Early Friday morning, Callie knocked on her daughter's door and whispered, "Sof, it's mama, can I come in?" Sofia looked around her desk where all her craft supplies were laid out, let out a sigh of relief and whispered back, "Yeah, but hurry." Callie looked around to make sure her wife was nowhere to be found and quickly slipped into her daughter's room. She smiled when she saw what the little girl was working on and gushed, "That looks awesome sweetheart." Sofia smiled, happy to have her mama's approval and asked, "Do you think she will really like it?" Callie nodded and replied, "I think she will love it." Sofia bit her bottom lip, remembering what her mama told her and asked, "Do you think she will cry?" Callie nodded her head and replied, "She might, but only because we are making the day super special for her again." Sofia giggled and declared, "You sound like mommy, you keep using her words." Callie thought back to what she said, recalled her use of 'awesome' and 'super', then smiled at her daughter, lowered her voice, and said, "Let's just keep that between us. We don't want your mommy to get a big head over it." Sofia giggled again and nodded her head. Callie looked at her daughter's unruly curls and asked, "So what are we going to do about this mess on your head?" Sofia blushed and replied, "I didn't want mommy to come in my room so I told her I'd do it myself." Callie laughed, picked up her daughter's brush, and ordered, "Come here, let me tackle this rat's nest before mommy has a fit." Sofia nodded and allowed her mama to brush her hair while she finished her project.
While Arizona's family was secretly planning a birthday surprise, she was obliviously, but happily working away in the kitchen, making breakfast and packing lunches since she knew it was going to be a long full day for all of them. She and Callie both had complicated surgeries which would mean hours on their feet and it also meant their daughter would be going home with Jess after school. Aside from that, she was trying to counteract Sofia's diet which consisted primarily of sugar since Monday was Halloween and despite their protests, she just knew their daughter had been sneaking more than her fair share of the haul she had collected from trick or treating. Fortunately the majority of Arizona's nausea had passed and she could tolerate eggs again, so she decided to make omelets using the last of the left over vegetables from their party and pieces of steak from their dinner the night before, knowing they would all need the protein. Arizona smiled when she heard, "Mmm something smells delicious," and looked up to see Callie dressed in black trousers with a red button down shirt, pulling a black and red sweater over her torso, making a beeline straight toward her. She smirked and replied, "Someone looks delicious," earning her that brilliant mega-watt smile and a toe curling kiss.
Callie reluctantly pulled back, placed a few more chaste kisses on soft pink lips for good measure, stepped behind her wife, wrapped her arms around her waist, peeked over her shoulder and whispered in her ear, "You look good enough to eat, yourself." Arizona tilted her head back, puckered her lips for another kiss and murmured, "I'd have figured you had your fill last weekend." Callie kissed her way down Arizona's long pale neck and returned, "I can never get enough of you." She then reached around her, stole a piece of the cold meat, popped it into her mouth and asked, "What are you making?" Arizona leaned into the warm body behind her and answered, "Steak and veggie omelets. I want to get rid of these leftovers and I'm hoping to at least curb the sugar high our daughter has been on all week." Callie chuckled and replied, "Yeah, I think it's time to hide the candy bag and dole it out gradually." Arizona sighed, "It was so much easier when she was younger and we could just tell her she ate it all." Callie laughed, released her wife, went to the coffee pot, smiled when she saw her cup of coffee was already prepared for her, and asked, "We were pretty crafty weren't we?" Arizona looked down at herself, rubbed her belly and answered, "Mmm hmm and we get to do it all over again."
Callie returned to her place behind her wife, set down her cup, covered her hands and agreed, "We do and I can hardly wait." Arizona replied, "Me neither," slipped her hands out from under Callie's, slid the first omelet onto a plate and started preparing the second. Callie lowered her head, started nibbling on Arizona's neck, making her giggle, until her hands started roaming upward toward her sensitive breasts and the blonde swatted them away, playfully scolding, "Calliope, Sofia will be out any minute." She then shoved the plate in her hand and ordered, "Go eat your breakfast." Callie moaned, took the plate, picked up her coffee cup and sulked all the way to the table, making Arizona giggle even more. Even though she knew her daughter was putting the finishing touches on the birthday present she'd been working on all week, Callie asked, "Where is the little princess anyway?" Arizona shrugged and replied, "I have no idea, she wouldn't even let me help her with her hair this morning, told me she was a big girl now and could brush her hair on her own." Callie chuckled at her clueless wife; thankful she didn't see her slip into Sofia's room before making her way into the kitchen. She had no intention of throwing a huge party, but she would make sure this birthday would be one her wife would remember and planned to check off as many of the items on younger Arizona's list as she possibly could. She secretly wondered how long it would take her to figure it out.
When she was finished with the next serving, Arizona called out, "Sof, it's time for breakfast. We need to leave soon." While she was waiting for her daughter, she poured two glasses of orange juice and started on her own omelet. Sofia scampered into the dining room all dressed for school, her hair rolled into neat twists on either side, leading into a low ponytail in the back and stopped in her tracks when Arizona studied her curiously, narrowed her eyes, then crooked her finger and ordered, "Come here." Sofia nervously glanced at Callie who nodded toward Arizona, though she wondered if she figured out they were up to something and tried to hide her anxiety as well. Arizona put her hands on Sofia's shoulders, turned her around, studied her ponytail, recognized it immediately as one of Callie's classic styles, but decided to let the two of them have their secret, smiled and offered, "You're hair looks good. Great job." She then winked at Callie letting her know she was on to her. Callie shook her head and chuckled, she should have known better than to try to pull one over on Arizona, she knew every single one of her hairstyles. Once they were all seated at the table, Sofia tried to avert her mommy's knowing glare by asking her parents to help her practice her spelling words and times tables, informing them she had tests on both subjects that day. Of course, they were more than happy to oblige and the remainder of their breakfast was taken up with quizzing the little girl and offering helpful advice about mnemonic devices they both used in med school to help them get through difficult courses.
After breakfast, while Callie was rinsing off the dishes and Arizona was in the dining room helping Sofia pack her backpack, she overheard her daughter ask quietly, "Do you think they'll come today?" She turned her head to see Arizona's reaction, watched her blush slightly and command, "Hush! I don't know. I doubt it. They were probably from April or Richard and they were afraid I'd get mad at them." Callie turned her head and smiled to herself; almost certain she knew what her girls were whispering about. She almost laughed out loud when she heard, "Un unh! You know they were from mama; you just didn't want to believe it." She glanced over again, watched as the little smile crept up her wife's face as she replied, "You're too smart for your own good. Go get your jacket." Callie shook her head, turned her back, and wished like hell she could see Arizona's face when she walked into her center this morning.
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Once Callie pulled up in front of the Robbins-Herman Center to drop Arizona off, she debated on whether or not to follow her wife in. She watched as Arizona walked in the door and immediately pulled out her phone, too distracted to see the big vase of flowers sitting on the desk which she could clearly see from the car. Deciding she needed to see her wife's reaction, she got out of the car, ran around and slipped inside the doors before they closed, then stood off to the side motioning to Dee to keep quiet about her presence.
As soon as Arizona stepped into the lobby, she received a text message from Karev and nearly laughed out loud when she read it.
Crap Dog: Since I figure I'm too far away for you to punch and I know I'm a day early, but happy birthday. I miss you and all that crap.
She quickly found the fist emoji, added it to her reply and sent her own message.
Me: You're never too far away to punch. Thank you and I miss you and all that crap too.
Tucking her phone away, she was halfway through the lobby when she looked up and she was shocked to see the very large, very familiar bouquet of flowers, the same bouquet her daughter had brought up earlier today, sitting on the receptionist's desk front and center and it nearly took her breath away. It was almost identical to those she had received for the past two years with no card, no hint whatsoever as to the identity of the sender. They were always in a pink vase, filled with a variety of flowers in hues of blue, similar to the color of her eyes and deep purples which always reminded her of the shirt Callie was wearing on their first date. There were also little metal butterflies scattered amongst the flowers which were also adorned with baby's breath.
Despite what she told her daughter, she'd always hoped they were from Callie, a token to let her know she was thinking about her, she hadn't forgotten the significance of that day, what it meant to them aside from her birthday. Now that they were back together though, she wondered why she was still receiving the flowers and who would be sending them if it wasn't Callie. She slowly made her way to the receptionist's desk, was surprised to find this time there was a card and smiled brightly, almost certain now that she had been correct and it sent a thrill of excitement down her spine knowing in her own way that Callie had reached out, she was just too scared to do so in person. Pulling out the tiny card, she nearly cried when she read the words:
My dearest Arizona,
I've been waiting for the day that I could reveal myself; finally profess my love for you. Until then, I needed you to know you were never far from my thoughts and how truly special that day was, is, and will forever be to me.
My love always,
Calliope Robbins-Torres
Suddenly, the colors, the butterflies, even the baby's breath made so much sense and she wondered how she didn't know without a shadow of a doubt. Then she realized that she did know, deep in her heart she knew and was just too afraid to hope, too afraid to read more into it than what was intended. With tears welling in her eyes, she turned toward the door where her wife had just dropped her off and let out a sob when she saw her standing there holding out her arms for her. Arizona quickly made her way across the lobby, and before Callie could say a word, the blonde reached out, slipped her fingers into the collar of Callie's sweater, pulled her into her body, and connected their lips, darting her tongue out requesting access, which was immediately granted. As she deepened the kiss, she brought her free hand up to play with the stubble at the back of Callie's head at the same time Callie wrapped her arms around her waist pulling her as close as she could get with her protruding belly coming between them.
When the kiss came to its natural end, Arizona started to play with Callie's necklace and admitted, "I don't think you know what it means to me to see those flowers today." Callie felt a thrill run through her, tilted her head and asked, "Why don't you tell me?" Arizona blushed, buried her head in Callie's neck and explained, "The first time I got them, they instantly reminded me of you. The colors, the type of flowers, everything about them, and when there was no card, there was this big piece of me that wanted them to be from you. But…I knew you were in New York, happy with…I just, I wouldn't let myself believe it. When I got them the second year, I was almost positive, but I still, something held me back from believing. Sofia always told me they were from you. She said you never told her, but she knew." She lifted her head and looked Callie directly in the eye and revealed, "Even after we got back together, I never got up the nerve to ask because I would feel silly if it wasn't you. When I saw them just now, I didn't know what to think. Part of me was disheartened that I might have been wrong and it wasn't you, but this time there was a card and I knew without even opening it. Once I read what you wrote, my heart did that flippy thing again and I was just so happy you were here so I could show you how much they mean to me now and meant to me then." Callie lowered her head and kissed her softly, touched by her wife's words.
After a few minutes of holding one another, Callie pulled back and explained, "That first year I sent them, it was that day. I think…I know, I knew before I even admitted it out loud. I woke up, called into work then called the florist, I didn't have the guts to put my name on the card and I was just so confused. Part of me knew your heart would know even if your mind wouldn't allow you to think it was me, just like my heart knew before I admitted it to myself." Arizona pulled her in for a deep sexy kiss, pulled back and teased, "I'm still wondering how you plan to top that birthday." Callie winked at her and responded cryptically, "Well, since now I have permission, I may have a few tricks up my sleeves still." Arizona laughed and replied, "Just don't get carried away Calliope. I have everything I need right here in my arms." Callie kissed her softly and responded, "You may have everything you need, but I plan to give you everything you deserve." Arizona narrowed her eyes at her and before she could say anything, Callie planted a hard kiss on her lips and declared, "I have to go. Surgery in an hour." Arizona sighed, "Yeah, mine too." She watched as Callie walked out the door, got back in her car and drove away, then made her way back to the receptionist's desk.
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Callie lay awake staring at her phone and smiled when the clock struck midnight. She put the device on her bedside table, carefully rolled over and pressed herself against Arizona's back, slipped her hand under the hem of her tank top and started moving it upward over her swollen belly toward her full breasts while pressing soft open mouth kisses to her bare shoulder, over the strap of her tank top, and proceeded to lick and nip up her sleek pale neck until she reached the shell of her ear, licked and nibbled the sensitive spot just behind it and whispered, "Wake up birthday girl, it's time for your first present." Arizona wiggled her firm ass into Callie's mound making them both moan, then let out a cry of pleasure as Callie flicked at her nipples, back and forth until they were both hard tight peaks and sent shockwaves of pleasure throughout her body. Arizona rolled to her back, blinked to clear her vision and make sure she wasn't dreaming and realized Callie was hovering over her, still rubbing and kneading at her breasts then lowered her head, murmured, "Happy birthday baby," against her lips, ran her tongue across her bottom lip and was immediately granted access. Arizona whimpered when Callie's tongue curled upward and teased the roof of her mouth, her teeth nibbled her top lip, then she deepened the kiss leaving no question as to who was pleasuring whom. The blonde rolled her eyes and allowed herself to enjoy the sensations as Callie's hand moved lower, scraping her nails across the skin of her abdomen, slipping them into her panties and rubbing her palm against the outside of her mound until she was writhing beneath her.
Callie could feel Arizona's arousal seeping onto her hands and fingers; she loved how quickly she always responded to her, but even more so when she awoke her from a sound sleep. It was almost as if she were dreaming about it, waiting for her to touch her for real. When Arizona started moving her hips and bucking against her hand, Callie slid her leg over, tangled it with the long pale leg next to hers, opening her wife up more, and slipped her finger between her lower lips to circle her clit, taking great care not to touch it. Breaking the kiss, she trailed her tongue down Arizona's jawline, nibbled on her pulse point then up to her ear and asked, "Do you want me to touch you here?" Arizona moaned, "God yes." Callie smirked and whispered, "It's your birthday, you have to make a wish baby. What's your birthday wish?" Arizona groaned, grit her teeth and growled, "I wish you would touch my clit." Callie let out a growl of her own, she loved it when Arizona talked dirty like that and quickly rewarded her by flicking at her clit with her fingertip causing the blonde to lift her head and curl forward then fall back onto the pillows and move her hips against Callie's hand.
Callie continued her ministrations, slipped her middle finger between Arizona's lower lips as well and started stroking the sensitive area between her clit and the opening to her sex, dipping just her fingertip inside on each stroke. Arizona whimpered and bucked her hips at the loss and Callie asked, "Do you have another birthday wish?" Arizona nodded her head fervently and Callie smirked as she asked, "What's your wish baby?" Arizona started pushing at her sleep shorts and husked out, "I wish your fingers were inside me." Callie quickly got to her knees, removed Arizona's shorts, settled herself so she was straddling Arizona's leg once again, put the majority of her weight on her left hand, lowered her head to connect their lips in a long searing kiss, slipped her fingers between Arizona's lower lips, circled her pulsating opening, then slowly penetrated her with two fingers, letting out a long lewd moan as the warm tight walls clenched around her fingers and pulled them deeper inside. Arizona threw her head back, dug her nails into Callie's shoulders, and demanded, "Move dammit!" Needing no more encouragement, Callie began thrusting into Arizona, using her muscular leg to help her power her movements. Arizona began moving her hips to meet Callie's rhythm, clinging to her back, not withholding her cries of pleasure. She could feel her wife's fingers curling against her most sensitive spot within her and though she knew she was close, she didn't want the pleasure to end, she wanted more, more of what her wife had to offer.
Callie knew Arizona was close and could feel her fighting off her climax, clinging to the pleasure. Looking up into the eyes she loved so much glazed over with desire, she could see she wanted, needed more, she wanted as much pleasure as Callie could and would give her. Still thrusting as hard and fast as she could, Callie asked, "What's your wish baby?" Arizona seemed to snap out of her haze briefly, lifted her hand to grasp Callie's hair, pushed her head downward and breathed out, "I wish, ah fuck…your mouth…I want your mouth…oh God…clit." Getting the hint, Callie lowered her head, continued to pound into her wife, and wrapped her lips around the swollen bundle of nerves and began sucking and flicking it with her tongue at the same time. Arizona yelled out, "Yes, yes, fuck Calliope, right there." She bucked her hips, felt Callie suck at her clit three, four, five times then saw flashes of red and blue behind her eyes and started to let out a scream that quickly became muffled and the last thing she recalled was an all too familiar taste on her tongue as everything went blurry.
Callie felt Arizona's climax approaching through her body's reaction, the trembling of her legs, the amount of moisture gathering on her fingers, the tightening of her grip in her hair, the increase in volume of her cries, so the moment it hit, she wasn't surprised, but she also wasn't prepared for the scream that sprang from her wife's mouth and quickly scrambled up the bed to muffle her euphoric cries with a long passionate kiss. When the sounds subsided, she held Arizona's trembling body until she finally went still and curled into her arms in a quiet sex-induced haze. After a few minutes, the blonde giggled and whispered, "Happy birthday to me." Callie chuckled and replied, "Birthday sex is the best." Arizona looked up at her, almost affronted and claimed, "I know you don't think that's the end of it." Callie bent down, connected their lips and revealed, "Oh baby, your birthday just started, we've got four years of birthdays to make up for and only 24 hours." Arizona reached around her back, took Callie's hand, moved it between her legs, placed hers between Callie's legs, and murmured, "We'd better keep going then."
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Arizona rolled over and groaned as every muscle in her body ached and she was fighting consciousness. She was worn out and could swear they had just fallen asleep after a long night of love making. She reached out to cuddle into Callie but felt nothing but cool sheets and reluctantly opened her eyes to see the bed beside her empty and heard whispering outside the bedroom door. She quickly tried to cover up and smiled when she realized Callie must have put her clothes back on her which could only mean her wife and daughter were going to surprise her with breakfast in bed. Laying back down, she tried not to smile when she heard the two people she loved more than anything else in the world softly singing "Happy Birthday" to her. Pretending to slowly awaken, she sat up and didn't have to feign surprise when she saw Sofia wearing a traditional cone birthday hat while Callie wore a glittery red top hat holding a platter of donuts built like a pyramid with a small '40' candle embedded in the top donut. She smiled brightly and gave Callie a knowing wink, indicating she caught on to her reference of that night so many years ago.
Completely unaware of her mothers' little walk down memory lane, Sofia hopped on the bed and enthusiastically ordered, "Blow out the candles mommy!" Just as Arizona took a deep breath to do as she was told, Callie reminded her in her deep husky voice, "Make a wish baby." Arizona turned beet red, let out the breath she was holding, and fortunately blew out the candles along with it. She then looked up and glared at her wife who was doing her best to hold in her laughter. Still completely innocent of her parents' innuendo and secret looks, Sofia bounced up and down and asked, "Do you like your donut cake mommy? We tried to remember all the donuts you liked on the donut tour and mama put your favorite ones on top so you could have first pick." Arizona looked at her daughter, reached out and wiped the smear of pink frosting from her top lip and asked, "Are you sure you didn't do a little taste testing first?" Callie laughed and defended the little girl saying, "She may have tasted the bits of frosting that were left on the sides of the box, but we promise, the first donut is all for the birthday girl." Arizona eyed the pyramid of donuts and noticed Callie made sure to put her most favorite strawberry filled vanilla frosted donut at the top. She teased, "Hmmm they all look so good, but this maple glazed bacon donut looks the best." She watched as her wife's face fell, knowing that one was her favorite, leaned in to kiss her cheek, reached for the top donut and moaned in delight as she took her first bite.
She noticed Callie and Sofia were just sitting there watching her eat, licked some strawberry filling off her thumb and asked, "Why aren't you two eating a donut?" Sofia shook her head and answered, "Cuz no one comes between mommy and her donuts without permission." Callie nodded and added, "Especially pregnant mommy." Arizona laughed and ordered, "Eat!" Neither brunette needed to be told twice and each made a grab for their favorite donut. After finishing their first donuts, they decided to move their little party to the kitchen so they could each get something to drink. Callie, of course had her morning coffee and Arizona and Sofia each had a glass of milk, while all three of them indulged in another donut. Though she knew exactly what the plan for the day was, Sofia did as she was told and asked, "So what are we doing today?" Arizona honestly had no clue what her wife was up to and was interested to know the answer herself and looked to Callie waiting for a response. Callie smiled at her two girls and replied, "Well, I figured we could have a pamper mommy day. First, while we clean up, mommy is going to take a nice relaxing bath, then we have an appointment with Stevie and Jordyn where mommy will get their extra special treatment, then…" Both Sofia and Arizona asked, "Then what?" Callie smirked and replied, "Then you'll have to wait and see." Arizona huffed and muttered, "No fair!" Callie kissed her cheek then looked at Sofia and suggested, "Why don't you go hop in the shower while I get mommy all settled?" The little girl nodded and took off toward her bedroom.
Callie led Arizona into their bathroom, turned on the water to just the right temperature and added a few drops of lavender essential oils to the bath water. While they were waiting for the tub to fill up, both women brushed their teeth. When they were finished, Callie turned to Arizona, slowly lifted her tank top over her head, kissed her softly on the lips, then proceeded to leave a trail of kisses down her body until she reached her stomach. Dropping to her knees, Callie reverently caressed every inch of skin, following her hand with her lips while whispering, "I love you and your mommy so much. You be nice to her today, it's her birthday." Arizona smiled internally when she felt the now familiar tingling that she realized long ago was their babies responding to Callie's voice. Her breath hitched when strong tan hands slipped into the waistband of her shorts, caressed her ass and slid them down her legs. Callie walked her to the tub, removed her prosthesis, leaned it against the wall where Arizona could reach it, kissed her on the forehead and stated, "Call me if you want help getting out or if you need anything. Stay and relax as long as you want." Arizona nodded, already closing her eyes as her body began to release the stress that had built up over the last week.
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After leaving the salon, Callie started the car and pouted, "I can't believe them, I never got a free cut on my birthday, let alone a style, a manicure, and a pedicure." Arizona turned to her, popped her dimples, flipped her newly styled hair behind her shoulder and teased, "But you have to admit, your wife looks a-ma-zing!" Callie turned to look at Arizona, her blonde hair was straightened with only a slight wave from the curling iron and hung just below her shoulders and nearly shone with the light of the sun, her cerulean blue eyes popped even more as they were complimented by her royal blue blouse and dancing with joy, her full pink lips were blooming with her super magic smile, her sexy dimples deeper than she'd ever seen them, her skin glowing due to her pregnancy, and she couldn't have been more beautiful or looked more amazing as her wife put it than she did in that very moment.
Unable to help herself, she leaned over intending to brush their lips together in a chaste kiss because their daughter was in the back seat but got caught up in the moment and slipped her tongue into her mouth nearly moaning when she felt Arizona instantly respond. They were broken from their moment when they heard, "Ugh! You're being gross again." They quickly broke apart but rested their foreheads together, trying not to giggle like teenagers. Callie whispered, "You do look absolutely amazing." Arizona lifted her hand to run through Callie's freshly cut hair and replied, "So do you." Sofia huffed from the backseat, "Can we go now?" Callie rolled her eyes and said, "Yes ma'am, whatever you say ma'am." The little girl giggled then and exclaimed, "I wanna give mommy my present. When will it be time for presents?" Arizona clapped excitedly and proclaimed, "Oooh presents. Yes please." Callie shook her head and muttered, "I've created a birthday monster."
When they turned into the driveway, rather than pull into the garage, Callie turned into the circle drive in front of the house. Arizona raised her brows in question and asked, "Why aren't you parking in the garage?" Callie shrugged and answered, "I don't know, I thought maybe we'd go out for dinner for your birthday later." The blonde looked at her curiously but didn't say anything else and started to get out of the car when Callie ran around to help her out. Once they got into the house, as if Arizona wasn't already suspicious about parking in the front, she became more so when Callie did something she'd never done and offered, "I'm just going to go let Tobin out of his crate, Sof, do you want to open the patio door for him?" Callie made her way into the mud room, turned to make sure no one followed her, opened the door leading to the garage, let out a huge sigh of relief, closed it quietly, then let the pup out of his crate.
When Tobin came running at her, Sofia looked up to see her mama nodding her head toward the back yard and watched as her eyes got bigger and her jaw clenched tight. Finally remembering she had a job to do, she grabbed her coat off the back of the chair and stammered, "I um, I think I'm going to go outside and play with Tobin for a little bit, help him get out some of his energy." Callie sagged in relief as she watched her daughter run out of the house closing the door behind her. She should have known better than to let her guard down for too long though because Arizona spun around and demanded, "Alright Calliope, what are you up to?" Callie held her hands up in front of her and defended, "Nothing, I swear." Arizona continued to stare at her until she stepped closer, put her hand on her hip and admitted softly, "So I may have coerced our daughter to go outside so I could finish what we started at the salon." Completely charmed now, Arizona ran her hands across Callie's broad shoulders, up her neck, traced the three lines on either side of her head, then linked her fingers in the back and brought her head down until their lips connected, tongues immediately searching for one another and coming together in a slow passionate dance.
Sofia ran around the back yard with her dog for a while then snuck around the back of the pool house and tapped on the window. She smiled when the blind was lifted and the person inside gave her a thumbs up. She ran around with Tobin for a few minutes more then looked up to see her mommies kissing again. She tossed the ball onto the wooden deck so it would make a noise and Tobin would bark as he chased it down and her moms would jump apart. She should be used to it by now, but they kissed A LOT. Not only that, but she was excited to give her mommy her presents. She chased Tobin onto the deck and ran into the house when she noticed only her mama was facing her, she nodded her head once and took Tobin into the mud room to put him in his crate for a few minutes. When she came out, she danced around both of her parents excitedly and asked, "Can we give mommy her gifts now?" Callie smiled brightly and replied, "Of course we can. Mommy, are you ready for your presents?" Arizona nodded excitedly and exclaimed, "I most certainly am. I know I'll love anything you give me."
Unexpectedly, Callie worried that this part of her plan might backfire and upset her wife and her stomach started churning with nerves and she could almost feel the bile rising in her throat. Sofia took Arizona's hand and led her toward the patio doors and explained, "We hid it in the pool house so you wouldn't see it." Arizona looked at Callie in confusion and relaxed slightly when her wife whispered, "It's not what you think." Once they got to the pool house, Callie tightened her grip on Arizona's hand, Sofia opened the door, and Arizona gasped at the sight that greeted her and she couldn't control the tears that rolled down her cheeks. She pulled Callie into her arms for comfort and looked around the room to find that half of it was covered in rainbows and unicorns and the other half in Spiderman decorations and in the middle of it all stood her parents smiling brightly at her. She buried her face in Callie's neck and cried, "I can't believe you did this." Callie kissed the top of her head and whispered, "I had help and I believe they are waiting to hug the birthday girl." Arizona let go of Callie and went straight to her parents pulling them both into her arms. She cried even harder when her mom whispered, "Thank you for letting us celebrate your birthday again." Pulling back, she saw that even the Colonel had tears in his eyes and confessed, "I'm so sorry I took this day away from you for so long. I was so wrapped up in my own pain that I didn't see how much I was hurting you." Daniel kissed her head very much like Callie just did and conceded, "It's okay sweet pea, we all responded in different ways and healed at our own pace. How about we get this party started now." Arizona smiled at both of her parents, then turned and smiled at her wife and daughter and proclaimed, "Well what are we waiting for?"
Callie nodded at Sofia and the little girl went to the corner of the room and picked up a box that she clearly wrapped herself. She looked at her mommy nervously and asked, "Can you sit down please?" Arizona glanced at Callie then back at her daughter and did as she asked, taking a seat at the table. Sofia put the box in front of her and cleared her throat getting ready to say the speech she had prepared for her mommy with her mama's help. She swallowed, took a deep breath and relaxed when her mommy held her hand and said, "It's okay baby, I know I will love whatever is in that box." Sofia nodded and started, "Mommy, I know you loved Uncle Timmy and he was your best friend and I know it was hard when he died." Arizona nodded her head to let her daughter know she was listening and that she was right, it was hard. Sofia tried to smile and continued, "I know that you don't believe in talking to people who aren't here anymore, but you did it for me and when we were too far away from daddy, you gave me a way to still remember him and talk to him. So, I made this for you because Uncle Timmy is too far away for you to go and sit and remember him and I want you to be able to do that." Arizona could feel the tears burning the backs of her eyes as she was almost certain what was in that box. She pulled her daughter into her lap and asked, "Will you help me open it?" Sofia nodded, pulled the box closer, allowed Arizona to untie the ribbon, then they unwrapped the paper and lifted the lid together.
Arizona wrapped her arms around her daughter's waist and rested her chin on her shoulder as she pulled a large painted rock out of the box. Sofia pointed at the rock and explained, "I wrote his name, Timothy James Robbins, here is the American flag, over here I drew the symbol for Army Rangers, and up here I made Spiderman because mama said that was something special between you and him and down here, I did like you did on daddy's rock and wrote, beloved son, brother, brother-in-law, and uncle. Me and mama never met him, but we love him because he is a part of you." Arizona looked up to see all three of the other adults crying and proclaimed, "Oh baby, this is the best gift ever and I can't thank you enough. We'll put him in the rock garden right next to your daddy." Sofia turned in her mommy's arms, hugged her then asked, "If you like it, why are you crying?" Arizona chuckled and answered, "Because you are the sweetest most thoughtful little girl in the world and I'm so proud to be your mommy." Callie walked up behind them, kissed Sofia on the head and whispered, "Me too baby, me too."
Daniel clapped his hands once, cleared his throat, and commanded, "Okay you know the rules Arizona, no more gifts until after we eat." Arizona pouted and whined, "Dad, I'm 40 years old." The older man stared her down and declared, "And the last time I checked, 40 year old's don't whine at their fathers." Callie stepped in to stop the argument and asked, "What's for lunch? I'm starving." Barb laughed and replied, "Well it depends on if you're here for the Spiderman party or the Unicorn party." Arizona perked up then and squealed, "You didn't!" Barb put her hands on her hips and declared, "I most certainly did!" Callie looked at both women and asked, "What did she do? What did you do?" Daniel explained, "Until they had to have separate parties, neither of them could agree on a menu. Timothy always wanted hot dogs and Arizona always wanted her mamma's taco bites. So on this one day each year, Barb cooked her heart out and made Tim and his friends a hot dog bar complete with cheese sauce, chili, and anything else you could want on a hot dog, along with several different kinds of chips. Arizona got a taco bar with her taco bites along with all the fixings for regular tacos, nacho cheese, salsa, and tortilla chips." Callie nodded and leaned down to whisper in her wife's ear, "So you had an affinity for all things Mexican at a young age did you?" Arizona rolled her eyes and replied, "Hush your dirty mouth."
When it was time to eat, Daniel announced, "Okay birthday girl, you go first." Arizona looked down at the rock sitting in front of her, carried it to the Spiderman end of the table, went into the kitchen took a Spiderman plate, made a hot dog just the way her brother liked it, added his favorite chips, grabbed his favorite pop, carried it to the table, sat it next to the rock, then returned and picked up a unicorn plate and started piling her favorite taco bites on it. She smiled when Callie leaned down, kissed her cheek and whispered, "I'm so proud of you." Turning to look at her wife, Arizona replied, "Thank you, and thank you for making this day so special. I didn't realize how much I needed this."
During their lunch, Sofia saw this as a perfect opportunity to get as much information about her mommy as she could. She looked at Arizona and asked, "What's one thing you wanted for your birthday and never got." Daniel wiped his mouth and whispered, "Oh boy, here we go." Barb chuckled and replied, "It's more like what's the one thing you never wanted and did get." Arizona flared her nostrils at her parents and reminded them, "We said we would never speak about that to anyone." Callie raised her brow and asked, "Speak about what?" Daniel was in the middle of taking a drink when he nearly spit it all over the table. Barb asked, "She never told you about her deep hatred for minivans?" Callie thought about it for a minute and recalled, "Now that you mention it, I think she threatened to divorce me once when I teased her about buying one the first time we were married. I didn't know why though." Arizona threw her napkin on the table and snapped, "Okay, since you two find it so funny, I'll tell the story." Callie looked at her wife skeptically and started, "Honey you really don't…" Arizona cut her off, "Oh no…I'm going to tell you now." Both Barb and Daniel tried to keep straight faces but were failing miserably.
Arizona glared at her parents and started, "My dad was deployed a lot and during his short leaves, didn't want to mess with looking for cars. My mom was stuck with this old minivan for years because she wouldn't make a decision like buying a new car without him. It was rusty and nearly falling apart. I mean, it was so bad we used to sit in the back seat and duck and insist on being dropped off two blocks from wherever we were going. When my dad gave in and bought her a new car, instead of scrapping it, he passed it on to my brother when he got his license. He claimed teenagers didn't need new cars to just tear up and wreck. By the time Timmy enlisted, the hatchback had to be held shut with a bungee cord and every time he turned the corner, the passenger door would fly open and I almost fell out. When he left, I had just turned 16 and I remember the night before my birthday, my dad left with the van and I prayed Calliope, I literally prayed for the first time in my life that he was going to trade it in and I would wake up to my dream car in the driveway with a big huge bow on it. When I woke up, I ran to the window and there it sat, that da…darn minivan. My dad actually took it to the carwash and had it detailed for me. I refused to even drive it, sold it for scrap, and used that and my savings to buy a real car. I vowed never in my life would I drive or be caught dead in a minivan again." Callie was doubled over in laughter by this time with tears trickling down her cheeks. Arizona shoved her in her shoulder and huffed, "Oh shut up, you got a 57 T-Bird for your 16th birthday."
Callie wiped her eyes with her napkin and apologized, "I'm sorry honey, I know it's not funny." Sofia looked at her mommy and asked, "What was your dream car?" Arizona blushed and replied, "I ah, I don't remember now." Callie had read the journal so she knew exactly what her dream car was, but played it off and cajoled, "Oh come on, everyone remembers their dream car." Daniel supplied, "It was an SUV of some sort, a blazer or something." Arizona hung her head and muttered, "It was a candy apple red Jimmy okay." Callie chuckled and asked, "Do they even make those anymore?" Arizona's head snapped up and she retorted, "No they don't make them anymore, but now I have an even better car and I love my beamer." Callie wrapped her arm around Arizona's shoulder and cooed, "It's an amazing car and I love it too. It's fun to drive." Arizona turned, kissed her cheek and said, "Thank you. I love driving your car too. It's getting into it right now that's the struggle." Daniel coughed and quipped, "You should look into a minivan since your family is getting bigger." Both women glared at him and Barb stood up and suggested, "I think it's time for cake." Sofia clapped her hands and followed her grandmother into the kitchen.
Arizona watched as they both came back holding a cake, Sofia was holding a colorful pastel round cake with a sugar cone sticking out of the top, frosting flowers flowing down the side and two big black eyelashes, while her mother was carrying a smaller sheet cake in the shape of Spiderman's head. When the cakes were safely on the table, they all started singing to her and the three adults' voices wavered when they sang, 'dear Timmy and Arizona' then got stronger again as they made it through the rest of the song. Once the cake was cut and eaten, it was finally time for gifts.
Barb handed Arizona a large box and when she opened it, she was pleasantly surprised to find several beautiful and tasteful maternity outfits. Barb explained, "Callie told me what a hard time you were having finding nice maternity clothes and there's this lovely boutique near our house that has the most wonderful selection." Arizona held one of the sweaters up and proclaimed, "These are great mom, thank you both." Her dad took her hand and revealed, "Those are just from your mother, I picked out my own gift this year." Arizona arched her brow in question at her father and he explained, "I had this made especially for you." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small black box and handed it to his daughter. Arizona opened the lid and gasped when she saw a medal attached to a red, white, and blue ribbon. The medal had a large block shaped capital 'A' around the outside with the letters 'r-i-z' in the top half and 'o-n-a' in the bottom half. When she turned it over, it read, 'U.S.S. Arizona' across the top, 'James Daniel Robbins – Good Man in a Storm' in the center, and 'December 7, 1941' at the bottom. Arizona looked up at her father with tears in her eyes and he explained, "I found out they saved part of the ship and were turning it into medals for survivors and family members. Mother was buried with all of my father's medals and I…when I came across this and I saw how hard you've worked to come back to all of us after everything you've been through, I knew you survived your storm and I wanted you to have this to know your grandfather would be so proud of you." Arizona through her arms around her father and held him tight. She whispered in his ear, "You don't know how much it means to hear you say that daddy." He pulled back, winked at her, and replied, "Oh I think I do."
Sofia started bouncing on her toes and exclaimed, "Me next, me next!" Arizona smiled at her daughter and said, "You already gave me your gift." Sofia shook her head and answered, "This one isn't just from me." Arizona looked at Callie and the brunette proclaimed, "Don't look at me, you have to wait to get my gift." The blonde turned back around and Sofia handed her a card made of construction paper. Arizona smiled when she read the top, 'Happy Birthday to the best mommy in the whole world', and bit her lip trying not to laugh when she saw the drawing at the bottom which she assumed was supposed to be her, Callie, Sofia, and Tobin. Looking up at her daughter she asked, "Honey, what are these yellow circles between me and mama?" Sofia huffed, "Those are my babies!" Arizona nodded her head and replied, "Ah, I see it now. Sorry." She opened the card and swallowed the lump in her throat when she read, 'We love you, thank you for taking care of us, love Sofia and the triplets'. Arizona held out her hands, pulled the little girl in for a hug and said, "Thank you baby, that was so thoughtful of you." Sofia shook her head and declared, "That's not the gift, this is." She looked to Callie who reached in her pocket, pulled out a red box very similar to the one Daniel gave her, and handed it over to Sofia who then handed it to Arizona.
Arizona lifted the top off the box and cooed, "Oh Sof, it's beautiful baby. Did you pick this out all by yourself." Sofia smiled and answered, "Mama helped with the size of your wrist, but I picked out the charms. This one says mommy, this one is a battleship, this one is a stethoscope, these two are little girls and these two are little boys and this one is a bone for mama cuz she's a bone doctor." Arizona turned to Callie and asked will you put it on me? Callie smiled and happily put the bracelet on her wife's wrist then leaned down for a sweet kiss. Arizona pulled Sofia onto her lap, lavished her with kisses until she started giggling and proclaimed, "I love it. It's so beautiful and now I have my whole family with me wherever I go." Sofia rubbed her tummy, giggled some more and teased, "You have half of us with you all the time anyway." All the adults laughed and Arizona tickled her daughter joking, "You're such a little smart aleck." While Arizona was busy, Callie motioned to Daniel and the two of them slipped out the door.
As they walked toward the house, Callie asked, "Is everything all set?" The older man nodded and answered, "The car is all packed and you're good to go." Once they reached the house, Callie started pacing nervously and Daniel soothed, "Callie, she's going to love it. She will love the whole evening." Callie stopped, took a breath, nodded and decided, "Okay, I'm going to go change, I'll text you when I'm ready." When she started down the hall, in a surprising move, Daniel reached out, took her hand and said, "Callie, I can't thank you enough for making this day special for her again, for all of us, it means so much to us to see that smile on Arizona's face on this day of all days. A father couldn't ask for a better mate for his daughter." Callie smiled, kissed his cheek and whispered, "Thank you Daniel."
When Daniel returned to the pool house, Arizona and Barb were cleaning up from her little party and putting away the leftovers while trying to keep Sofia out of the cake. When they heard the door open, Arizona looked up and asked, "Where did you run off to? Is Callie with you?" Daniel shook his head and answered, "No, I went outside to take a call. She's not in here?" Arizona furrowed her brow in concern and replied, "No, you both disappeared at around the same time. Are you sure you didn't see her." The older man felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and suggested, "Maybe we should go in the house and look for her." Barb nodded in agreement and ordered, "Everyone grab a tray, we'll kill two birds with one stone." All four of them picked up a tray and carried it into the house. Arizona sat hers down on the table and called out, "Callie! Callie are you in here?" She walked down the hall to their bedroom while Daniel and Barb kept Sofia busy in the kitchen. When Arizona returned, she noticed the front door was opened, looked in the kitchen and saw the rest of her family standing there and asked, "Did one of you open the door?" All three of them shook their heads and Daniel suggested, "Maybe she's outside." Arizona nodded and headed for the door; unaware the rest of her family was following a few feet behind.
When Arizona stepped outside she found her wife standing in the driveway and there was something oddly familiar about the scene. Callie was wearing blue jeans, a green shirt, and a green sweater vest that looked like it was a throwback from the 80's. While she was trying to figure out why it felt so familiar to her, it finally registered that her wife was leaning up against a brand new candy apple red BMW SUV X7 with a huge white bow sitting on the roof. Callie lifted her hand and wiggled her fingers as her mega-watt smile spread across her face. Arizona looked around her and asked, "Is that for me?" Callie pushed herself off the door and answered, "Yeah it's for you." Arizona stood speechless, her eyes darting from her wife to the SUV then back to her wife. Finally she closed the gap between them, lifted her hands to caress both cheeks, shook her head back and forth and whispered, "Calliope Iphigenia Robbins-Torres, I cannot believe you!" She then pulled Callie's head down and captured her lips in a long searing kiss that said everything her words could not in that moment. Finally pulling apart, Callie teased, "It's no Jimmy, but…" Arizona laughed, wrapped her arms around Callie's neck and declared, "This is so, so, so much better than a Jimmy."
Callie reached in her pocket, held up the keys, and asked, "You ready to take her for a spin? We've got about an hour's drive ahead of us to finish our birthday celebration." Arizona looked back toward the house and saw her parents and daughter standing at the door and asked, "What about them?" Callie reached on top of the car, pulled off the huge bow, leaned in, nibbled on Arizona's earlobe and husked out, "They aren't invited." Arizona visibly shivered and protested, "But we don't…" Callie winked and replied, "Honey, it's all taken care of, now let's go say goodbye and get on with your special day." Arizona nodded, took Callie's hand and walked back toward the house to say goodbye to her family.
When they got to the car, Callie opened the driver's side door for Arizona to get in and the blonde argued, "Shouldn't you drive? I don't even know where we are going." Callie smiled, kissed her softly and replied, "Just listen to the GPS, it will tell you where to go. You get to drive your car on our very first road trip with her." Arizona smiled, easily climbed into the SUV and sighed, "Oh this is perfect." Callie ran around to her side and watched as Arizona adjusted the seat and mirrors, then laughed when she noticed, "There's a third row!" Callie nodded then wiggled her brows and husked out, "It also lays flat in case you wanna get lucky." Arizona threw her head back and laughed. As she pulled out of the driveway, she was certain if she didn't know any better, she'd swear Callie had read her old diary.
As Arizona followed the directions leading them to the highway, Callie hooked her phone up to the Bluetooth and directed, "Hey Siri, play C and A playlist." Arizona glanced in her direction then smirked when one of the songs they danced to on their first date blared through the speakers. Seeing the sexy little smirk, Callie defended, "You know you have the same damn songs on your phone." Arizona shrugged and replied, "Maybe." Callie threw her head back and laughed then asked, "So how do you like it?" Arizona gushed, "Oh my God Calliope, this thing drives like a dream. It's perfect, especially right now, it's not too tall for me to get into like the Range Rover and not too low like my BMW." Callie smiled, took Arizona's hand in hers and declared, I'm so glad you like it." Arizona pulled their hands to her lips, kissed the back of Callie's hand and replied, "It is perfect and I love it." Callie smiled brightly and proclaimed, "Wait until you get a chance to play with it and check everything out, you're going to fall totally in love with it. I might even be jealous." Arizona laughed and replied, "Oh baby, you have absolutely nothing to be jealous of." Callie squeezed Arizona's hand knowing deep in her heart that was the truth and she trusted her wife completely.
As they continued their drive to their destination, the two women talked about everything and nothing, sang along to some of the songs, reminisced about others, and were just starting to talk about baby names when the GPS cut in with "In half a mile take the next exit then turn right." Arizona looked up to see the signs and asked excitedly, "Long Island? We're going to Long Island?" Callie smiled brightly at her wife's excitement and answered, "We are." It wasn't exactly what younger Arizona wrote on her list, but many of the things she wanted to do could be done here, especially the most important one.
Arizona followed the directions that Callie had obviously programmed ahead of time, pulled into the parking lot, and burst into peals of laughter. Callie started laughing as well, knowing the big kid who lived inside her wife would love this and suggested, "Come on, let's take a closer look. You know you want to." Arizona shook her head and admitted, "Oddly enough, I really do." When they got out of the SUV, both of them looked up at the 20 foot duck which was decorated with garland and Christmas lights along with a very large Santa hat to celebrate the season and nearly doubled over in laughter. Before they went any closer, Callie stopped Arizona and declared, "Wait, I need to get a picture and I want the whole duck in the background." Arizona started laughing again and asked, "Do you know how ridiculous that sounds?" Callie snapped the picture and said, "Okay, we can go now." Arizona pulled out her phone and exclaimed, "Oh no, no, no. If I have to take a picture with the big duck, you do too." Callie huffed and retorted, "I'm not the one with the poultry fetish." Arizona glared at her then ordered, "Smile Calliope." Callie stared her down and Arizona stated, "No picture with the duck, no activity that rhymes with duck." Callie's jaw dropped then she smiled as big and bright as she possibly could. Once Arizona put her phone back in her pocket, Callie muttered, "You so don't play fair."
Once they took the quick tour through the duck and stopped in the gift shop to buy a couple post cards and a few rubber ducks, the two were on their way once again. Callie reprogrammed the GPS and Arizona whined, "Can't you just tell me where to go?" Callie crossed her arms and answered, "Nope!" Arizona muttered, "I can tell you where to go." Callie laughed and cooed, "Aww is my baby getting grumpy because she doesn't know my secret?" Arizona stuck out her bottom lip and pouted, "Yes! See, this birthday crap is for the birds." Callie chuckled and asked, "Don't you mean it's for the ducks?" She watched as Arizona's lip curled up and teased, "You know you want to smile. You can't resist my charm." Arizona smiled then and replied, "No, I can't, dammit."
Arizona turned when the GPS told her to turn and started seeing signs for the Old Westbury Gardens. It had always been her dream to visit the settings of her favorite books or the places where the movies had been filmed. It was a secret dream though; one she had never shared aloud with anyone. One she had only written down. She narrowed her eyes as her mind was trying to put things together, but it just wasn't clear to her yet. When she turned into the lot of the sprawling estate and the mansion she had seen on screen so many times came into view, she gasped and enthusiastically asked, "Calliope! Do you have any idea where we are?" Playing dumb, Callie looked at the sign and read, "Yeah, were at the Old Westbury Gardens. I thought you might like to take a look around." Arizona squealed, "Calliope! This is where 'The Great Gatsby' was filmed." Callie tilted her head and calmly asked, "Hey, isn't that your favorite book?" Arizona stared at her slack-jawed then scolded, "Calliope Robbins-Torres you know damn well that's one of my favorite movies and books." Callie started laughing, took her hand and asked, "Honey, why do you think I brought you here?" Arizona opened her mouth to say something, but all that came out was, "Oh."
The two women spent nearly an hour touring the mansion, hearing the history not only of the filming of the movie, but of the roaring 20's. They were able to view a few of the costumes used in the movie as well as one of the actor's scripts with his handwritten notes. Both women were enthralled with the history and process behind it all. After the tour was over, they were allowed to freely roam the grounds outside. As they walked hand in hand along a stone path, occasionally hearing a bird chirping or a squirrel scampering up and down a nearby tree, Arizona sighed, "It's so peaceful here. It's just gorgeous." Callie agreed, "I love this time of year, seeing all the colors change, but I'd love to come back in the spring or summer so you can see what it looks like in full bloom. Arizona leaned up, kissed Callie's cheek and replied, "I'd like that too. I supposed there would be a lot more tourists then though." Callie nodded in agreement then added, "I'm glad we have nice weather today though. I was a little worried it would be too cold to do this."
Arizona tilted her head and asked, "You've really put a lot of thought and planning into this day haven't you?" Callie nodded and replied, "I really have and even if you wouldn't have wanted to celebrate your birthday, I still would have asked you to come away with me." Arizona stopped walking, turned in Callie's arms and asked, "Oh yeah? And why is that?" Callie leaned down, rubbed their noses together and answered honestly, "Because it's not every day that the woman of your dreams tells you she loves you and no matter what we've been through, no matter how many times we've said it since then, that first time, it will always be the most special to me. It will always be something I want to celebrate. It just so happens that the first time was also your birthday." Arizona smiled, brushed their lips together, and admitted, "I know exactly what you mean because coincidentally, the woman of my dreams told me she loved me that night too." Callie caressed Arizona's face, lowered her head and ran her tongue across her full bottom lip and murmured, "You said it first." Arizona nibbled on her top lip and whispered, "I'll never be sorry I did." Callie slipped her tongue into Arizona's mouth and the two got lost in the kiss, in their love for one another, standing in the quiet garden all alone.
The two broke apart giggling when Arizona's stomach started rumbling. Callie put her hands on her protruding belly, looked down and asked, "Does mama need to feed her babies?" Arizona nodded and answered, "Mama needs to feed this baby." Callie put her arm over Arizona's shoulder and said, "Come on baby, let's go get you something to eat." Arizona pulled the keys out of her pocket, passed them over to Callie and asked, "Would you mind driving?" Callie kissed her forehead and answered, "Of course I don't mind. Are you okay?" Arizona nodded and replied, "I think I'm just hungry and need some real food." Callie laughed and returned, "Yeah, I guess donuts, cake, and taco bites aren't exactly packed with nutrients." Arizona shook her head and responded, "I just want some good old fashioned carbs." Callie smiled to herself and thought, what the lady wants, the lady gets. Once they reached the car, Callie opened the door for Arizona, kissed her softly on the lips, then went around to the driver's side. She readjusted the seat and the mirrors, then pulled out of the parking lot.
After a 15 minute drive in the evening traffic, Callie pulled up outside of a large brick building with a dark green and red striped awning and green and gold paneling framing the doors and windows which were decorated with gold writing. Arizona looked up to see the name of the restaurant was Blue Moon. It didn't look like much from the outside, though it was dark and she couldn't really see. As soon as Callie opened her door for her, she was hit with the most delicious aroma of Italian herbs and spices and moaned as she pleaded, "Oh my God please tell me that we are eating at wherever those amazing smells are coming from." Callie laughed and replied, "Oh we are definitely eating here." Callie opened the door for her and as soon as she stepped inside, Arizona was hit with that feeling of familiarity once again. As she looked around the small authentic Italian restaurant, she immediately noticed the red and white checkered tablecloths covering the few tables and booths they had, she looked up behind the counter and had a clear view into the kitchen where two men were tossing dough into the air, behind them was a stone oven, and she could tell by the strong resemblance of all the employees that it was clearly a family establishment. She looked at Callie, smiled brightly and wondered how in the hell she knew that she'd always wanted to eat at one of these little hole in the wall, undiscovered gems.
As they looked at the menu, Callie claimed, "It all looks and smells so good, I have no idea what to order." Arizona groaned, "I know, neither do I." Callie looked again and suggested, "Why don't we order the appetizer sampler, then we each order something different from the menu and share." Arizona nodded and agreed, "Sounds good to me, now it's just a matter of deciding." Callie laughed and replied, "That's the hard part." When the waitress returned, Callie ordered the appetizer sampler platter, chicken parmigiana for Arizona, and chicken marsala for herself. When the waiter started to walk away, she stopped him and asked, "When we're about halfway through with our meal, can you put in a large pizza with pepperoni and extra cheese please?" Arizona added, "Oh and sweet peppers." Callie tilted her head and asked, "Seriously?" Arizona nodded and Callie looked to the waiter who was waiting for them to agree and added, "and sweet peppers." Arizona reached for her hand and replied, "I'm sorry, they sounded good." Callie lifted her hand to her mouth, kissed it softly and soothed, "Don't be sorry for having cravings. Besides, you know I love peppers. If you would have said anchovies, we would have had a problem." Arizona wrinkled up her nose and nearly gagged out, "Ew no. Just…no." She continued to play with Callie's hand, twisting her rings around her finger and asked, "So you ordered a pizza to go. You plan to get lucky tonight do you?" Callie smiled and replied, "One can hope." Arizona leaned across the table, brushed their lips together and replied, "Oh honey, it's a sure thing." When she sat back down, she laughed when Callie looked at her watch and asked, "What the hell is taking so long anyway?"
XXXX
Once they finished dinner, Callie started driving to their final destination. She could tell Arizona was starting to piece everything together but still wasn't certain if it was coincidental or on purpose. She was positive if the hotel didn't give it away, her final surprise would certainly push her wife over the edge and make her see today was all about making her dreams come true. When she turned into the wrought iron gates, drove down the long drive and the Oheka Castle came into view, both women gasped at the sheer beauty of it. The way the spotlights were positioned made it look so majestic and luxurious. The closer they got, the more beautiful it appeared to be. When they reached the entrance, Arizona turned and asked, "Calliope, what are we doing here?" Callie smiled brightly and answered, "This is where we are staying for the night." The valet opened her door and she started to get out when Arizona tugged at her wrist pulling her back in and hissed, "Calliope, this is a castle!" Callie nodded and answered calmly, "Yes Arizona, I'm well aware." She started to get out again when Arizona protested, "But you…but we…" Arizona's breath hitched when Callie turned to look at her this time, her eyes full of love and devotion when she declared, "My wife deserves to spend the night in a castle, to be treated like a princess if for only one evening." Callie then leaned over captured her lips in a long languorous kiss, pulled back, and whispered, "I'll be right back." She popped the back of the car open for the bellhop to retrieve the bags, grabbed the pizza from the backseat, handed the valet the keys, then walked around to open the door for Arizona.
When they went to the front desk to check in, the receptionist handed over the key and informed them, "You'll be staying in The Gatsby Suite and everything is prepared as requested. Have a good evening and enjoy your stay." Callie thanked the woman and they followed the bellhop to their room. The entire time, Arizona's brain was on overdrive trying to piece everything together, one more birthday with her family, the candy apple red…her thoughts were interrupted by the ding of the elevator and then the bellhop explaining where they could find the ice machine, how late room service was available, when the golf course and tennis courts open, and finally he put down their bags and left them in peace. Callie took Arizona into her arms and proclaimed, "I have one last surprise for you." She picked up the garment back the blonde hadn't even noticed, handed it over and asked, "Will you go put this on for me please?" Arizona quirked her brow and asked, "Are we role playing now?" Callie smirked and ordered, "Just put it on woman." While Arizona went into the bathroom, Callie scrambled around the room looking for the items she requested and breathed a sigh of relief when she found it.
Arizona stood in the bathroom looking at the pink robe, trying to figure out what significance it held and why she couldn't change in front of her wife. She shook her head, removed her clothes, folded them neatly and put them on the countertop, put on the robe, then when she started to pull it closed, she noticed a small bulge sticking out of the pocket. She reached in the pocket, pulled out the small piece of black fabric, examined it closely, and whispered, "Oh my God! My thong." She then looked at the mirror, thought about what Callie had on, and realized she was relieved she didn't make her wear a bridesmaid dress, and whipped the bathroom door open to find her wife sitting cross-legged in the middle of the bed with a birthday cake sitting in front of her. Arizona shook her head, climbed on the bed, thong still in hand, and quoted, "Thanks for giving my undies back." Callie smirked and replied, "It's just a loan to play out the scene. I expect those back in my box tomorrow." Arizona gasped, "Oh my God! The whole day…my wish for one more birthday with my family, my candy apple red SUV with the big bow, wanting to spend my birthday with the girl of my dreams doing the things we love together, visiting the setting of my favorite movie, walking in a garden holding hands, eating at an authentic Italian pizzeria, being treated like a princess, and how did I not even catch on with that damn ugly sweater." Callie put up her hand and interrupted, "Hey now, I looked all over the place for this damn ugly sweater and I am rather upset you didn't catch on because I had to wear it all damn day. There are pictures Arizona! Pictures of me reenacting 16 Candles for my 40 year old wife." Arizona giggled and replied, "Now that's love." Callie snorted, "Damn right it is."
Arizona moved the cake to the bedside table, crawled closer to Callie, and whispered, "I guess I should start saying thank you." Callie smirked and replied, "I mean, it would be nice." Arizona reached out, lifted the hem of the sweater and proclaimed, "Let's get rid of this thing first." Callie nodded, yanked it over her head, and tossed it to the floor. She then leaned in to kiss Arizona and was stopped by a hand on her chest. Callie looked at her in confusion and more than just a little disappointment and asked, "What?" Arizona narrowed her eyes and asked, "How did you know all of that stuff?" Callie pulled her bottom lip between her teeth and tried, "I guessed?" Arizona shook her head and replied, "Nice try, but NO ONE knew that stuff. Not even my…MOTHER! Did my mom send you my journal?" Callie flinched squinted her eyes and in a high pitched voice answered, "Uh maybe." Arizona threw herself backward on the bed, covered her face with a pillow and growled, "Kill me now." Callie climbed up beside her, tried to take the pillow from her tight grip and soothed, "Honey, it wasn't bad. There was nothing embarrassing in there at all." Arizona lifted the pillow from her face, stared at Callie and asked, "Oh it wasn't embarrassing to write that I wanted a Jimmy so I could put the back down and get lucky with cute girls? It wasn't embarrassing that I said I wanted the girl of my dreams to sweep me off my feet like the guy in 16 Candles?" Callie shrugged and replied, "Not as embarrassing as it was to dress like the guy in 16 Candles and have the girl of your dreams not even realize it." Arizona snorted then and couldn't help the laughter that followed.
Both women lay together in a fit of giggles. Each time one of them tried to calm down, the other would get them going again. Finally they both settled down and Arizona started unbuttoning Callie's shirt and revealed, "I can say without a doubt this is the best birthday I've ever had Calliope. Thank you for making all of my dreams come true." Callie leaned in, nibbled on Arizona's bottom lip and asked, "So did I top your birthday from two years ago?" Arizona pushed her shirt off her shoulder, started kissing down her neck, and replied, "I'm lying in bed with you, my wife, we're three months pregnant, and happier than we've ever been together or with anyone else, I'd say you more than exceeded those expectations."
A/N: Thank you all so much for your reviews. You are all so amazing. This chapter was a bit of a struggle, I won't lie. There are at least three different versions of it. I hope this one meets your expectations.