, "For now, but mine is just a tan and it will go away." Sofia continued to fiddle with Arizona's arm and hand, twisted her wedding and engagement rings around her finger then said, "You missed a spot." Furrowing her brow in confusion, Arizona asked, "What?" Sofia lifted Arizona's left hand, slid the rings up her finger revealing a prominent tan line and repeated, "You missed a spot." For some reason, this made Arizona's heart leap and a big smile form on her face. When her mommy didn't say anything, Sofia turned around, straddled her lap and asked, "What are you smiling about?" Arizona shook her head and answered, "I'm not sure you'd understand." Sofia tilted her head and stated the obvious, "Well explain it to me then." Arizona shook her head at her child's curiosity and tried to think about how to tell her what she was thinking.
Looking at the tan lines again, she started, "These rings, they mean that I belong to mama, that we belong to each other. I hardly ever take them off except when I am in surgery, then I put them on my necklace which I never take off." Sofia nodded in understanding. Arizona continued, "Seeing the tan line there, that means even when the rings aren't there, it's a sign, a reminder that something should be there, that I belong to someone forever, that I am committed to your mama, that I don't need the rings to be there for other people to know that, because I'll always know that in my heart. It just made me happy to see it there because…well, because I was afraid I'd lost mama forever." Sofia nodded in understanding, slid the rings back down her mommy's finger where they belonged, then looked up to see tear-filled brown eyes much like her own staring back at her and when she opened her mouth to say something, her mama put her finger up to her lips, silently telling her it was a secret so she nodded, turned back around and cuddled with her mommy.
Callie pulled the casserole dish out of the oven and went to the door to tell her family it was time for dinner just in time to hear Arizona start to explain what their wedding rings meant. While she was slightly confused, she quickly understood when Arizona said something about a tan line then looked down at her own hand, moved her rings, and saw she too had a tan line though it was probably far less pronounced than her wife's. She continued to stare at her own hands while listening to Arizona explain something as simple as a tan line of a ring to their daughter in such a beautiful and heartfelt way. She swallowed the lump in her throat when she heard the last part her wife said, a stark reminder that they had indeed lost one another and both of them were certain it was forever. She looked into her daughter's startled eyes, lifted her finger to her lips to keep her quiet, then looked down at her own tan line once again. Arizona's words struck a chord with her, she understood what her wife was saying on a far deeper level and now seeing that lighter spot on her own finger wasn't just a sign that she had a tan, it meant she belonged to someone, it was as symbolic of their commitment as their rings.
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Finished with her last surgery for the day, Callie stood over the scrub sink splashing water on her face. She was absolutely exhausted and more than thankful today was Friday and they had no plans for the weekend. They had been back from Mexico for three weeks and it felt like they hit the ground running. The whole first week was spent playing catch up at work for both of them, along with trying to get Sofia ready for school, which meant a ton of school shopping, arranging carpools with Maria and Jordyn, signing up for after school activities, and starting dog training classes. She also noticed Arizona seemed to be getting tired much faster than normal and wasn't sure if it was just returning from a week off or if it was the pregnancy. The second week back was their daughter's first week of third grade which meant a great deal of hormonal tears for Arizona and a lot of comforting on her part. Arizona's energy continued to lag and they both realized it was from the pregnancy and started reading up on research involving carrying multiples. This week brought a multi-car pile up which kept her at the center for the last two days, meaning she hasn't been home for two days and has only seen her wife long enough to ensure she was eating properly and taking time to rest. She smiled when she realized that also meant this was the end of Arizona's 7th week of her pregnancy and Addie would be here Monday for their first ultrasound. She was so excited she could hardly wait. Lorraine looked at her oddly when she had her block off her entire afternoon for an appointment but went into no further detail. Normally she told her friends everything, but she and Arizona made an agreement and she was sticking to it.
Pushing off the sink, she headed out of the scrub room when her phone started ringing with Arizona's ringtone. Connecting the call, she greeted, "Hello beautiful, I was just…" She was cut off by a man's voice asking "Cal, can you come over to the center? Arizona is sick, she's been vomiting for the last 20 minutes. We are in her office." Realizing it was Max, Callie already started running and replied, "I'll be right there." She knew in her mind that it was probably morning…well evening sickness, which Arizona had experienced very little of unless she'd come across something her body just rejected like coffee, the smell of fish, and most recently, eggs. She knew it was about time for it to start since they'd read that it comes earlier with multiples, but it didn't keep her from worrying. Without saying a word to either her head nurse or her administrative assistant, she rushed out the door and ran straight across the street. Dashing through the lobby of the Robbins-Herman Center, again without so much as a hello, she ran right to Arizona's office, blew past Max and went into the bathroom to find her wife on her knees, leaning over the toilet, emptying the contents of her stomach, which at this point was just bile.
She found a face cloth, ran it under cool water, dropped to her knees and wiped Arizona's reddened face while saying softly, "I'm here baby, it's okay, I'm here." She felt Arizona lean against her and was relieved when she finally stopped heaving. Arizona sat back on her heels, closed her eyes, and allowed her wife to wash her face, appreciating the cool water on her overheated skin. Callie kissed her forehead and asked, "Is it…" She lowered her voice because she wasn't sure if Max had left the room and continued, "Is it the babies?" Arizona nodded and responded, "I've been a little queasy for the past hour or so. I came in to get one of the Zofran out of my purse but they must be at home in the bathroom bag I still haven't unpacked." Callie ran her fingers through Arizona's hair and offered, "I'll do that tonight and we will make sure we leave half of them at home and half of them here so you aren't without them okay?" The blonde nodded then started to get up. Callie stood quickly, helped her wife up, and stayed in the bathroom with her while she brushed her teeth. When she was finished, Callie convinced her to sit on the sofa and let her stomach settle for a while.
Callie sat down and Arizona sat next to her and immediately cuddled into her side, smiling when a strong tan arm wrapped around her pulling her closer. Callie linked her fingers with the hand that was resting on her thigh and commented, "So it begins." Arizona smiled softly and replied, "I know it's a weird thing to be happy about and I know it's going to suck, but I'm kind of relieved. This is…umm…" Callie kissed the top of her head, squeezed her tighter and responded, "I know baby, I know. Has this been weighing heavily on you? I know I haven't been home the last couple of days, but I don't care what I'm doing, if you need me, you come get me or you send for me. Someone can take over for me. We are not going to repeat…" Arizona cut her off, "No, I know. It hasn't really been something I've thought about until I got sick today, then it's like something in my brain clicked and I felt relieved, even while I was throwing up." Callie breathed a sigh of relief and replied, "Okay, okay, good. I just, I know there will be times like this and I don't want you to feel like you can't count on me or interrupt me. If you need me, you make sure you get me. Will you promise?" Arizona nodded, "I promise." The two sat quietly for a moment and Callie was about to suggest they get ready to go when they heard a knock on the door.
Arizona called out, "Come in," and looked up to see Max at the door and waved him in. The OB walked in and closed the door behind him. He pulled up a chair, looked at his chief whom he also considered a friend now and started, "When you went on your honeymoon, there was one patient you didn't assign to anyone, Rebecca Stinson. I noticed that she was actually Dr. Montgomery's patient but since her IUI was successful, she was placed on your caseload. But according to her chart, she seems to be having a normal pregnancy so she wouldn't qualify to be on your caseload either." Both women sat up straighter and looked at one another. Arizona tried to explain, "We put her on my caseload for billing purposes, she doesn't like to fly so Addison comes to her." Max nodded his head and responded, "Interesting, I also find it interesting that you don't like to fly either. Nor have you, the queen of caffeine, drank coffee in several weeks, along with this episode and the fact that Rebecca Stinson was a character on Bones who was killed off in 2006." Callie gritted her teeth and muttered, "I'm going to kill Addison."
Max chuckled and responded, "Clever though, being married to an ortho surgeon and all. Arizona, you'll need an OB/GYN in town and I'm the best, unless you're more comfortable with Dr. Yaeger. I understand your relationship with Dr. Montgomery and I don't mind sharing the duties with her." Arizona looked at her wife and Callie answered the unasked question, "Ultimately it's your decision honey, but we both trust Max and he IS the best. We've already discussed having someone close." Max nodded and agreed, "Doctor/patient privilege of course, but based on these numbers, though you are perfectly within healthy range, someone close by should be keeping an eye on you." Arizona nodded and finally answered, "Callie's right, we were going to ask someone when we got further into the pregnancy and honestly I was going to talk to her about how she felt about asking you. The name is different but that's my history in the chart. After you read it, unless you already have, you'll understand my hesitancy to say anything and my need to keep Addison involved. I'll let you go through it, but for now, I'd like to keep a pseudonym, maybe not one so obvious."
The man nodded then tossed a bottle of medication to Arizona, she read the label from their pharmacy, seeing it was prescribed to Robyn Washington for an anti-nausea medication, she asked, "Is this for me?" He nodded and responded, "Unless you want to remain a dead character on a television show." She shook her head and replied, "Thanks Max." She looked at Callie and raised her eyebrow, saw the imperceptible nod and offered, "Addie is flying in on Monday for our 8 week ultrasound at 2:00 pm if you are available." Max nodded and replied, "It's in the chart, if you are both certain you are okay with it, I would be honored to be a part of this experience with you." Both women nodded and laughed as he took a syringe and four empty vials out of his pocket and suggested, "Then let's get the blood work out of the way so we don't have to wait, shall we?"
Arizona sat up for her friend to take her blood and said, "I don't want to hurt your feelings or anything and we would definitely want you in the room in case something goes wrong, but well, we'd like Addie to deliver." Max smiled at the blonde and replied good naturedly, "I assumed as much and again, I'd be honored to be there." Once he was finished drawing the blood, he stuck it in his pocket and declared, "I will take this to the lab and I suggest you go home and get some rest. You've got a long road ahead of you." Callie stood up, shook Max's hand and said, "Thank you, for calling me today and for offering to be her doctor. It means a lot and makes me feel better knowing someone is watching over her." The man chuckled and replied, "With you working so far away, I figured it was the least I could do." Both women laughed and the OB left the office.
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Callie knew Arizona wasn't feeling her best when she suggested they leave her car at the center and drive home together in Callie's car. Fortunately it was Friday and Sofia didn't have any after school activities, so they picked her up from the daycare and she and Arizona waited in the SUV while Callie ran into her office to pick up a few things, finish the chart for the patient she just operated on, and explained to her friends that Arizona wasn't feeling well so she was taking her home for the evening. While Arizona took a bath and Sofia played in the yard with Tobin, who was sporting his new bandana from Mexico, Callie tried to come up with a light dinner she knew wouldn't be too hard on Arizona's stomach and Sofia would also enjoy. She settled on homemade chicken noodle soup and rolls which she knew both of them loved. While Arizona was able to con her family out of their recipes, Barb and Callie also swapped recipes often and this was one of Barb's famous comfort food dishes that was both filling and light on the stomach.
Once the soup was simmering and the bread dough was rising, Callie went into their bathroom to check on her wife and found her in the dimly lit bathroom, soaking in the bathtub full of bubbles, nearly half-asleep, listening to classical music. Arizona heard Callie come in and smiled softly at her when she sat on the edge of the tub, caressed her face and swept a stray curl behind her ear. Callie smiled down at her wife and quietly asked, "How are you feeling?" Arizona nodded her head and responded sleepily, "Better. I just feel so tired." Callie lowered her hand into the tub to cover Arizona's abdomen, looked directly at it and sweetly asked, "Hey guys, how about you give mommy a break down there. She's going to be taking care of you for a long time while you're in there and when you come out, so stop giving her a hard time okay?" Arizona smiled as she felt the now familiar little tingle whenever Callie touched or talked to the babies. She'd never told her wife about it, but she knew that somehow their children were responding to her.
Arizona linked their fingers and revealed, "I've been feeling more bloated lately and if you have some time next week, I think we should start working on my leg. Nothing is bothering me now, but with twins, everything is going to be happening faster." Callie nodded and answered, "I was thinking about that too. My schedule has settled down significantly now and even if it hasn't I would make time, this is important and for the first phase, we can do some of it at home." Arizona nodded, hit the drain on the tub with her foot, lifted her arms and asked, "Will you help me out?" Callie looked down at her wife's naked form and noticed that her breasts were already starting to swell and her nipples appeared to be slightly darker. She stood up, took a towel out of the cabinet near the tub, pulled Arizona to a standing position, wrapped the towel around her, then lifted her wife into her arms, carried her into their bedroom, and gently sat her on the bed. She went to the dresser, found her an over-sized shirt, some panties, and a pair of shorts, then proceeded to dress her. Arizona giggled and proclaimed, "Calliope, I can dress myself." Callie smiled, put the shirt over her wife's head, bent to kiss her nose and responded, "But this way is more fun. Let me pamper my wife." Arizona just shook her head and stuck her arm through the sleeve Callie was holding up for her.
After dinner, they decided to have a family movie night and Callie awoke to a noise on the television and looked at the clock waiting for her eyes to adjust and saw that it was 1:13 am. She looked down and saw that Sofia had fallen asleep in her lap on the reclining end of the sofa while Arizona's head was resting on her other leg and she was lying on her back stretched out on the rest of the sofa with Tobin, who wasn't supposed to be on the furniture, curled up on her lower abdomen. Callie carefully sat up and put down the reclining chair then carried her daughter to her room, tucked her into her bed, kissed her on her warm little cheek, and whispered wishes of sweet dreams. She returned to the living room for her next task of trying to get the demon dog away from Arizona so she could take him outside before putting him in his crate. He earned his name a couple of weeks ago when he kept snarling at her and tried to keep her away from Arizona. This time, she snuck up behind him while he was sleeping and quickly snatched him from her wife's stomach and rushed him outside before he realized what was happening. It took a few minutes to get him to go to the bathroom, but once he awoke fully, he finally figured out where he was and did his job then happily ran to Callie. It seemed he had no problems with her when Arizona wasn't around. She crated him, then returned to the living room for her final task.
Seeing that Arizona was sleeping so well, rather than wake her, Callie lifted her into her arms and carried her into the bedroom as well. She tucked her wife in, then returned to the living room, straightened up, turned off the television, grabbed Arizona's crutches, put them by her side of the bed, then finally climbed into bed herself. She turned on her side, cuddled into Arizona's side and protectively splayed her hand across her abdomen. Closing her eyes, she sent up a silent prayer asking God to protect Arizona and the babies, to allow her wife to have an easy pregnancy with little to no complications. She found herself nearly begging him to allow them to have something go right for them which led her to thinking of all the things that went so terribly wrong and thoughts of how neither of them should even be here, let alone be here with each other which led her back to her prayer where she now found herself thanking God for the things she had, for giving Arizona back to her and the blessings of their babies and the last thought on her mind as she drifted off was Arizona, red faced and exhausted from pushing, holding two blue blankets in her arms with tears running down her face.
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Since it was early fall and one of the last warm days they would see for a while, Callie and Arizona decided it was a perfect day for a family outing. They decided to go to Central Park since the only time they'd been there with Sofia was when they went with the large group of friends when they went to the zoo and things felt rather rushed. Today they wanted to take their time and enjoy themselves as a family. They thought for certain that Sofia would want to go to the zoo right away, but she was content with walking around and looking at the statues and the trees. Whenever she saw something with a raised curb, she would run over to it, hold out her arms to balance herself and walk one foot in front of the other as if she were on a balance beam. Callie and Arizona walked hand in hand watching their daughter and out of nowhere, Arizona shared, "When I was about 4 and Timmy was 6, my mom took us to a circus, I think we were based in Italy at the time. But we saw this highwire act and I was just mesmerized, fascinated with the whole thing." Callie chuckled and asked, "Are you sure it wasn't the hot women in the sexy costumes?" Arizona bumped their hips and commanded, "Shut up. I was four." Callie laughed and waved her hand for her wife to keep going.
Arizona continued, "After that, every time we saw a curb like that, I would do the same thing Sofia is doing. Timmy bet me a candy bar that I couldn't do it for real and you know how I can't turn down a challenge. So mom took us to a park a few days later and there was this tall metal slide with the thin ridges on the side." Callie interrupted, "Those one's that used to burn your ass every time you slid down them? You walked up one of those?" Arizona snorted and replied, "I wish. I walked up the SIDE, that little half inch ridge on the side with my bare feet. I actually made it a few feet up before I lost my balance and fell." Callie cringed, being an ortho surgeon, she knew for a fact something was broken and asked, "How many bones?" Arizona shook her head, held up her right arm and answered, "Three…wrist, radius and ulna." Callie took the offered hand, kissed her wrist as if it would do any good but still made the blonde smile and proclaimed, "When you do something, you go all the way don't you?" Arizona nodded her head and chirped, "I'm a perfectionist. It's my type-A personality, why break your arm if you aren't going to break all the bones? Why get pregnant if it's not going to be two babies?" Callie laughed, tugged Arizona closer so she could put her arm around her and the blonde wrapped her arm around her waist as they continued to walk and watch their daughter play.
After walking for a bit longer, Arizona noticed how beautiful the colors of the trees were now that the leaves started changing and decided it would be a perfect place and time to get some fall pictures. Looking at their daughter to make sure her outfit was okay, she realized without any of them planning it, they were all wearing jean shorts and different fall-colored shirts. Callie had on a red polo, she was wearing a yellow t-shirt, and Sofia was wearing an orange polo. Looking up at her wife, she suggested, "Let's get some fall pictures." Callie looked around at the beautiful park then at each of them to make sure they were dressed appropriately for pictures, saw the same thing her wife did, then agreed, "Yeah, that sounds like a great idea. We don't really have any family pictures except from the wedding." Arizona smiled and nodded, "Okay, you two go first, how about over there?" She pointed at a clump of trees that complimented both of their outfits and Callie called out to Sofia and the two of them assumed various poses while Arizona took their picture. Callie and Arizona switched places and they repeated some of the same positions. Just when Callie was about to suggest they get a few of Sofia alone, someone walked up and offered to take a few with the three of them. Callie smiled, thanked the woman, and went to join her family. When they were happy they had gotten enough, they each took some individual shots and Sofia took a few with just her mommies. She wasn't sure how they would turn out, but she was happy they let her try.
Seeing that Arizona was getting a little tired, Callie suggested they get some lunch and sit down for a while then sneakily suggested they take a horse and carriage ride through the rest of the park so Sofia could see everything. Arizona narrowed her eyes at her wife, knowing exactly what she was doing, but also thankful because she didn't want to ruin their fun family day because she was tired. While riding through the park, Callie and Arizona pointed out the butterfly garden where they got engaged and Sofia made Arizona tell the story again and the way she told it brought tears to Callie's eyes. Hearing it from her wife's point of view was so much more romantic than the way she remembered it. All she remembered was the nerves and trying not to puke or make a fool of herself along with the overwhelming fear that for some reason the love of her life would say no. Seeing Callie tear up, Arizona tilted her head in question and Callie spoke her thoughts out loud, "All I remember is being nervous and scared that you would say no." Arizona looked at her wife bewildered, wondering why in the world she thought she'd say no, then remembered Callie always thought she didn't deserve another chance. Taking her hand, Arizona assured her, "I'll always say yes." Sofia huffed and looked the other way knowing her parents were about to kiss. Sneaking a peek, she smirked because she knew she was right, but also because, well because they were kissing and it made her happy even though it was gross.
After finishing their ride, they found themselves back at the entrance of the park and being tired herself, Sofia asked if they could go to the zoo some other time. Callie looked down at her daughter who usually wants to go from the time she wakes up until bedtime and asked, "Are you feeling okay big girl?" Sofia nodded her head and answered, "I think being in third grade and starting all of my after school activities just makes me tired." Arizona tilted her head and asked, "Is it too much, do you think you would like to stop doing one of the activities and maybe sign up next time?" Sofia thought about it for a minute, she really liked everything she was doing and knew she could do it, she just needed to get used to it again. Shaking her head she answered, "No, I think I will be okay, I just have to get used to it again." Both of her mommies smiled at her and mama nodded and said, "Okay then, let's get some dinner and head home to relax." Arizona perked up and looked at Callie, eyes wide and asked, "Can we stop at that Chinese place? I have been craving those shrimp eggrolls all week." Callie laughed and responded, "Your wish is my command."
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Callie was awaken late Saturday night or early Sunday morning, she wasn't certain, to the sound of whimpering coming from the bathroom. She jolted upright, it was a sound she hadn't heard in years, not since Arizona's leg was first amputated and she was experiencing phantom limb pains and was trying to hide it from her. Looking over she saw her crutches were gone and shot out of bed, determined her wife was not going to hide this from her this time. As she got closer to the bathroom, she heard the sound of retching and felt slightly relieved that it wasn't what she thought it was but wondered why Arizona didn't try to wake her up. Rushing into the bathroom, she wet a face cloth and wiped Arizona's face then rested it on the back of her neck. She reached over to the cabinet, grabbed a hair tie, and pulled Arizona's hair back into a loose ponytail. Sitting down next to her wife, she rubbed her back and continued to wipe her face while she vomited what appeared to be their very greasy, very heavy dinner. Arizona sat back on her heels, once again allowed Callie to wash her face, then looked into her wife's concerned eyes and declared, "Before you even ask, if I would have opened my mouth to wake you, I would have thrown up all over you." Callie chuckled and responded, "Well I guess I can thank you for that." Arizona nodded and asked, "Can you help me up?" Callie nodded, helped Arizona stand and handed her the crutches.
Arizona sidled to the sink to brush her teeth while Callie took out one of the medications Addie prescribed that would help with the nausea and would also help Arizona sleep. After the blonde finished brushing her teeth, Callie handed over the pill and her wife willingly took it. Callie asked, do you need anything else? Some crackers or something else on your stomach? Arizona shook her head and replied, "I just want to lie down and try to go back to sleep. Will you hold me?" Callie nodded her head and answered, "Of course." She followed Arizona out of the bathroom, waited until she got into bed, then turned off the light and found her way to her side of the bed. Callie turned to spoon Arizona but found that her wife wanted to lay on her chest so she readjusted herself, waited for Arizona to get settled, then gently ran her hands through the soft blonde curls that were spread out across her chest.
Arizona sighed and suggested, "Maybe I should save the heavier stuff for breakfast and lunch and have lighter meals at dinner. I didn't get sick the night we had the chicken noodle soup." Callie had noticed the same thing but wondered, "What did you have for lunch that day?" Arizona was quiet for a moment and Callie scolded, "Arizona, you need to eat." Arizona sighed, "I know, it's just, my day was so full and busy and before I knew it…" Callie closed her eyes; she knew the life of a surgeon and couldn't scold her wife for having patients. Instead she suggested, "I'll run to the wholesale club and buy some protein bars and soup cups and things you can eat quickly to keep at work that will at least put something on your stomach. How does that sound?" Arizona lifted her head and asked, "Why aren't you yelling at me?" Callie scratched at her back, took a deep breath and answered, "Because I know what it's like to be a pregnant surgeon and balancing that isn't easy. I'm not going to lie and say I'm not just a little relieved that Max knows." Arizona chuckled and replied, "I figured that's why you were okay with him taking over my case." Callie nodded and responded, "Well, that and the fact that he's gay." Arizona snorted, slapped Callie's taut abdomen and declared, "You are awful." Callie shrugged and proclaimed, "Hey, if Addie was a lesbian, she'd be nowhere near your vagina, so it goes both ways." Callie could feel her wife laughing silently then offered, "I'm not bias, I'm an equal opportunity wife when it comes to your vagina." That had both women laughing and Arizona calmed down enough to say, "Okay, now we are just getting slap happy. It's time to sleep. Thank you for taking care of me." Callie kissed Arizona's head and answered, "I'll always take care of you. Next time, don't talk, just punch me." Arizona nodded and mumbled something Callie couldn't make out because her wife was already nodding off.
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Callie awoke early Monday morning and looked at her phone seeing she had nearly 40 minutes before the alarm went off. She'd barely slept all night. They had a light dinner earlier in the evening then Arizona had a snack of fruit and crackers closer to bedtime and though she felt queasy, she didn't get sick. What kept Callie up was the fact that she was going to see her twins today, well she was going to see the two little raspberry sized bubbles that would be her twins and quite possibly hear their heartbeats. She laid there for a few minutes and remembered how hearing Sofia's heartbeat for the first time seemed to change everything for all three of them. Knowing she was in there was one thing. But hearing her heartbeat, hearing that she was living and growing in there, doing the things she was supposed to be doing, it just made it so real. She remembered that day like it was yesterday and mostly because that was the day Arizona claimed the baby as hers and has fought for her everyday since then. She looked over to her wife who was sleeping on her back and had kicked off the blanket at some point leaving her covered with just a sheet. It seemed the extra hormones made her have hot flashes quite frequently.
Looking down at her wife, Callie furrowed her brow noticing something seemed a little different. At first, she thought maybe Arizona's shirt had bunched up or maybe it was the sheet. As had become her practice, she took her pillow, slid under the covers, lifted Arizona's shirt, preparing to talk to her twins, then gasped and smiled brightly when she saw a very significant baby bump that seemed to pop up out of nowhere overnight. Running her hand up and down over the little bulge, she whispered, "Arizona, honey look." Arizona furrowed her brow, wondering why Callie was waking her up before the alarm, turned her head to look at her wife, saw she wasn't there, then realized she was rubbing her stomach. The blonde pulled back the covers and looked down to see Callie lying next to her stomach with tears in her eyes rubbing her hand over a very pronounced baby belly. Looking down at her own stomach, Arizona allowed the tears to flow down her cheeks feeling the relief fill her heart and the weight lift from her shoulders as she looked at her wife once again and Callie spoke her fears aloud, "They're okay, they're growing." Both women started laughing then and Arizona opened her arms for Callie, who quickly scurried up the bed, took her wife in her arms, and captured her lips in a long sensual kiss, pouring all the love and emotion she felt at that moment into it.
Pulling back, Arizona let out a sigh of relief, ran her own hand over her stomach and proclaimed in awe, "Hi babies." She looked up at Callie then and whispered, "Calliope, I'm pregnant." Callie smiled her mega-watt smile, nodded her head and agreed, "You are." They still had tears in their eyes when Arizona pulled Callie into another hug and the brunette admitted, "I tried not to think about it, I tried so hard not to be scared…you know how scared I was with Sofia, I didn't want to do anything. Then with our second, I never let either of us think or talk about it, I didn't even mourn until I started therapy. I just…God! They're growing like weeds in there." She put her hand over Arizona's and Arizona corrected, "Nope, they're growing like mighty oaks." Callie laughed, slid down the bed, kissed Arizona's baby bump and cooed, "Hello there. You've made your mommies so happy today. It looks like you've decided you need some more room in there. You're getting your pictures taken later today and we know you don't have mouths yet and you're mostly just a little brain with a heart and your little arms and legs are just starting to form, but if you could, you know, say hi or something today, we'd love to hear your tiny little hearts." She kissed Arizona's abdomen again then shimmied back up the bed and cuddled with her wife, both of them keeping their hands on the little bump with goofy grins on their faces until the alarm went off.
Both women kept the smiles on their faces until after their shower when it was time to get dressed. Callie was doing her hair when she heard a growl coming from the closet. Rushing over to see what was wrong, she found her wife standing in the doorway wearing a bra that appeared to be two sizes too small, trying to button her pants quite unsuccessfully. Callie tried to hide her smile and asked, "Is it time to go shopping?" Arizona glared at her wife and responded, "Ya think?" Callie bit back her laughter, went into the closet, and rummaged through the clothes, then asked, "How about a dress?" Arizona huffed, "I only have my summer dresses out right now, all of my fall stuff is still packed away." Callie chewed on her bottom lip, moved some hangers around, pulled down a pair of black dress pants and asked, "What about these? You said they were a little big on you, that's why you never wore them." Arizona took off the pants she had on, tried on the pants Callie had just handed her and they fit perfectly. Sighing in relief, she asked, "What about a shirt?" Callie looked toward the back of the closet, pulled one of her old sweaters off the hanger and handed it to her wife saying, "Here, this is one of my sweaters you asked if you could keep. This should cover you up. Just make sure to get a larger pair of scrubs today." Arizona pulled the sweater over her head then wrapped her arms around her wife's neck, brushed their lips together and declared, "You are a lifesaver." Callie kissed her nose and replied, "Remember that when I'm cranky and impatient while we're shopping tonight." Arizona laughed and responded, "You love shopping with me." Callie swatted her on her ass and followed her out of the closet as she said, "Just keep telling yourself that."
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Callie was in her office packing up her bag getting ready to leave to go to the airport to pick up Addie by noon when her closest and dearest friends walked right into her office like they owned the place. Both of them stood blocking the door and Maria asserted, "You aren't going anywhere until you tell us what's going on. You have been acting strange for days. Thursday you told Lorraine to block off this afternoon for an appointment and didn't explain why. You ALWAYS tell us why. Then Friday you ran out of here like a bat out of hell, again with no explanation and today you walked around all day with this weird ass grin on your face like you were the damn Joker." Callie's eyes darted around the room and she rubbed the back of her head trying to figure out something to say when Lorraine added, "And don't try to lie, we know that look." Callie nodded, blew out a deep breath and responded as truthfully as she could in that moment, "You're right, something is going on but I can't…" Maria stepped closer to her and warned, "If you are cheating on Arizona after everything that you've been through, I swear to God I will…" "Whoa! No one is cheating. Back down killer," Callie defended, then continued, "Something is going on, but I can't tell you just yet. I promise I will as soon as I can. But it's not bad, Arizona knows about it, it's just…uh…time sensitive." Both women looked at one another, their friend was not one who could or liked to keep things from them, so the fact that she was meant it must be important. Maria calmed herself and in a more sensitive tone asked, "You and Arizona, you're both okay? You're healthy? You're not fighting?" Callie smiled genuinely at her friend and answered truthfully, "We are both fine, we are healthy, and we are absolutely not fighting, we love each other more than ever." Lorraine nodded then and both women stepped aside to allow their boss to go wherever she was planning to go.
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Callie tossed Addison's bag in the back of her Range Rover and asked, "How long do we get to keep you for?" Addison smiled and responded, "I'm here until Friday. I'm also consulting on a case with Arizona and that appointment isn't until tomorrow, but we are almost positive surgical intervention is necessary and she asked me to scrub in if the mother gives consent." Callie smiled, closed the hatch and went to get into the car. Part of her wanted so badly to tell her friend Arizona was showing, but she also wanted it to be a surprise, so she kept her mouth shut. When they were on their way, Addison asked, "So how was your honeymoon? Where did you go? Arizona was pretty tightlipped about it." Callie laughed, "She was afraid I would find out. We went to my family hacienda just outside of Mazatlán where they threw us a fiesta to celebrate our wedding and we got a ton of gifts and honestly, I don't think we even had to spend a dime of our own money while we were there. We stayed there until Monday morning then stayed in Mazatlán until Saturday then went back to stay with my family until we left on Sunday." Addison smiled, just the look on her best friend's face made her happy.
When Callie made a right turn, the redhead noticed the engagement ring on her hand and exclaimed, "Holy shit! That's new." Callie looked down at her finger and explained, "This was my birthday and first month anniversary present. Arizona said since I didn't get one either time, it was only fitting that I had one too and she tried to make it match hers as closely as she could while matching my style and wedding ring." Addie let out a low whistle and claimed, "She pulled out all the stops." Callie shook her head and responded, "Oh, she also took me parasailing. We always said we wanted to go and she found this place that catered to amputees and people with other disabilities. She called ahead and they made a sleeve designed to fit her residual limb, built it into the harness and we went parasailing together on my birthday." Addison shook her head in disbelief, she wasn't around the blonde nearly as much when they were together the first time, but she certainly wasn't the same person her friend described to her towards the end of their first marriage. Almost as if she were reading her mind, Callie stated, "It's like she's this whole new person, but not, at the same time. She still has the best parts of the Arizona I fell in love with, but she's just so much…more. Her dad told me that she had to hit rock bottom to see that she needed to fix herself and for her, that rock bottom was losing me. For me, it was kind of the same thing, but I lost her while I still had her." Addison nodded in understanding, slapped her friend's leg and responded, "Well, you both have each other and you are both in the same place now. So that's what counts." Callie smiled and repeated, "That's what counts."
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Callie pulled into the parking lot at 1:50 pm and knew her wife was probably pacing the floor. She should have been back thirty minutes ago, but the plane was a little late which meant the luggage was delayed coming out, then of course mid-day traffic, but to a nervous pregnant woman, none of that mattered. Rushing into the door, Callie knew she was in trouble when she was greeted with, "Where the hell have you been?" Callie opened her mouth to explain when Addison cut her off and explained calmly, "It's my fault, my plane was late. Let's get in to see the patient. The appointment isn't for another ten minutes right?" Arizona took a deep breath and nodded. She looked at Callie, reached for her hand, pulled her into a hug and whispered, "I'm sorry. I just…I got…" Callie rubbed Arizona's back and soothed, "It's okay, I know you got scared and old memories came back. I'm right here baby. I'm going to be right here. I promise. But I should have called. The only thing I thought about was getting here." Arizona pulled back, kissed her softly on the lips and replied, "It's not okay. I can't let old stuff get in the way. I knew you'd be here."
Having previously told Addison she asked Max to be her OB, Arizona looked at Dee and asked, "Can you page Dr. March to exam room 4 please?" Dee nodded, did as she was asked and the three women made their way across the lobby, none of them noticing the older fetal surgeon standing in the corner. All of them stopped dead in their tracks when they heard Nicole ask, "Now why would a fertility specialist, a maternal-fetal specialist, an OB/GYN, and if I'm not mistaken, an ortho surgeon, all be needed on the same case?" Arizona covered her eyes and mumbled, "Fuck" under her breath. Callie leaned in and whispered, "You're going to have to tell her soon, she might as well know now." Arizona groaned, walked to her mentor, took her hand and commanded, "Come on then." The older woman allowed herself to be led to the exam room for an explanation, although she already had her suspicions. She may be blind, but she's not stupid and her partner and protégé has been showing classic signs of pregnancy for a few weeks now.
When they got into the room and closed the door, Nicole asked, "So who is the patient?" Arizona sighed, "I am and I was hoping to wait until the second trimester to say anything." Nicole nodded and asked, "How far along?" Arizona climbed onto the table and held out her arm for Addie to take her blood pressure and responded, "This is the beginning of my 8th week. We inseminated me via IUI on our wedding night. My last blood test at 3 weeks showed higher HCG levels indicating the possibility of multiples and based upon my symptoms, I would tend to agree." Just then, they heard a knock on the door and Arizona called out, "Come in Max." When Max walked in the door, Addie asked, "What symptoms?" Arizona answered, "Nausea and vomiting, though it is more prominent in the evening, tenderness and um and increase in size of my breasts, change in tastes and cravings, an aversion to certain foods or drinks I normally like, all things that shouldn't be happening for another four weeks. Oh, then there's this." She stood up, lifted her shirt slightly, then grabbed Nicole's hand and let her feel the swell of her stomach. Addison smiled and cooed, "Aww look who decided to join the party. How long has that been there?" Callie smiled and responded, "It literally happened over night. Last night, her stomach was perfectly flat."
Arizona climbed back on the table and Nicole asked, "Is it okay if I stay?" She knew about Arizona's last pregnancy and with her age and her leg, she was slightly worried about her friend, but she was also extremely happy for her because she knew she wanted this more than anything. Slightly surprised by the request, Arizona looked to Callie who nodded, then answered, "Of course you can stay." Addison started setting up the ultrasound then ordered, "Well right at this moment, none of us are staying because Arizona is going to be putting on one of these beautiful gowns and we are all stepping out." Callie stayed where she was and Addison started to say something to her but the look on her friend's face told her this wasn't the time to tease and she didn't intend to leave no matter what. Once everyone left, Callie laid out the hospital gown, helped Arizona take off her sweater, folded it and put it on the counter, helped her off the exam table and out of her pants and panties, folded them and put them with the sweater, kissed her baby bump, then put the gown on her. She pulled her wife into her arms and hugged her tightly, both of them taking a deep breath and feeling the other woman relax in their arms. Callie kissed her cheek and whispered, "I love you and I am so proud of you and so happy you are my wife." Arizona smiled at that and replied, "I love you too and I am so, so happy you are my wife." Callie kissed her softly, helped her back onto the table, covered her with a sheet, got her a pillow and made sure she was comfortable, then opened the door to let the others back in.
When they returned to the room, Addison told Arizona, "Your blood pressure is a little higher than I would like it to be so Max is going to keep an eye on it and he will put you on medication if it doesn't go down. Right now, we are hoping it's just the stress of the appointment. Callie held out her hand for the tablet, knowing Arizona would want to see it, passed it over, then frowned when her wife asked, "Are these my most recent HCG levels?" Max nodded and responded, "Those are all the results from the blood I submitted Friday." Callie looked at the tablet over her wife's shoulder and could only tell they were higher than last time, but she really didn't know if that was good or bad. Addison sat down on the stool between Arizona's legs and explained, "Okay, you're going to feel a little discomfort." Arizona nodded and grabbed Callie's hand.
Addison looked at the monitor and watched as the wand entered the womb and smiled when she saw what she was looking for then her smile turned to shock then grew even bigger and she turned the monitor so Callie and Arizona could see their babies then turned up the volume so they could hear the whoosh, whoosh, whoosh of their little hearts. Max moved behind Callie so he could see the monitor and claimed, "Well, that explains the HCG levels." Addison responded, "It sure does." Callie looked at her wife who was just staring at the monitor with tears running down her face and had a death grip on her hand and asked, "Can someone please explain what is going on to the fetally challenged?" Nicole snapped, "Everybody shut up and listen."
The whole room got quiet and they heard, "Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh." One right after the other almost like an echo. Arizona looked at her wife, tugged on her hand so she would look at her and explained, "There's three Calliope." Callie looked at Arizona then back at the screen which was no help at all then heard the whooshing sound, and repeated, "Three" before the lights turned fuzzy and she felt like she was underwater and the last thing she heard was her wife screaming her name. Max barely had time to brace himself before Callie fell into his arms. Arizona hollered, "Nicole get up, Callie passed out." The older fetal surgeon quickly moved from her chair wishing like hell she could see right now. Addison quickly but carefully removed the transducer from Arizona who wrapped a sheet around her lower half and went to her wife. Tapping her on the cheek, she said, "Come on Calliope, wake up baby. Calliope, come on honey, come back to me." Addison wet a paper towel and wiped her friend's face while Arizona continued to call her name and tap her on the cheek. Finally those gorgeous brown eyes opened and searched out concerned blue and asked, "Arizona?" Arizona took her hand with one hand while still holding the sheet with the other and replied, "I'm here baby." Callie blinked and repeated, "Baby." Then she popped up, looked around the room and exclaimed, "Baby, babies…three, you're having three babies!"
A/N: Surprise! My initial plan was always triplets, but I was torn when some of you raised concerns about them not being able to handle triplets, but others raised a good point in that they have built a new village to help them out, so trips it is.
Once again thanks to Mondlerfankay for some of the ideas you threw in there like the tan line from the rings as well as Callie discovering the baby bump even though that was also in my plan (Great minds and all that).
Just an FYI, the walking up the slide story Arizona told, that was me and I was six and actually did that and broke all three bones in my left arm right before I started first grade…and I'm left-handed.
Also, you may or may not find this weird, but I have this weird thing that I have to listen to my Grey's playlist and drink out of my black grey's cup while writing my story.
Finally, is it just me or does anyone else feel like Season 19 is just a weird reboot of Season 1?
I haven't said this in a while, but all original Grey's characters belong to Shonda. I am just borrowing them and pretending this is how the story continued.