Disclaimer: I don't own Grey's Anatomy, I just borrowed the name of the characters for entertaining, no intention to violate any copyrights.

A/N : Fanfic writers never meant to stop updating. You have a life, and the unthinkable happens. It's not like we do it on purpose. It's not like we want to hurt our readers. But sometimes we do. Sometimes we have writer's block. And when we had it, we're sorry. Not that being sorry really matters. Not anymore. No apology in the world matters now.

I had the most hectic few months from work. It sucked out my energy and creativity. I can't tell you how many hours that I sat in front of my computer and my mind was completely blank. I had the outline of the story but I just couldn't put them together. Sorry to disappoint the people who like this story. I am back (I think). Here's the new chapter, and I have the next one almost finished except a scene that is not so easy to write. And I jumped to the next next chapter and also almost finished...

Thanks for the always adorable calzonaforever35 helping out with this chapter between her busy time. I really appreciate it, dear.

Chapter 56

The engaged couple continued their Miami vacation after the unpleasant visit to the Torres residency. Callie drove around the city, taking her fiancée to the places that held significant memories of her childhood. Later that night, the two were in the brunette's favorite restaurant for a fabulous dinner. All the while, Callie pulled up an overly bright smile but Arizona could easily see through it.

After the dinner, they decided to have a little walk on the beach by the restaurant. They sat side by side on the white sandy beach soaking in the moonlight and the soothing sounds from the ocean.

"Callie?" Arizona looked down at the head rested on her shoulder, called out softly. "Are you still upset about your mother?"

The brunette was startled. She took her eyes from the horizon ahead of them and smiled bitterly to the woman who had an arm wrapped around her.

"No, not upset. I don't know, disappointed, I guess." Callie shrugged. "I kinda expected her not to magically change her mind, and welcoming us with open arms; But she just... She didn't have to be so harsh about it."

"It takes two to tango." The blonde turned to kiss the dark hair, trying to hide her smirk but her voice betrayed her.

"What?" Callie pulled away slightly, and gave an incredulous glance at the woman who was supposed to be on her side.

"You weren't anywhere near civilized either. You were ready to fight her as soon as we got in the car this morning." Arizona said matter-of-factly, that just made the furrow between the brown eyes went deeper.

"I was not. I just-" The light wasn't so bright on the beach, but the mischievous sparkle in the blue eyes was as dazzling as the stars in the dark sky above them. Callie threw her head back and sighed loudly. "Fine, sue me for wanting to protect my girl. I just don't want her to hurt you."

"She's not the evil woman that wants to skin me to make a pair of new shoes, Callie. You don't have to be so hostile toward her." Arizona stretched her legs, propped her hands up on the sand behind her. "If my imaginary daughter was to talk to me like that, I promise you that I'm going to lock her up in the basement until she turned 40."

"So you think it's alright for her to dismiss our relationship, telling us that we shouldn't have children because God doesn't allow it, just because she's my mother?" Callie said giving the blonde a mocking hurt look, then pulled back on the sand to extend the distance between them. But Arizona caught her arm with a laugh.

"No, but you can't force someone to agree with your point of view. Yelling at each other won't help the situation. Give her time to process it, she'll get there eventually."

"I just don't want her to upset you." The brunette quickly cut in to defend herself. Arizona brought the hand from Callie's arm to the caramel cheek caressing longingly.

"I know. But what upset me is to see you so wound up around her. She doesn't like me, so what? I'm going to be her daughter-in-law whether she likes it or not, right? It's not like we're going to see her every weekend. She'll live her life and we'll live ours, 3000 miles away."

"Yeah, that's right. She won't be in our lives." Callie gave the blonde a weak smile before she laid, using Arizona's lap as her pillow. Her eyes looked up towards the sky. "Remember I told you about my abuela?"

"Vividly, she was the one that spoiled you rotten." Soft hands smoothed the raven hair tenderly. The banter earned her an eye roll from the brown eyes.

"She didn't spoil me..."

"Ice-cream before dinner? The whole summer?" Dimples showed along with the teasing smile.

"That was the best summer in my childhood. I remember I didn't get to see my abuela and abuelo a lot, maybe once or twice a year even though we lived in the same city. And then one day abuela came to pick me up from the house, and my mom and I stayed with them for quite a while." Callie smiled in the memories of her grandparents. "Abuela would take me to the beach to build sand castles. She let me have any favor of ice-cream I wanted. And we'd come home with a bunch of toys, every time we went out. And abuelo would put me on his lap while we watched tv after dinner. I think I fell asleep on him every night."

"Your grandparents really loved you." The dimpled smile didn't fade as the blonde listening to the story.

"And I loved them too. I think every child deserves to have a sweet memory with their grandparents, too bad ours are going to miss out on that." Callie took her eyes away from the stars above and staring at the ones right in front of her. "You know, my mother."

"They'd still have my parents. I'm sure my mom is going to be the insufferable overly loving grandmother to our future children." Arizona met with the gaze of the pouting woman on her laps. "And your father will love them too."

"That's true. I can't wait to meet your parents." The brunette took one of the fair hands and entwined it with hers, resting them on her stomach. "How about you? Any memorable holiday with your grandparents?"

"I don't. One of my grandfathers died in World War II, and we weren't really close to my mother's parents because we moved around a lot when I grew up. But I did have this one summer that I remembered very well. Actually it was one of the top three best holidays on my list." Arizona continued stroking the silklike curly long black hair, loving the feeling between her fingers. "Nick's father and my dad were on the same bases for like... forever, our families always stayed together. There was one time that everyone should've been relocated back to Hawaii from Japan, but my dad had to stay behind for two months for something; I don't remember. Instead of keeping me and Tim in Japan without our friends, my parents sent us to Hawaii staying with Nick's family so we could settle in before school started."

"Two months without parents? How old were you?" Callie raised her eyebrows. She'd heard from the blonde about how tough it was to live under the roof with the colonel. Not that the military man was cruel or heartless to his children, but rules were there and the Robbins siblings must obey without questions. A few months away from her father, no wonder it was the best holiday in her childhood.

"Nine. We weren't really without parents. Nick's dad was as strict as mine but Tim and I were guests of the house after all. And Auntie Ruthie was excellent. She made the best cookies in the world. And she loved me like a daughter. There was this one time, Tim and Nick dunked me in the water for too long, to where I almost drowned and she rushed to my side pulled me out. The boys were grounded for 3 days and no cookies for a whole week. But I slipped them some when Ruthie wasn't looking." Arizona laughed out softly, remembering how her two big brothers practically drooled over the plate of cookies in front of her.

"It's nice to grow up with siblings." Callie said with a smile.

"It is. Nick was my rock when Tim died, I miss him." The blonde took a deep breath before looking into Callie's eyes. "I haven't heard from him for a while, maybe I should give him a call later."

"Yes, and make sure he knows we're getting married. I know it means a lot for you to have him in our wedding." Callie brought their entwined hand to her lips. Arizona chuckled when the brunette talked about having Nick in their wedding.

"When I came out to Tim and Nick, the goofs said they were gonna dance so hard at my wedding, and try to score my bridesmaids. Tim can't make it, but I'd like to see Nick make a fool of himself."

"Too bad I don't have a sister for him. But would it be wonderful if we set him up with Ana? You know, she's close to a sister to me and Nick is..." Callie joked casually, but her fiancee interrupted her fantasy.

"Oh hey, have you talked to your father about Ana? You were going to ask him to send someone to keep an eye on her?"

"I didn't get the chance to talk to him, but I kinda blurted it out to my mother during the fight though." Callie shrugged a shoulder, and turned her face to the side hiding her embarrassment.

"Oh boy, why am I not surprised?" Arizona threw her head back letting out a heartfelt laughter. "You were on fire and pretty much said everything to your mother. You don't have a pause button when you're all hotheaded."

Hearing the comment, Callie jumped up abruptly and pinned the blonde on the ground. Arizona yelped in surprise. Next she knew, strong hands flew to her side tickling up and down. Laughter and giggles echoed in the quiet beach as the woman on the bottom tried to wriggle her way out of the sweet torture.

"Please- please stop... Callie, please stop!" Arizona begged between gasping breaths. She had laughed so hard that breathing was getting difficult. The laughter turned to a squeak when Callie attacked her neck and blew a raspberry loudly.

"You just said I don't have a pause button." Said between another raspberry. "I don't know how to stop."

"I am sorry! I am sorry!" The blonde screamed and blindly searched for the hands on her hips. After a few attempts, pale hand caught the olive ones and threw them above their heads. Callie went with the flow and pressed her body on top of the panting blonde. Then buried her head on Arizona's shoulder as they both kept laughing and trying to catch their breaths.

"You're insane." Arizona brushed off the rave hair spread across her face with a free hand. "Someone could hear us and think you're an attacker, you know, this late and dark on the beach. They probably already called the cops."

"Yeah? Do you want to go back to the hotel? Before the police arrive?" The brunette lifted her head about to get up, but Arizona wrapped an arm around her back keeping her in place.

"No, it's comfortable in here." The blonde breathed out softly. She brought her other arm down to hold her girl tighter. "Let's stay."

Callie didn't say a word but cuddled up to the love of her life, listening to the steady heartbeat against her ear, and the sound of the waves around them.

"Make it stop." Callie groaned into the pillow. She pet the body next to her hoping the blonde would turn off the awful sound ringing loudly in the room.

The two women wrapped around each other on the white sandy beach, smooching and chatting under the starry Miami sky. Time seemed to stop until their backs got stiff and they complained about the unsupported loose ground. Chuckling lightly, Callie pulled her blue eyed beauty up and walked hand in hand back to the hotel, under the rising sun.

They decided to take a nap before starting another day of exploring in Miami, but it was like their bodies just hit the fluffy mattress, the alarm went off.

"You make it stop." Arizona turned in the bed and covered her head with a pillow.

"You set the alarm." The brunette flipped over on her back, murmured with her eyes still shut. "Why would you set the alarm anyway?"

"It's not the alarm. It's your phone."

"Oh." Callie sighed. Reached to the nightstand for her mobile, she had to blink a couple times to make sure she didn't see the caller ID wrong. "It's my mother."

Arizona pulled the pillow off her face. Her brain was still foggy with sleep, not sure she heard it right until Callie held up the phone in front of her face.

"What does she want?" The blonde asked.

"I don't know. Should I answer it?" Callie looked back at the blue eyes, her own brown eyes went wide when a fair finger pressed the answer button for her.

"Hello, Callie?" Lucia's voice came through the mobile, Callie put it against her ear hurriedly whilst glaring at the smirk blonde.

"Yes, mom?" Callie cleared her throat, answered nervously.

"Callie... you're still sleeping? It's almost 11am." Annoyance lingered in the voice of the older woman making the young woman groan.

"Yeah, I'm on vacation, mom. And Arizona and I were up all night..." Callie arched her back and stretched herself before extended an arm to pull the blonde closer. Arizona rested her head on the plump chest, and slipped a hand over the curvy hip as she listened to the one sided conversation.

"I don't need to know what you and your..." Lucia took a deep breath before saying the word that she had avoided to say for so long. "Girlfriend were doing behind the closed doors..."

"Mom, we were at the beach talking all night!" Callie felt her cheeks went warm. It was not that she was embarrassed for her sex life, but there was a line that she didn't want her mother to cross. "Why are you calling anyway?"

"Your father made the dinner reservation for 7pm." Lucia said.

"I didn't know the dinner is still on..." The young Torres trailed off, meeting with Arizona's questionable eyes with a grimace.

"Your father is really excited about seeing you and Arizona again." The mother took another deep breath that could be easily heard from the other side of the phone. "Callie, I'm coming over... in an hour, giving you two some time to freshen up."

"Mom, why...?" Callie sat up straight leaning back against the headboard, making the blonde frown at her with a bigger puzzled look.

"I just... want to talk to you. See you in an hour, Callie." Lucia ended the phone quickly, leaving her daughter staring at the mobile with her mouth agape.

"Callie?" Arizona sat up on her knees, waiting for her fiancee to fill her in about the phone call.

"My mom is coming over. She said she wants to talk, again." The brunette wetted her lips, knitted her eyebrows together trying to recall the conversation. "I don't know what she wants, but she sounds kinda serious."

"Now?"

"Now... in an hour, I guess." Callie shifted her gaze from the phone to the worried face in front of her. "I think she just addressed you as my girlfriend."

"Really? That's new." A small smiled found a way to the fair face. As usual, Arizona was being optimistic.

"Maybe she's coming over to kill us, or just you. And she's working on her alibi. She can tell the police that she's ok with us being together, since she has called you 'my girlfriend'. I bet she had this phone call on tape." The brunette threw the mobile to the side, sinking deeper in the bed.

"You are being paranoid." The blonde laughed out lightly, and planted a peck on the pouting lips before jumping out of the bed towards the bathroom. "She's your mother."

"Exactly. She's capable of killing you without anyone noticing it." Callie called after her fiancee from the bed. "I had a pet ferret when I was young. One day she told me it escaped from the locked cage. A locked cage, Arizona. And I never saw it again."

"Don't you think the ferret may have died and she didn't want to upset you, so she made up the story?" Arizona came back with a tooth brush in hand. She sat down on the bed facing the brunette. "She is your mother, you know how hard it is for her to call me your girlfriend. And come here after the way you talked to her yesterday?"

Callie said nothing but staring at the blonde through her narrow eyes.

"If she's still mad, she didn't have to call you or even come over. She can just avoid you. It won't be difficult considering that we are leaving tomorrow and we probably won't see each other for a while after today." Arizona tried to analyze the cause of Lucia's visit, and Callie listened with her lips twisted.

"But why does she have to come over now? We have dinner tonight and we can talk then. I thought we are going to have couples massage this afternoon. My back is still sore from sleeping on the ground." Callie reached for the mobile that she just threw away. "I'm going to call her, tell her that we don't have time."

"No, she wants to see you now and we'll welcome her now." Arizona snatched the phone before the brunette, and held it behind her head when Callie leaned forward trying to get it back. "You know what? If you can be a nice girl around your mother, not yell at her or throw her out of the room, you'll get a reward from me."

"What kind of a reward?" Callie squinted at the lopsided grin before her.

"The kind that you'll agree it's worth it." The blonde whispered against the full lips before closing the distance between them. She tugged Callie's bottom lip with her teeth seductively giving the brunette a brief idea of what the reward would be about. Callie groaned behind her throat with her eyes closed as a shiver rippled over her skin. But the pillowy soft lips pulled away before she could deepen the kiss. Opening her eyes, just in time to catch a glimpse of a teasing smile threw over the shoulder of the chirpy woman.

Lucia Torres arrived exactly one hour after she called her daughter. The young couple greeted her by the door of the presidential suite with a little awkwardness. Should they hug or kiss on the cheek or... hand shake? Finally they settled on doing nothing but a nod. Arizona waved her hand in a gesture of welcoming her future mother-in-law to come in, and then went to the mini bar ready to serve a drink.

"We ordered some coffee, do you want to have a cup, Lucia? Or water?" The blonde asked whilst the mother and daughter settled on the couch.

"Coffee will be great." Lucia answered, a little stiff but at least not hostile. And in Callie's surprise, the mother added. "Thank you, Arizona."

Awkward silence floated between the two Torres women, the only sound was coffee pouring into coffee cups. Arizona glanced over the sitting area seeing the discomfort all over the features of the older woman. With a look to the other couch, she shook her head slightly when the impetuous brunette was holding her head high glaring at the mother with an annoying stare.

"Here's your coffee, Lucia." Arizona sat down next to Callie after unloading the cups. She gave a light squeeze on the knee next to hers reminding the brunette that she needed to play nice. The awkwardness was getting thicker by the second when no one knew what to say. Finally, Lucia opened her mouth.

"Callie, we haven't really finished our talk yesterday." The older Torres woman bit her lips to a thin line, watching the spitting image of her younger self giving her a roll of the eyes.

"I thought we were done, mom. You've said what you wanted to say and I heard you loud and clear. There's nothing more to talk about."

"Callie." Arizona hissed under her breath.

"Yes we do, Callie." Lucia took a deep breath to calm her choking voice. She was angry yesterday, and now she was hurt. She was hurt that her own daughter didn't even want to talk to her. "We both said things that we shouldn't have. And today, I want to continue the conversation. I need to have this conversation and I need you to listen to me."

Callie's face softened. Despite the differences she had with her mother, Lucia Torres was her mother and she loved her mother. She started to feel bad to see the sadness lingering on the wrinkled face.

"Callie," Arizona placed a hand on Callie's and called out softly, waited until the brunette turned her face. "You promised me."

The two locked eyes for seconds. Finally, Callie nodded her head.

Before either of the Torres opened their mouths, Arizona rose from the couch and smiled to them softly.

"I am going to leave you two." She stopped Callie's protest with a wave of hand. "Believe me, I want to be here for you but I know the fact that it's hard for your mother to come here today. Whatever she wants to talk to you about, it must be important and it's between you two. And I know you, Callie. You need this."

The blonde looked over to the older Torres, who gave her a grateful smile in return. Arizona was right. It was difficult for Lucia to come here. And it would be ever harder to talk if, in Lucia's mind, the woman who caused all the fuss was going to be here to witness this conversation.

"I'll just go to the store around the corner, maybe pick up some souvenirs for our friends back home. I'll be back in half an hour, or you call me if you want me to come back sooner, okay?" Arizona looked back to her fiancee waiting for an answer. "Okay?"

"Fine." Finally, Callie breathed out with a heavy sigh. "But don't go too far away. I need you."

Lucia flinched when she saw the blonde bent down to give her daughter a light kiss on the lips, and she sighed silently watching Callie caressed the pale face with a loving smile and the brown eyes never left the slim silhouette until it disappeared behind the front door of the hotel room.

Of course she had heard more than a hundred times from her daughter that how much they loved each other. Even Carols told her countless times that the two women were sickeningly in love. But she always chose to ignore it. This, was not natural. Love between two women was supposed to be platonic. As long as she didn't see the interaction between these two women, as long as she chose not to address this relationship, she could still pretend this, was just a phase. Everyone was misled.

Her resolve was broken down after the fight yesterday. After a long talk with the man she shared a life nearly 40 years. And after seeing the affection showcasing in front of her... She swallowed a huge lump behind her throat.

"She is... considerate."

"That's Arizona. You wouldn't be surprised if you didn't try so hard to disregard her." Callie took her eyes from the door to her mother. Her voice was still cold but at least her face had softened.

"If you have kids... When you have kids, there's something you should know." Lucia pursed her lips, studying the face of her daughter as she started. "Very confusing things they don't tell you. You see so much of yourself in them. You see your ironic take on the world. You see your smile, your walk, your stubbornness, whatever. And you think they're you. But they're not you."

"Mom..." Callie tried to interjected, but a shake of head from her mother telling her that she was not finished.

"You mentioned that I chose your father over someone that your abuelo arranged for me. I chose love." The mother took a deep breath. "I didn't know that would affect your judgment about... love."

"You are my mother. I worship you and I adore you." Callie spoke up hurriedly. "And I've seen the love you and daddy share when I growing up. I know love because I've seen them from you and daddy. And I found them in Arizona."

"Sometimes love just isn't enough, Callie." Lucia sighed.

"What do you mean, mom?" The young Latina's eyebrows shot up. Not in a million years that she'd expect this coming out from her mother's mouth.

"I hate the idea of you being with women because..." The mother trailed off, but got cut off by the snort from her inpatient and annoyed daughter.

"God doesn't approve?"

"That. And," Lucia wet her lips, crossed her leg and sat back in the couch, trying to collect her thought. "I know how it feels to fight against the world to be with someone that you think you love, Callie. It isn't easy. And at some point, when things happened, lives happened, you started to question if you had made the right choice. And if it was worth it."

"Mom...?" Callie asked worriedly.

"Your abuelo was furious when I decided to marry someone not as wealthy as his family, and turned down the marriage that he arranged, which would advance his business. After I married your father against his will, he did everything in his power to destroy your father's budding business. My whole family turned their backs away from me including my own mother. It took years and a disaster to reconnect us." The older woman pursed her lips to blink back the tears. "When that girl came to our doorstep claiming that you were dating her, I saw what was going to happen. It was hard enough to be with a man that everyone disapproved, I don't want you to go through the same struggle for a woman."

"It didn't have to be this hard if I had your support, mom." Callie led forward, resting her elbows on the knees with tearful eyes. "You pushed me away. You are supposed to love me no matter which path I choose. When I needed my mother, you shut me out."

"I thought I was protecting you. Sometimes, late at night, I'd think that if your abuelo would've been tougher, or if your abuela really locked me up forbidding me to run away with your father, my life would be easier." Lucia shook her head with a bitter smile. "But then, I wouldn't have you, and..."

"Mom, are you tell me you regret being with dad? You're telling me you don't love him?" Callie hurried to her mother's side, holding the wrinkled hand pleading to have an answer with her wide eyes.

"Of course I love your father. I love him everyday even when... things happened. Life is not always so joyful, Callie. We had our ups and downs. My point is, I had my struggle and as a mother, I don't want to see you go through that. Ironically, I am one of those people who put you through this." Lucia looked down in their linked hands, caressed the soft one with her thumb. "When I heard about the years you went through, the death of your friend, the unfortunate marriage... I thought, I should have stopped you. I should have protected you. I needed to stop you from falling for another woman. The sin that condemns by God, and the people among us. But your father was right, children shouldn't have their parent's baggage, the fear, the insecurity, and the life experience because that's not fair."

"Dad tried to convince you?"

"Last night. We... revisited some issues we had over the years. And he reminded me, as painful as it sounds, I wouldn't have survived if my parents didn't reach out and open their arms for me again during the darkest time of my life." The mother clung onto the hand in hers tightly, looked straight to the younger woman's eyes without blinking. "A part of me was mad that you didn't come to me when you needed me. But deep down, I know I have myself to blame."

"Mom, it's okay. I survived." Callie smiled. She placed her free hand on her mother's. "But what happened? What do you mean the darkest time?"

"I lost your sister." Lucia took a moment to answer the question. Not that she intended to keep this from her daughter, just this was the worst time of her life and she tried to push it in the back of her memory. So did her husband. "I was almost 8 months pregnant and something happened with your father... I couldn't protect your sister and I lost her."

"What?" Callie opened her mouth wide with shock. "I had a sister? Why didn't I know that?"

"You were young. You wouldn't understand."

"But... but... What happened?" Callie stuttered out.

"It doesn't matter anymore." Lucia picked up the lukewarm coffee to clear her throat, trying to divert the subject. "Your father reminded me, we have lost one daughter. And we lost you once. If I keep shutting you out, push away the person that you love, eventually I am going to lose you one more time. Or the worst of it, when something happens to you again, you wouldn't think you have a home to come back to."

"Wait..." A smile spread across Callie's face as she thought about her mother's words. "You are telling me you're going to accept Arizona... in your life?"

"It is not up to me to accept it or not, isn't it? She is going to be... your wife. She is going to be a part of our family." As much as it pained her to say it out loud, Lucia couldn't help to smile when she saw the delight in her daughter's eyes. "But I just have one request, Callie. I will do my best to tolerate the present of her, but do not imagine that I would magically get on board with this relationship overnight. So, please do not kiss each other in front of me. I will try to handle the hand holding but nothing too intimate. This is my bottom line."

"Thank you, mom." Callie led forward to give her mother a tight hug, sobbing uncontrollably when Lucia hugged her back. After yesterday, she thought she was going to lose her mother forever but life really threw her a curve ball. She was going to have her mother by her side. Her future children were going to have a grandmother that would love them and spoil them. Years of angst and frustration washed away as the tears rolled down her cheeks, onto her mother's shoulder.

"The tombstone next to abuela in the family cemetery, you told me to put a flower in front of it every time we went there. I asked you who Aria Torres was and why a Torres was in there, you never answered me..." Callie pulled away abruptly.

"That was her, your sister." Lucia nodded her head slowly. "I couldn't get out of bed and your abuela arranged the funeral. She insisted on putting Aria in their family cemetery instead of your fathers'. I know your father wasn't so happy about it but he didn't have a say in that case."

Lucia twisted her lips and sighed heavily. Callie could tell there must have more stories behind this and she was going to ask, but the door opened and a blonde head poked in.

"Hey, I am back." Arizona entered with a sheepish smile on her face. She knew it was a good idea to give the mother and daughter some alone time to talk but still, she was worried that her hotheaded fiancee was going to make it worse. Hence, as soon as she finished the quick trip to the stores, purchased what she had in mind, she rushed back to the hotel to check on the Torres. She picked up the pace toward the sitting area when she saw the tear stains on Callie's face. "Callie, are you alright?"

"I am good." Callie greeted the blonde with a beaming smile, but her attention landed on the bags that Arizona was carrying. "You really went shopping, without me?"

"I just brought something silly." Arizona waved her hand, hoping Callie wouldn't ask about what were in her hands. She looked between the mother and daughter. "Is everything okay?"

"We are okay now, right, mom?" Still wearing the bright smile, Callie reached out to take a tissue from the coffee table to clean up her face.

"Yes, we are." Lucia gave the blonde a genuine smile. The most sincere smile she ever threw to this woman since she knew Callie was dating her. "And I know I have you to thank for, Arizona."

"Oh, it's... nothing." Arizona sat on the arm of the couch next to her fiancee, placed her hand on the strong shoulder as she smiled back to her future mother-in-law. "I'm just glad that everything worked out now. It's very important to Callie."

Callie turned to face the blonde. She was so happy and out of reflex, a hand reached out to cup the pale face, about to glue their lips together... A clear of throat from the other side of the couch stopped her.

"I know you two must have plans for the afternoon. I'll see you two at the dinner?" Lucia rose up from the couch, but the hand from Callie stopped her.

"Mom, we are going to have lunch, do you want to join us?" The brunette asked softly. A quick glance to Arizona and got a nod of approval. "Maybe after that, we can go to the cemetery together? I want to bring a flower to Aria."

"Aria?" Arizona questioned.

"I'll tell you later." Callie looked between the two women. "Is that okay?"

"It sounds lovely." The mother grinned happily.

"I'll just put these in the room." Arizona gestured the shopping bags, and then strode toward the bedroom, with Callie behind her.

"I don't think I've said this enough." Carlo raised his glass, looked around the table. "To family."

The three women followed suit with a beaming smile. There was still awkwardness between Lucia and Arizona, but the older Torres woman kept her promise. She even initiated a small talk with Arizona during lunch. To Callie, that meant a lot.

"So, what did my girls do this afternoon?" The father asked. He checked on his wife between meetings, knew that they went out together but didn't get into the details. He was curious.

"We went to Aria's grave." Callie answered casually, sipping her glass of wine, missing the surprise look on her father's face.

"You told her?" Carlos turned to his wife, face fell slightly. "I thought we weren't..."

"I told her I lost Aria." The older Torres woman put her glass down, answered coldly without looking at her husband. "That's all she needs to know."

Callie glanced between her parents. This time, she didn't miss the relief showing on her father's feature. So did Arizona.

"Would you mind if I ask why you lost the baby in 8 months, Lucia?" The prospective fetal surgeon asked, out of professional curiosity. But the quick glare from the mother made her bit her tough, regretting even asked the question. It probably had ruined their mending relationship.

"Yeah, mom. What happened? I mean, was it something genetically related? Should I get a test or something?" Worry lingered in Callie's voice. When you were a doctor, you'd link everything with medical condition.

"There was an accident." Lucia swallowed heavily, kept her eyes on the menu. Carlos was stolen glances between the menu and the stern face of his wife. "I fell over the stairs. That's all. I don't want to talk about that anymore. Let's move on. I'm starving."

As requested, with a famed Torres women glare, the company ordered their dinners and started a more pleasurable conversation.

"So this Addison, one of the friends you made in New York?" Carlos asked, after learning that the girls were going to LA for meeting their friend.

"Yes, she's my best friend." Callie answered with a smile, and she added quickly after cast a glance to the woman sitting next to her. "Other than Arizona, of course."

"I am not gonna get mad about that." Arizona rolled her eyes playfully. "You have a special bond with her and I'm actually glad that you have such a great friend in your life. She even trusts you with her kid."

"That's true. She made me the godmother of her son." Callie said proudly. Like every loving mother, she took out her cellphone showing the pictures of Henry to her parents. "This little guy is so great. He recognized me the last time we skyped. He squealed when my face showed up on the screen."

"And you're staying in her house?" Lucia smiled to the picture of the grinning child.

"Yes, she insists. But I think more like she wants us to babysit Henry, her son." Callie shared a smile with Arizona. They joked about it but actually they didn't mind. Henry was a charmer and they wouldn't wait to spend time with him.

"That sounds fun. But if you want, I can still call The GT Regency LA to get you The Presidential suite. Oh, or the bridal suite." The father pushed his plate to the side as he finished the meal. He smiled to the two younger women. "And as you are there, you can set up a meeting with the guys, check out the grand function room and tell them how you want it decorate for the reception."

"What reception?" Callie asked with her eyebrows raised up. Arizona gave her a sidelong glance, sipping her wine quietly.

"The wedding reception. Arizona told me you two decided to get married in 6 months, right? We don't really have much time to get everything done." Carlos looked between Callie and Arizona, with the big smile still plastered on his face. "I've already called LA to reserve the hall. Technically I owe the hotel but it doesn't mean I can hold the place for a whole month, so I need to know the exact date soon. And we have to work on the guest list. We should limit the number to 280 to 300 because of its capacity. But if it's necessary, I think we can open up the room next door... Yeah, I'll just tell them to knock down the wall to enlarge the main function room."

"Wait a second... I'm not following." The brunette looked around the table completely confused. "What are we talking about?"

"The wedding party is going to take place in The GT Regency LA. Arizona and I talked about it." Carlos turned his smile to the blonde, who suddenly found the plate in front of her very interesting and couldn't take her eyes away from it.

"You what?" Callie exclaimed to her fiancee, making the people around them stop what they were doing and stare at their table.

"We... kinda talked about the possibility of, maybe, holding the party..." Arizona trailed off, but she got cut off by a laugh from her future father-in-law.

"Possibility? Non sense. You want to have the wedding in LA, and the wedding will take place in The GT Regency LA. Where else would that be?"

"Dad, that giant hotel is for a giant wedding. We..." Callie looked between her father and Arizona. If it was any other time, she would find it funny that the usually confident Peds surgeon fidgeting under the gaze of her father. But now it was not the time. "We want a small wedding. A tiny wedding with a couple of close friends and families. We don't need 300 strangers in there with us."

"You are my only little girl, Calliope. You deserve the best and I am going to give you the best. The wedding is going to take place in the best and grandest hotel in LA. I'll fly in your friends and every single family members. I'll have the most important people in the city to witness this big day of yours. End of discussion." Carlos held his gaze at his daughter. Ever since he heard about Callie's pathetic, sad, unfortunate wedding in Vegas with George, he swore to god that he would make it up for his beloved girl if he got the chance. And this was the chance.

"Carlos, don't go overboard." Lucia jumped in, trying to ease the tension between the father and daughter. "I know you want to throw an epic party for Callie, but don't forget that not everyone is open with the idea of..."

"Oh my god, mom. You still have problem of me marrying a woman?" The brunette turned her anger to her mother, but a hand on her arm interrupted her.

"Shh... Callie. I think she's on our side this time." Arizona leaned in and whispered.

"What I am saying is, this is not only Callie's big day. It's Arizona's too. Don't you think she and her family should have a say on this?" Lucia was trying to be the voice of reason. But she didn't know turning the spot light to the blonde was not a good idea.

"Arizona, you don't want to have a big wedding? You don't think Calliope should have a fairytale wedding that she deserves?" Carlos squared his shoulders, staring right at the widened blue eyes.

"No sir. I... I will give the world to Callie. I..." The poor blonde found the air in the restaurant was getting thinner and thinner. "I don't mind having the huge party in... err... your hotel. The... the... the GT Regency LA."

"Arizona!" Callie gasped. And she turned her wide eyes to her father. "Dad, you are not going to bully Arizona to agree with that. It's me who doesn't want to have an over the top wedding party. I went to those fancy parties with you for years and I hated every single one of them. People need to dress up to the nines and socialize with people that they don't even know. It was exhausting."

"Calliope, I just want..."

"I know, dad. I know. You want to throw me a big party to show me that you love me. I know that. And I love you too, daddy." Callie reached across the table clasping her hand with her father's. "But I don't want that. I don't care about big party. I just want a simple wedding that I can talk to my friends, dance with my wife and my dad. Not to worry if uncle Jerold is going to bring his new hussy there just to piss off aunt Gilberta."

"Fine, if that's what you want." Carlos sighed with profound resignation. He would do whatever his daughter wanted, but he was not going to back down easily. "You don't want to have a grand wedding in the function room, I understand. Counter offer, the garden room. It's much smaller, with a patio that has an unimpeded view across the headland to the sea."

"Dad..." Callie squinted at her father, and the father squinted back at her.

"Meet me half way, mija."

"We haven't found a place yet. It wouldn't hurt to check out the place when we're in LA, right?" Arizona placed her hand on Callie's knee, trying to disturb the staring contest. "If we don't like it, at least we gave it a try."

"Fine, we can do that." The brunette sighed after looking at the pleading blue eyes. "But dad, no promise."

"Great, that's all I asked." Carlos smiled contently. He held up his glass and the women followed with a shake of head.

"Oh dad, as I'm doing you a favor, I have one to ask you." Callie continued after wetted her lips with the wine. "Melana's sister, Ana, is pregnant and living in Palm Beach. Practically going to raise the child by herself because her husband left her and I don't trust her newly recovered alcoholic father."

"The friend you talked about yesterday?" Lucia asked. "The husband left her for another woman, betrayed their years of marriage and having a new family right after they got divorced?"

"Yes, the poor Ana. They were together since high school." Callie shook her head. "Anyway, I want to take care of her but I can't do anything in Seattle. Dad, can you send someone to check on her from time to time, maybe going to the doctor's appointment with her, shopping with her and be there for her when she needs someone?"

"I can do that." To everyone's surprised, Lucia spoke up before her husband.

"What? Mom, are you sure?" Callie blinked her eyes a couple times, not trusting what she had heard coming out from her mother's mouth. She found her fiancee was as surprise as her.

"Yeah, why not? I mean, my workload is much less since I went into semi-retired, I have plenty of free time." Lucia frowned, not understand why everyone looking at her like she just grew two heads.

"But... Ana is divorced and having a child out of wedlock. You remember I told you that her child is artificial inseminated? After her husband left her?" Callie wetted her lips, laying out Ana's conditions slowly afraid her mother missed any points. But Lucia just listened quietly with a smile on her face.

"I know, Callie. But you're right. People can't choose when and how they get pregnant. Some people don't deserve to have child only because they're married or there're a man and a woman who made them in the traditional ways. It's not fair to the one that physically can't. I don't fully support it but the child shouldn't be punished."

"Oh my god, mom. You actually listened to what I said." Callie squealed with joy, brought a smile on everyone's face.

"Don't push it, Callie. Just give me her number and I'll call her tomorrow." The mother rolled her eyes, trying to hide her smile while pulled out the cellphone from her purse.