The First Time Ever- Wedding Chapter
Greetings, people of earth. And beyond. I was genuinely psyched to write this chapter. All of the details of the wedding are picture-inspired, so judging by my google search history, you would think I'm the one getting married. HA. Also, I'm sorry it took longer to update, but I wanted to make this chapter perfect. I genuinely have a whole separate word documents dedicated to wedding details. Kind of sad, kind of proud.
Also, I was thinking it through, and I realised that I shitted up the timeline for this story. So, here's a rundown:
September- started dating
April- Arizona has nightmare in front of Meredith
*time skip of nearly three months*
Late June - plane crash
Early August- proposal
Late August- they meet Ellie and Maya
September- They decide to look into adopting them
December- Wedding
So, all in all, the story (so far) has covered just over a year. Please forgive me for any mistakes.
Happy Existing!
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It was, finally, the day before the wedding. The day that had been talked about, planned, analysed and fantasised about for what felt like a million years was almost tangible. In less than twenty-four hours, they would be married, and neither Callie nor Arizona could contain their excitement.
"It sucks that I can't see you until tomorrow." Callie half huffed as she and Arizona stood in the doorway of their apartment, bidding their temporary goodbyes, until they would see each other again, at the altar. If it hadn't been for that point of hope, they would have refused to leave each other.
"And I can't see you…" Arizona agreed. In roughly ten minutes time, Teddy would be arriving with Alex Karev in tow to fuss and plan things last minute and keep her company on the night before the wedding. Callie, with her suitcase packed, was about to leave for Addison's apartment, where she, Addison, Mark and Cristina would spend the night.
"We're getting married tomorrow." Callie stated, her face shining with childlike excitement at the simplicity of her sentence. It seemed unreal to her- that just over a year ago, she hadn't even met the wonderful woman who was currently standing in front of her, and tomorrow they were getting married. It made her heart feel like it was going to burst with joy.
"We're getting married tomorrow." Arizona repeated, every bit as enthusiastically as Callie had. Neither could she believe her luck. She expressed her excitement by planting an enthusiastic kiss on her fiancé's, soon to be wife's, lips. Her tongue graced hopefully along Callie's bottom lip, asking for entrance, and just as Callie was about to allow her access, there was a snapping noise from across the room, and they sprung apart to see Maya standing in the kitchen, making a face. Ellie was staying at Meredith's.
"There's an allotted time for that tomorrow." She said, holding up her own copy of the schedule that Teddy had made to prove her point.
Callie and Arizona reluctantly pulled apart, instead resting their foreheads together, taking in the last few moments they would have together before becoming a married couple. "I'll see you at the altar." Callie eventually said, pulling Arizona into a hug.
"I'll be the one in white."
"Very convincing."
"I love you."
"I love you, too."
And just like that, Callie swiftly left the apartment and Arizona closed the door behind her, leaning against the wall and sighing. She allowed her back to slide down the wall and she brought her knees up to her chest, resting her chin atop them. In that moment, she was feeling a little overwhelmed. Not in a bad way, just… An unreal way.
Maya, sensing Arizona's emotions, sat down beside the blonde and rested her head on her mom's shoulder. "You okay?" She asked.
Arizona chuckled. For a nearly fifteen-year-old, Maya was incredibly susceptive of other people's emotions. "Yeah. I just can't believe it's tomorrow." She said, summarising her feelings.
"Tell me how you guys met?" Maya asked. She didn't know much about her parents' pasts, only titbits that had been revealed along the way.
Arizona chuckled. "I had just moved to Seattle, Callie was a new Attending. I had just moved from Baltimore. We met in front of the OR board, then we had lunch together. And then one night soon after, I found her crying in the bathroom in the bar. She'd had a tough time with relationships previously." She paused, not sure if that explained it enough. But she decided it would do. "And I just kissed her out of nowhere. Like, literally, I had no idea I was going to do it until I did. And then I walked out. She asked me out on a date the next day."
"That's adorable." Maya smiled. "Why did you move all the way from Baltimore?"
"For reasons I'll tell you about when you're older. And it won't ruin the good vibe we have going on here." Arizona explained with a light smile. Just then, they were interrupted by a knock at the door and they were both forced to scurry out of the way before they were promptly beaten by said door that was blown open by a semi-crazed looking Teddy, who burst in without invite, trailing a surly looking Alex behind her.
For her usual G.I. Jane, badass cardiothoracic surgeon personality, Teddy had been surprisingly excited about organising all things wedding. Arizona had been shocked when Teddy started over-analysing colour-palates and creating schedules of everyone's version of the day, which by now looked like a well-choreographed dance. Alex and Mark had been put in charge of ensuring an optimal alcohol store- that, and making sure their suits were perfectly tailored and on time.
"She needs a sedative shot, stat." He grumbled, gesturing to Teddy, whose arms were laden with long white bags which contained everyone's dresses and suits, and who wore an expression that had Arizona convinced that she was going to either faint or hit the ceiling. She wasn't sure which.
"Take your dresses and hang them on your room doors, please. Then come back through and we'll go over the plan for tomorrow."
"Walk up the aisle, say 'I do', kiss, party. Badda bing, badda boom, wedding day." Alex deadpanned as he took his suit from Teddy and hung it from one of the bookshelves in the corner. "Since I'm sleeping on the couch."
"I wish it was that simple." Arizona called from the master bedroom where she was hanging her dress up on the door. Although she was beyond excited for her wedding day, the idea of officially making Calliope Torres her wife thrilled her a lot more than the table decorations.
"Ha, ha." Teddy rolled her eyes. "Okay, so we all wake up at 7am tomorrow, giving us enough time to have a decent sized breakfast before the hair and makeup artists arrive at 8am. I'm estimating about three hours for everyone, since there's an artist for each of us. That brings us to 11am, at which point we can take some pre-wedding photographs. The cars should be here about 12pm to pick us all up. Arizona, you'll ride in the back car with your parents, and Maya, Alex and I will ride in the one behind you. If all goes to plan and we avoid car crashes or natural disasters, the wedding should be ready to start at 1:15pm."
"Wow." Arizona breathed, marvelling at Teddy's ability to speak for so long without taking a breath. "And Anna will be here in the morning?"
"Since no one apart from me seems to be interested in the wedding details, then I would go insane without her, so yes, she'll be here at about the same time as the hair and makeup people." Teddy replied, irritation evident in her tone as she watched Alex slyly check his phone.
Feeling sympathy for her friend, Arizona got up from her stool at the kitchen island and walked over to embrace Teddy tightly. "Thank you." She said, sincerity ringing in her every word. She genuinely was eternally grateful for all of the work Teddy was putting into her wedding- that her friend understood when she was feeling overwhelmed and made the small decisions for her, or finalised details to prevent extra stress.
"At least someone appreciates it." Teddy said, hugging her tightly back and shooting a glare at Alex and Maya over her Arizona's shoulder. "Your mom just texted me, she and your dad should be here in around thirty minutes."
Arizona's eyes widened. "Since when do you and my mom text? Since when does my mom text full stop?"
"Your mom and I are besties. We pretty much planned this wedding together." Teddy exclaimed, and Arizona nodded in agreement. Although she and Callie had been the main overseers of all the wedding plans, and every decision had been run by them first, it had really been Anna, Teddy and Barbara who were responsible for the wedding planning.
"I helped pick out the favours." Maya piped up, referring to the tiny packets of marshmallows with labels reading 'Sending S'more love!' written on them- Both Callie and Arizona thought they were incredibly cheesy, but Maya loved them.
"And I picked the alcohol!" Alex added. "I also showed up tonight."
Arizona giggled. "Of course, how on earth would I survive without you two?" She sighed dramatically, slinging an arm around both of their shoulders.
"Not without me, without the alcohol."
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Hours later, in the dead of night, Arizona glared at the ceiling of her bedroom, as though cursing the concrete, plaster and paint for her inability to sleep. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get her mind to close off. It wasn't as if she was up worrying about the next day- no, she had faith that God would take them through it- but her mind was wandering through every conceivable thought about life- from impossible situations to different songs she had stuck in her head.
Squinting at her alarm clock through the darkness, she sighed when she realised it was only 2am, and there were still five more hours to pass until it became an acceptable time to wake up. However, she was slowly resigning herself to being awake, at least for the time being. So, instead of glaring hatefully at the ceiling, she threw her duvet back and got to her feet.
It was safe to say that she got the fright of her life when she was met not with an empty kitchen, but with the pale face of her mother looming out of the darkness. Once her heart rate slowed down, she walked over and sat quietly down next to her mom, greeting her with a wordless, tired smile.
"Can't sleep?" Barbara asked with a knowing smile. She herself was excited beyond words to see her baby girl walk down the aisle.
"No matter how hard I try." Arizona replied, picking up Barbara's glass of water and taking a long drink.
"The night before the day I married you father, I didn't sleep at all. It drove your Aunt Kate mad because I spent the whole night talking to her." Barbara revealed, making Arizona chuckle.
"Give me a few minutes and we'll have you committed to the psych ward." She joked, elbowing her mother in the ribs gently. "I'm getting married tomorrow." She sighed, letting a blissful smile form on her face as she closed her eyes, basking in the joy of that simple sentence.
Barbara watched her daughter's face fill with happiness, and even through the two am tiredness and the stress of the wedding preparation, she saw how truly happy Arizona was. It made her heart soar. Three years ago, when she walked in to that hospital to see her daughter so broken and beaten and small, she would never would have believed she would see her be so happy any time soon. But Arizona was happy now- for which, Barbara held a tremendous amount of gratitude for Callie.
"I'm feeling old." Barbara smiled. "My daughter's getting married and she has two daughters of her own."
"It's scary how much I love them." Arizona admitted. "I've only known them for four months but I feel like I've known them their whole lives."
"Kids do that to you." Barbara agreed. "Are you excited?"
Knowing that her mother was referring to the wedding, Arizona nodded. "Super excited. A little nervous about faceplanting down the aisle, yes, but excited."
"I tripped up the steps to the altar at my wedding." Barbara laughed, making Arizona laugh with her.
"I think I'm going to try to sleep now. Teddy will kill me if I have eyebags." Arizona laughed, standing up, biding her mother goodnight, and making her way back to her bedroom to sleep, excited about what the day had to hold for her and the rest of her and Callie's lives.
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It was time. The moment Arizona had been waiting for was finally here. Her mother had bid her tearful goodbyes and went to join Callie's mother, Lucia, who had only recently come to terms with her daughter's sexuality and way of life, Teddy, Maya, Addison, Alex, Mark, Ellie and Zola who were waiting behind the doors at the start of the aisle, waiting for the music to start while both brides talked to their fathers.
Daniel Robbins took his wife's place by his daughter's side. He hadn't talked to his daughter a lot that morning- there had been too many makeup artist, hairstylists and photographers to get anywhere near her. But he had to admit, his daughter looked stunning. It brought a slight tear to his eye to see his daughter ready to walk down the aisle, and he wasn't an emotional person.
"You look beautiful, Arizona." He told his daughter, taking her hands in his.
Arizona, noticing the tears in her father's eyes, giggled lightly. "You aren't going to start crying, too, are you? Mom nearly just flooded the place."
"Don't worry, I'm too tough for that." Daniel joked, but then the smile fell off of his face and became more serious. "I'm proud of you, Battleship."
Arizona felt the tears prick in the corners of her eyes at the use of the nickname her dad had given her and stuck with since she was a baby. "Do you think Tim would be proud, too?"
It hurt her heart to think of her brother on this day. On most days, she could think of her brother and think of only good memories and smile to remember them, but today, the only thing she could remember was coming out to her brother and Timothy promising to dance at her wedding. On this day, at that moment, it hurt to think of the promises he never got to fulfil.
Daniel didn't even have to think. "Without a doubt. The strength, bravery and kindness in the face of all you have been through is enough to make everyone who has ever had a conversation with you proud. You know that I'm not a spiritual person, but I believe that Timothy and your Grandfather are watching us right now with pride in their hearts, just like I have in mine. You make me insanely proud. I've never second guessed the decision to name you Arizona."
Arizona was stunned into a tearful silence. Never had she expected these words to come from her father, who could be known to be so… introverted. Letting a few tears fall down her cheeks, she hugged her father tightly before pulling away and taking a deep breath.
She carefully adjusted her hair in the mirror. She had it curled softly and the front strands were pulled back using bobby pins. Her dress was long sleeved lacy up until her ribcage, where the skirt began and flowed gently to the ground where they met a simple pair of white heels. "Let's do this."
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"I'll kill you if you fall."
"Relax, hija, your hands are shaking."
On the opposite side of the floor from Arizona and her father, Callie stood with Carlos Torres, arm in arm, waiting for the doors to open before she would wait patiently for their mothers, flower girls, and her bridal party to walk down the aisle before she would be the first bride to walk to the altar. Then Arizona's party would proceed before Arizona herself was the last one to join them in front of all their friends and family.
"Do you think Mami's really okay with this?" Callie asked anxiously. Her father had been accepting of her sexuality for quite a while now, so her insecurities about his acceptance of her were all but out the window. However, her mother had only recently come round. The change seemed to sudden and too good to be true.
"You need to relax. God has got you. He's up there rooting for you today. Everything will be fine." He promised his daughter, pressing a kiss to her forehead and patting her hair gently. Her dress had three quarter length sleeves with a taffeta bodice and a wider skirt which cascaded down to the floor. Her hair was left completely down and curled softly.
"Thank you, daddy. For everything." Callie said sincerely hugging her father around the waist, careful not to mess up her hair or makeup- Addison would be out for her blood.
"You don't need to thank me, Calliope. It's my job."
Just then, their emotional moment was interrupted by striking up of the string quartet, who elegantly played their version of The Beatles' 'Here Comes The Sun'. Callie took a deep breath as she watch Barbara and Lucia depart as the first to walk down the aisle and clutched her father's arm tighter, certain she was cutting off all blood flow to his hand.
She watched intently as Ellie and Zola walked down at their own four-year-old pace, tossing petals miscellaneously as they went before going to sit beside Meredith and Derek at the end of the aisle. Mark and then Cristina followed them, standing dutifully at the altar, waiting for Callie.
Before she knew it, Addison was approaching the end of the aisle and it was her turn. Sending a prayer up to God that she wouldn't trip and fall in front of all their family and friends, she began walking step by step down the aisle.
Taking in the smiling faces of members of the hospital, cousins, friends from med school and even some from high school put her at ease slightly. These were all people she knew and loved. It didn't seem to take long at all before her father was kissing her cheek and letting go of her hand to go and join her mother in the front row.
At the other end of the aisle, Arizona stood with Daniel. They weren't able to see what was going on as their door had not yet opened. However, just as she felt herself becoming impatient, their door swung open and Alex, as gracefully as he could muster, proceeded down the aisle and stood opposite Mark. Teddy, after making sure that Arizona's train was sitting perfectly and reminding the bride to hand her the bouquet once she reached the alter, followed Alex. Maya gave her mom a fleeting hug before being the last bridesmaid to be 'released', as she put it.
Arizona's knees were shaking, sending tiny quivers down the skirt of her dress as she began walking, holding on to her father tightly.
However, all fear and nerves vanished when she saw Callie waiting for her. Suddenly, it was all she could do not to run headlong down the aisle. Never had she seen such beauty before in her life.
"You look beautiful." She couldn't help but saying once she reached the top and her father kissed her cheek and went to join her mother.
"You do, too."
The ceremony passed quickly, and before either bride knew it, it was time for the vows, which they had chosen to write themselves. Callie went first:
"The first day I met you, you were standing in front of the OR board, hiding from Bailey." She said, turning to smile at Bailey, who sent her the classic Bailey stare back. "In that moment my heart stopped. For me, it was definitely love at first sight. The first time you kissed me, out of nowhere in that dirty bar bathroom, my heart stopped again. The whole world disappeared. And that's what you do. You make my heart stop, my world stop. You take all of the bad things from the world away and you are constantly opening my eyes to a whole new one, filled with love and joy and our two daughters and a future with you. And I can't wait to spend the rest of our lives discovering life together." She concluded through a voice thick with tears.
Arizona, who was also crying, laughed. "Now how am I supposed to follow that?" She asked incredulously, earning a laugh from the crowd. "If you'd asked me a year ago where I planned on being in a year's time, I wouldn't know what to say. If you'd told me that I would meet the beautiful Calliope Torres, I would have laughed. Before you, I was only focused on getting through the day, being a great surgeon. After everything that happened, I had been completely changed and nothing in my life made sense anymore. But you… You changed everything. You brought light and happiness. You remind me of the good in the world. You and our daughters make me a better me. And those are just some of the reasons why I love you."
The rest of the ceremony went tearfully and seamlessly. Neither woman had felt greater happiness in their hearts than when they finally said 'I do' and sealed the deal with a soft, earth shattering, life-altering kiss. Then, grabbing their daughters by the hands, the walked back down the aisle to 'I'll Be There For You' by The Rembrants, a song they both loved.
After their meal, the crowd stood dutifully in a circle while the two women took to the dance floor for the first time as a married couple. As 'You and Me' by Lifehouse played on, Callie sung softly in Arizona's ear.
"'Cause there's you and me, and all of the people, and I don't know why, but I can't keep my eyes off of you.'" She sung to her wife, who cherished every moment of being in Callie's arms.
"You do have a beautiful voice." Arizona admired. "I can't believe we're married."
"We made it." Callie said excitedly, squeezing Arizona's hands tightly. Just then, the last bars of the music played and came to a close, and they were interrupted by both of their fathers requesting a dance. Neither bride had noticed other couples join them on the floor. 'It's For My Dad' by Nancy Sinatra played on as both brides talked to their dads as they moved back and forth and side to side in a safe square, none of them being graceful dancers.
The rest of the ceremony played out seamlessly. Neither Callie nor Arizona sat down for the whole night, they were always up dancing or talking to friends and family. They spent a lot of time introducing Ellie and Maya with pride to their families, as a lot of them had never met the two girls before.
"You're my mommy forever, right?" Ellie asked Arizona as they slowly spun around in a circle to the music. It was getting later and in Arizona's arms, Ellie's eyes were drooping and she was being lulled to sleep by the soft music.
"I am, baby." Arizona replied. It gave her a great sense of pride to be able to tell her that. Although the adoption hadn't been finalised and probably wouldn't be until mid-February, she could already tell that the way their family was now was the way it was meant to be, and if it was meant to be, it would happen.
"And Callie, too?" The little girl asked hopefully, holding on to a strand of Arizona's hair. Arizona noticed that that seemed to be something that calmed her. She glanced over to the other side of the room where she could see Maya and Callie sitting at a table, Maya's head resting on Callie's shoulder as they talked quietly while watching everyone dance.
"And Callie, too." She assured her, rubbing a comforting hand across her daughter's back.
"And we live with you and not with mean people?"
This broke Arizona's heart. She had heard from both Jane and Maya that foster homes were not always the best and foster families weren't always lovely people. It broke her heart to think of either of her daughters ever being unhappy. "Forever and ever." She promised.
Their first chance to sit down and fully relax came when they finally got in the taxi to the airport. They had a week-long honeymoon planned in LA. They had been hesitant to leave Ellie and Maya for so long, that maybe it would look bad when it came to adoption, but both Jane and Maya had assured them it was perfectly fine and that the newly married couple deserved a honeymoon, especially with their crazy schedules.
"Happy wedding day." Arizona said with an ecstatic smile, planting a kiss on her wife's lips. It was all she could do, with Callie's hand resting on the top of her thigh, not to undress her bride right then and there. Not that she was opposed to car sex, but she was opposed to giving the driver a free show.
"Happy wedding day." Callie repeated, her smile matching Arizona's.
Before they knew it, they were at the airport, ready to embark on their first journey as a married couple and enjoy the first week of many to come for the rest of their lives.