Title: Tiny Dancer

Author: A. Windsor

Pairing: Callie/Arizona

Rating: PG-13

Disclaimer: All television shows, movies, books, and other copyrighted material referred to in this work, and the characters, settings, and events thereof, are the properties of their respective owners. My one semester of law school could allow me to legalese this a little more, but it also tells me it's pretty useless. So please don't sue; it's not mine, I'm just playing!

Summary: They have a plan for four.

Author's Note: Into the home stretch, one chapter to go, but don't worry. There's plenty more Robbins-Torres world where this came from. Thanks for your great response, as ever! You guys rock.


The contractions progress slowly and steadily until they stall at five hours in. Addy is an hour or so out, but their local OB assures them it's a natural pause, and the baby is perfectly healthy. She encourages them to take advantage and rest up. Arizona steps out to call and check on the kids.

"Marisol, you really need to call your mom."

"No."

"I get it, you had a fight, but it's scary. I know. You shouldn't have to do it without her. If my girls, in the far, far, far future, were going through this without me..."

"No. She'll try to take him. She said she doesn't want her nieto raised by two..."

"Lesbians?"

Marisol grimaces. "Not the word she used. She says he'll go to hell."

"Pretty sure having two moms isn't the sin," Callie jokes, brushing her hands through her hair nervously. "She can't, you know? It's your decision. As long as you're still sure..."

"I am," Marisol interjects forcefully. "I don't want to raise this baby; I want you and Arizona to." Her breath catches and her eyes get wet. "You don't understand. No one's ever loved me the way you love your kids. The way you'll love him. I want him to have that. To... be loved, like that."

"Your mother loves you."

"Yeah, but she also resents me. And I never want him to be resented. She wasn't much older than I am now, and my dad didn't stick around past the first diaper change. And she seems to think being raised by two women is worse than being raised by one and her endless stream of boyfriends."

Marisol grimaces again, this time in pain. Callie takes her hand.

"How long did it take you? With the older kids?"

"It's all a blur, but I'm told fourteen with Asa, eleven with Lena, and ten with Caroline. I think. The first is always the longest."

"Great." She squeezes Callie's hand, fighting down the fear and searching for another topic. "Arizona said you decided on a first name."

"We did."

"What is it?"

"It's a surprise."

"Even from me?"

"Yep. That's how we do it. Have to make sure it fits."

"Still fighting over the middle name?"

"Yeah," Callie laughs. "We've never had this much trouble, but we used all the grandparents with the other three. And Arizona is being stubborn."

"I'm not stubborn; I'm opinionated."

"Same thing," Callie greets her wife with a soft smile.

Arizona sits down beside Callie, squeezing her thigh reassuringly. She can see how anxious Callie is and remembers that she's never been on this side of it.

"Well, I'm almost always right, so we'll see. The kids are good. Mark took Lena and Grey to see Teddy, but the other kids weren't interested."

"I thought that might happen. I could sense a major pout in Lena when you told her she wasn't going to see Aunt Teddy. And the baby."

"But mostly Aunt Teddy," Arizona laughs. She turns to Marisol. "Teddy is Lena's madrina. She's very attached. Teddy just adopted a little boy of her own. Nicholas."

"A playmate for the baby," Callie smiles.

"And we didn't even plan it that way," Arizona adds.

Callie gets more serious.

"Are you sure we can't call your mom? So she can know. And you can talk to her."

"No, please. I'm fine. I'll call her when he's here. I promise."

"Okay. I'll stop nagging."

"You're a mom; it's what you do."


They're all relieved to see Addison when she arrives, and the contractions soon start again in earnest.

Callie is awe, watching Arizona coach Marisol through it all. She's never actually seen her wife talk someone through labor before, just been on the receiving end, and Arizona is simply amazing at it. She keeps her voice gentle but insistent, one hand offered for squeezing, the other tenderly soothing Marisol's brow. Callie is grateful for her, all over again, and only her anxiousness over their son's birth keeps her from kissing her, hard, then and there.

Later, Addison and Arizona will remind her that never stopped her when she was the one in labor.

"You're doing great, Marisol," Arizona says softly, evenly, as Marisol sobs into another contraction.

Callie's hips twinge sympathetically. Labor is a terrifying, horrifying, terribly painful experience, and she can't imagine doing it all alone at sixteen.

"I can't. I can't, I can't, I can't."

"You can, and you are, sweetie," Addison encourages. "We're almost there."

"Squeeze Calliope's hand as hard as you have to. She breaks bones for a living; you can't hurt her," Arizona soothes.

Callie takes that as her cue to stop musing and start helping. She squeezes Marisol's hand in acknowledgment.

"I know it feels like you can't do it. I know. I've been there. But you can. You have to. Because there's no other choice. Just, step into the pain. Use it, and then it will be over. It'll be over, and the pain will be gone."

Arizona smiles and nods encouragingly.

"Trust her on that. She's a rock star at having babies."


They agreed beforehand that Arizona would be the first to hold him, just as she had with Asa, Lena, and Caroline. Callie had peppered her with questions about what it was like, that first moment holding a baby she'd previously felt a little distant to. But she still doesn't feel ready when their baby boy comes screaming into the world, with that same exact newborn wail his siblings all cried, angry at being shoved into the world.

Addison quickly wraps him up and deposits him in Arizona's eagerly awaiting arms.

"Hey bubba," Arizona coos, teary-eyed and super-magic smiled. "Hey, I'm your Momma. We've spoken on the phone."

Callie laughs (or is it sobs?), surprised at the tears already flowing from her eyes.

"He's perfect," Arizona meets her wife's eyes. "Absolutely perfect."

Callie takes a step closer, and Arizona moves to lay the baby in her arms.

"This is your mami," Arizona introduces as Callie cradles the newborn close. "She's been very nervous about meeting you."

"Hola, m'ijo," Callie says softly, looking down at his blotchy skin and squinty eyes. And she gets it. Everything Arizona ever said about this moment is true. He's hers; she can feel it. "Bienvenido."

"See," Arizona whispers, wrapping her arms around the two of them, chin on Callie's shoulder. "No need to be nervous."

Callie turns and kisses her sweetly.

"You were right," Callie sighs against her lips.

"And?" Arizona asks as Callie drops her forehead gently onto hers.

"And awesome."

"Never forget it."

Arizona pulls away and nods towards Marisol. Callie nods in agreement.

"He's beautiful, Marisol. Do you wanna see him?"

The girl nods tearfully as Callie sets him on her chest.

"H-hi," she stutters through her shuddering breaths. The baby kicks and flails, but his screaming has quieted to whimpers.

"See? You did great," Arizona says sweetly, wiping her own eyes as Marisol continues to sob. "It's all over."

"We've gotta get him to the nursery for a bit. We'll bring him right back," the nurse says gently, looking for approval from Drs. Torres and Robbins.

"They just have to weigh him and stuff," Callie clarifies as the nurse scoops up their newborn son. She feels a pang of separation anxiety she'd always been too exhausted and in shock to feel before. Arizona squeezes her elbow. Callie turns wide eyes to her. "Go with him? Please. I don't want him to be alone."

"Okay," Arizona nods understandingly. "You can come, too."

"I want to stay with Marisol."

"Alright, I'll be with him. We'll be back soon."

She kisses Callie's cheek and takes the baby from the nurse, walking him to the nursery.


Marisol delivers the placenta with no complications. Addison hugs her and prescribes lots of rest, leaving her and Callie alone under the pretense of going to check on the baby, promising to be back soon.

Marisol has yet to stop sobbing, and that makes a ball of dread pool in Callie's stomach. She knows it could be just the exhaustion and hormones, but Marisol does have a small window to change her mind, and now that she's fallen in love, she knows that would devastate her.

"Marisol. ¿Qué pasa?" she starts gently, soothing hand on her shoulder.

"It's over," the girl gulps. "I'm not ready."

"Not ready for what, querida?"

The endearment only makes her cry more.

"For it, to be over," Marisol hiccups.

Callie freezes. "Don't make any rash decisions. You have time."

"No, no. I'm ready to give him up. But not you. Not your family. I don't want to go back there. I know you only wanted me for him, but it's the most wanted I've ever felt. I'm not ready to lose that."

"Marisol," Callie's heart breaks.

"Lo siento. No quiero ser esta chica." [Sorry. I don't want to be this girl.]

"Basta," Callie says softly, wiping the girl's tears. "It's okay. You have to go back, though, because no matter what you think, your mami loves you, and she'll miss you. There's nothing my kids could do, not ever, no level of angry they could make me, that would make me stop loving them. It's been my experience that even when parents are mad, angry, disappointed, they're really just scared. Scared of losing their little girl. She needs you to come back. But you'll never lose us. It won't be the same, of course. For one, our kid won't be kicking you in the bladder. We'll always be here for you, though. Because we're always going to be linked by him. Because you've given us the most amazing gift."

"Really?"

Marisol's sobs have slowed during Callie's speech (which she thinks Arizona would be proud of).

"As Lena would say, 'Claro'." [Of course.]

Marisol gives a watery laugh. "She does say that a lot."

"I know, right? A total dork. That's what I get for having a dork's babies."

Marisol bites her lips, eyes glassy with exhaustion. "Did you know? When you first met Arizona, did you know she was the one? I want that some day, and I wanna know when I'll know."

Callie laughs a little, thinking about her amazing wife.

"Yeah. I think I did. I was so scared, though. It took me forever to admit it to myself. It wasn't until I saw her at her worst, and I loved her anyway, that I allowed myself to really see it. So, don't worry too much about when you'll know. You just will."

"Okay."

"Okay. Can we call your mom now? We can get her on the next plane up."

"Yes. Please."


One of the perks of being world-class surgeons is cajoling the OB nurses into giving them their own room so that they can give Marisol and her mother some space, and have a place where all their friends and family can come and meet Mateo Oliver Robbins-Torres.

Since little Teo was born after midnight and has to spend twenty-four hours in the hospital, he won't be released until the next morning. They decided, then, to have a Robbins-Torres family sleepover in the hospital room. The kids had been overjoyed to meet their new baby brother (Asa especially, Caroline less so) and eventually fell asleep three to a hospital bed watching one of the movies Arizona stole from Peds.

Callie and Arizona are cuddled in the tilted back oversized recliner, Teo wedged between them.

"I kinda like being with him when he's this little without feeling like my body's been ripped apart and sewn back together," Callie whispers.

"I like being able to hold you so soon after," Arizona smiles warmly, brushing hair behind Callie's ear and leaving her hand to cradle her cheek. "And that once we get home, and can find a spare moment, I can make love to you as soon as possible."

"Oh, so, in ten years?" Callie grins, closing her eyes and breathing in the mixture of Teo and Arizona.

"Dear god, I hope not."

"Me, too. Mm, those three terrors are lucky we did it this way last," Callie teases, peeking one eye open.

Arizona pokes her in the ribs. "Don't say that. I wouldn't trade them for the world."

Teo is alert but miraculously not crying as Callie draws soft circles onto his chest.

"I guess you're right," Callie yawns.

"Don't fall asleep. You'll squish the baby," Arizona sings playfully.

"Nah, I know you're gonna stay awake anyway, baby hog."

"True. Don't worry, Teo. I won't let Mami squish you, I promise. She's a good Mami, even if she gave you your middle name after a talking cat and made your initials spell MORT."

"Hush. I won rock, paper, scissors, fair and square. Oliver's a great name."

"For a nineteenth century orphan. Which is distasteful."

"It is not. Teo's not an orphan. He's got more moms than he knows what to do with. Besides, it's better than Bradley. That's such a WASPy name."

"So is Oliver!"

"Shh, you'll wake the hellions. You just hate losing."

"Whatever."

"Stop pouting and kiss me before I fall asleep."

"Oh, alright."


tbc