The First Time Ever- The Last Chapter
GUYS. I'm SO sorry for taking forever to update. Life took the crazy train recently. I was in school until 9pm nearly every day last week for rehearsals. I also performed at the Usher Hall in Edinburgh on Friday (look it up, it's super fancy) and I also did a sleepout for a homeless youth charity. Things should calm down, for now, though.
Also, this is the last chapter of this story! There will be an epilogue coming soon, though. Thank you for everyone who has read, favourited, commented on and reviewed this story. I've loved writing it!
Happy existing!
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'Happiness happens when you fit with your life, when you fit so harmoniously that whatever you are doing is your joy.'- Oshi
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It was the weak morning sunbeams that filtered through the blinds on the window that woke Arizona up. She waited a few seconds before opening her eyes, happily basking in the few glorious seconds of peace before the usual hectic ways of the day commenced. It was a life she loved, but a crazy life nonetheless.
Opening her eyes, she gave her vision a few seconds to adjust to the new light before she stretched her arms out above her head. She yawned quietly before turning her head to the left where her wife slept next to her. Her wife. Over a year had passed since their wedding, but calling Calliope Torres her wife still made her smile like crazy. She smiled slyly, shuffling closer to Callie and pressing her cold feet against her wife's legs.
"Wake up." She whispered softly, giggling to herself when Callie groaned and kicked her legs away from her.
"Go away." Callie groaned, pulling the duvet further up around her chin, screwing her eyes shut tight as keeping them shut would make her wife go away.
"Wake wakey, eggs and bakey." Arizona said in a sing song voice, grabbing the edge of the duvet and throwing it off of them. Callie let out a cry and scrambled to get under the warm covers again. Sighing in defeat, she rolled over to face Arizona, who was sitting up, throwing a hoodie over her head.
"I'm going vegetarian." She huffed, covering her eyes to block out the sun.
"Fine. Wakey wakey, vegetables and sadness." Arizona deadpanned, making Callie laugh at her wife's sarcasm before lying back down on the bed. "And coffee?" She added, glancing at Callie to gage her reaction. As she suspected, Callie opened her eyes again, lifting her head up from the pillow.
"Coffee?" She asked hopefully, significantly perking up.
"Only if you get up." Arizona smiled, standing up to leave the room.
"How are you feeling this morning?"
"Good, actually." Arizona commented, loving her wife's protective side, not stopping in her tracks. However, she paused when she realised that the house was quiet. "Callie?"
"Yeah?"
"What time is it?"
"Like, 9am."
"Callie!" Arizona exclaimed in surprise. "What do you hear?"
Callie paused, frowning. "Nothing. Why?"
"Exactly. Nothing! We're up before the kids!"
There was silence as the two women stared at each other. "Say something!" Arizona laughed.
Callie shook her head. "I can't. I'm in shock."
Waking up in the morning before either of their daughters had risen was a rare occurrence. Ellie especially was an early riser- always up before seven am. Both Callie and Arizona knew that younger kids were early risers- that didn't mean to say that it hadn't been one hell of an adjustment. Being surgeons, lying in whenever they had the opportunity was always their first choice. However, they were more than happy to give those up.
"This sounds suspicious. Let's go." Arizona said decisively, grabbing Callie's hand and dragging her with her.
Descending the stairs, they both smiled at each other when they saw both Ellie and Maya sitting contentedly in front of the fish tank in the living room, talking softly, both of them wrapped in blankets. The fish had been an addition to their family two months after the wedding, after Maya and Ellie's mutual love for sea life had emerged.
They stopped at the bottom of the stairs for a brief moment, simply watching the two girls interact. Ellie and Maya were definitely close- they shared a special bond, that could perhaps only be formed after going through everything they had together. Maya was a pro at saying just the right things so soothe Ellie when she was upset, and Ellie always knew how to make Maya smile on a hard day.
"Told you something fishy was going on." Callie whispered in Arizona's ear. Arizona rolled her eyes, looked Callie straight in the eye without any expression on her face and flicked her wife on the forehead. This caused Callie to burst out laughing, which gave away their location. Both of their daughters looked up, confused as to why one of their moms was shaking with laughter and the other one was standing still, an unamused look on her face.
"What's so funny?" Maya asked as they both stood up.
"Your mom thinks she's hilarious." Arizona explained and collapsed on to the couch as Ellie, blanket-clad and looking like a burrito, crawled into her lap, "good morning, burrito bug. And good morning, older burrito bug." She greeted her daughters, giving them both a kiss on the forehead.
"What did she say?" Maya asked.
"We got up and there was silence and we were suspicious. We came downstairs to see you both sitting in front of the fish tank and she told me she knew there was something fishy going on." Arizona explained.
"HA. Funny gal." Maya deadpanned, making Ellie frown and move away from Arizona and on to Callie's lap instead.
"Mama IS funny. Don't be mean." Ellie pouted, making everyone else laugh.
"We were only joking, Elliephant. Mama is funny." Maya reassured her sister. She turned to Callie. "Since I said you were funny, gave you a complement, can we have pancakes for breakfast?"
"I see how it works." Callie grumbled, although she stood up and made her way to the kitchen anyway, Ellie following close behind.
"Don't make eggs. Ew." Arizona called out after her, practically gagging at the thought. At almost twelve weeks pregnant, her morning sickness had almost completely subsided- it was only the thought of certain foods that make her nauseous.
"I thought my brother liked eggs." Maya questioned. She was the one who was possibly most excited for the new baby. She had been a little dubious to begin with, when Callie and Arizona had approached her with the idea, concerned that her moms may love a biological baby more than her and Ellie. However, both Callie and Arizona had assured her that they loved both her and her sister unconditionally. Both parents loved their daughters with a mother's love and it was terrifying and amazing at the same time.
Ellie was on board with the idea right away. She didn't fully understand the concept, but the main idea was that she was going to be a big sister like Hayley in her class, which made her excited from day one.
"Your brother OR sister did like eggs. Now they hate them." Arizona answered, laughing at how adamant Maya was that she was getting a baby brother.
"My brother is going to be just like me, then. Eggs. Ew." Maya shuddered
"It may be a girl, you know." Arizona reminded her, although she saw no point. Maya's stubbornness hadn't changed in the slightest over the past year.
"Nope. You already got two girls. You need a boy now." Maya explained.
"Great logic. When your mom and I just started dating and the topic of kids came up on time, she told me we would have loads of boys, but I was sure on girls. So when the adoption was finalised for you guys I turned around to her and said 'I told you so.'" Arizona laughed, remembering that moment with a smile.
"How long did you guys date? You got engaged just before you met us, right?" Maya asked.
"Yep. We were together for about eleven months when we met you guys."
"So you guys moved fast." Maya stated making Arizona laugh.
"Yeah. Well, you know about the plane crash and everything. I think that acted as a catalyst. We just thought, why wait?"
"I get it. You guys are cute. I hope Teddy and Henry don't take forever to get married."
"Ditto." Arizona agreed defiantly. Teddy and Henry has just recently announced the news of their engagement, and Arizona was less than surprised to hear the news. She had known from the very first 'there's a guy' that Teddy and Henry were perfect for one another.
Just then, they heard the soft pitter-patter of small feet running towards them and they both turned round to see Ellie, still wrapped in her blanket, running into the living room. "Mama says breakfast is nearly ready so get your bums through to the kitchen." She reported dutifully before running off again.
"That's us told then." Arizona laughed, sighing and lifting herself up from the couch, only then realising how hungry she was. Being hungry was good, though. Through most of her first trimester she had felt too sick to eat anything, so having an appetite was good.
Walking through to the kitchen, they smiled when the sweet smell of the pancake mixture hit them. "Let's do strawberries too! Good morning, by the way." She said to Callie, capturing her wife's lips in a soft kiss.
"Good morning. Good to see that baby's letting you eat." Callie commented.
"For once." Arizona said, nodding in agreement as she popped a strawberry in her mouth.
Callie smiled at her wife's adorableness. She then glanced around the kitchen of the home that she owned, where her two daughters sat happily on the stools at the counter, chatting happily together while she and her wife, who was pregnant with their child, made pancakes. She was also heading in to work later that day to do a job that she loved. In that moment, she felt truly, blissfully happy.
"Are you okay?" Arizona asked Callie, noticing her wife's glazed over look. Callie turned to her and smiled.
"Just feeling very peaceful. Can you believe this is our life?"
Arizona chuckled, exhaling. "I wouldn't have believed it for a second."
"Remember when you asked me out on our first date?"
Arizona laughed and covered her face, thinking back on that moment. "Back when I actually couldn't form a sentence around you."
"Willyougoonadatewithme?" Callie mimicked Arizona's once stumbled and flustered sentence, making Arizona laugh loudly and slap her wife gently on the arm. "Excuse me. That's bullying." She protested, slapping Arizona back.
"You can't hit a pregnant woman!" Arizona gasped through her laughter.
"You're only pregnant for about six more months, and I'm patient." Callie threatened.
"Yeah, well, you're having the next one. That gives me nine months to plan my revenge." Arizona countered.
"Oh, so we're having more, huh?"
"We agreed on ten, didn't we?" Arizona asked, before laughing at Callie's shocked face. "Relax, I'm talking, like, four. I don't think we could survive ten."
Callie laughed in relief. She thought her wife was being serious for a second. She loved her kids, each one of them unconditionally, but undoubtedly if there was ten of them she would go insane.
"Maybe a dog somewhere in the future, too." Callie added, and even though she whispered the word 'dog' to avoid any questions, she was still heard by both Ellie and Maya who simultaneously turned round to stare at their parents.
"Are we getting a puppy?" Ellie asked hopefully. Callie and Arizona looked at each other in amusement, before shaking their heads. They had known it wouldn't be long until Ellie started asking for a puppy- she had come home from school two weeks ago reporting that her friend Jack was the proud new owner of a Springer Spaniel puppy. They had prepared well.
"Maybe in a while. After the baby's born." Arizona told her daughter, not quite saying no, because she knew that there would likely be a canine added to their family at some point in the future, but not agreeing to go looking for dogs.
"Dogs and babies are different though." Ellie argued, not seeming willing to give up on the topic.
"But both need a lot of care and attention. After the baby comes, and you help us with the baby and we all get used to the change and the hard work, then maybe we can get a puppy. When we're all ready." Callie explained. Ellie took a few moments to ponder Callie's words before nodding happily, seeming to understand.
"I'll help so much with the baby. Then we can get a puppy." She stated simply, making everyone else in the room laugh at her simple logic. That was one thing Arizona loved about working with children and having a small child of her own- their minds were so simple and logical. They didn't know anything about filtering or not asking certain questions because with they were simply curious all of the time.
As they all sat down to eat, Callie quickly checked Ellie's insulin levels to help decide on her portion size and reminded the little girl that she would have to check it again after. Ellie nodded easily. She was used to the routine of her parents checking her insulin pump before and after every meal. The insulin pump had been a welcome change- meaning that she didn't have to take insulin shots every day, Ellie had been under a lot less stress.
"Moving on from the puppy subject, who has any name ideas?" Callie asked, making Arizona roll her eyes. The second the pregnancy test had turned positive, Callie had been researching baby names, planning nursery colours, reading up on different types of diapers, and everything in between. It made Arizona both in awe of her wife and exasperated by her. They had only just started telling people and Callie had essentially everything picked out.
"I'd really like Timothy for a boy. After my brother." Arizona stated. She and Callie had had this conversation before they even had any kids, and they always agreed that Timothy would be in their first son's name.
"I like Timothy! Badass, fitting for my uncle." Maya chimed in. That made Arizona smile hugely. She had never heard either of her daughters refer to her brother as 'uncle'. Not because they didn't want to, but the opportunity had simply never presented itself. It filled her heart with happiness and probably because of the pregnancy hormones, her eyes filled with tears.
"Me too!" Ellie voted.
"I love it." Callie agreed. "So, Timothy for a boy. What about a girl?"
"Name her Ellie!" Ellie suggested, making everyone laugh.
"They can't have two kids called Ellie, silly." Maya laughed.
"Yeah-huh! Then we can be matching!" Ellie pointed out, arguing her case determinedly. Her whole family was convinced that the young brunette would become a lawyer- she was very good at arguing, even if her arguments weren't always quite right.
"Okay, okay." Maya backed off. "But what about another name? Just in case?"
"Peanut!" Ellie exclaimed, making herself laugh hysterically.
"That's silly!" Maya exclaimed, tickling her sisters sides.
"Hotdog!"
"We eat hot dogs!"
"Rainbow!"
This went on for a while, and soon enough both sisters were laughing hysterically. Arizona leaned back in her chair and watched them. She was so glad that they had been able to welcome these two beautiful girls into their lives and that they were so happy. At first, it hadn't been easy. It had taken a while for the two girls, Maya especially, to trust them. And they couldn't be blamed. They hadn't exactly been given a lot of trustworthy adult figures to rely on in their short lives.
It had been hard, for sure. There was therapy involved. It was a drastic change for two young girls to go through. From having a mother, to being bounced around foster homes with no options of a double adoption, to being in a full time, loving home. However, both girls had soon climatized. Having seen that Callie and Arizona were serious about being their parents and had no intention to leave, they seemed to open right up to the idea of them being a family, and that was when they started referring to them as 'mom' and 'mama'.
It had been a huge change for Callie and Arizona, too. They had gone from no children to a teenager and a four year old what seemed to be over night. They had fallen in love with the two girls instantly. They had been worried at the very beginning that they might not feel that unconditional, unexplainable mother's love, but their worries had been dispelled almost instantly. It was scary how much they loved their daughters.
"Now it's my turn to be all reflective and cheesy." Arizona informed Callie as they watched their daughters laughing hysterically over silly names like 'Toto' and 'Buba'. It just seemed surreal to her how far they'd come. That she'd survived the attack, survived the plane crash, and that she could put those in her past and look into the future.
"We did great, huh?" Callie said, taking her wife's hand in her own.
"We did." Arizona agreed, capturing her wife's in a kiss. It was short, soft- nothing too much, because she had faith that she'd be doing it every day for the rest of her life. She had known from the first 'I love you' that Calliope Torres was the one she wanted to grow old with- her first and only forever.
Callie smiled as they parted from the kiss. She studied Arizona's face carefully, never getting enough of her wife's beautiful, glowing appearance. She never failed to be stunned by Arizona, from day one when they spent hours talking in a little café bookshop, to seeing her walk down the aisle, or now, watching their kids laugh while discussing names for their baby on the way. She had no doubt that for the rest of their lives, Arizona would continue to take her breath away.
Ellie was quick to interrupt their mushy moment.
"But why don't we just get a puppy to practice for the baby?"