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: Final chapter in Teo's welcome to the world story, but certainly not the end of this series. Thanks to all of my loyal readers; y'all rock. Beta'd by the wonderful roughian, but mistakes are as always my own.
True to Callie's prediction, Arizona stays up with Teo for the whole night. She's never been able to sleep for the first forty-eight hours after the kids are born, even though she's physically exhausted. She's just so excited, and she doesn't want to miss a second of Teo's brand new life, even if it means she'll never sleep again.
Eventually, she climbs out of the warm cocoon of the recliner to save Teo from his adorably zonked madre. He drifts in and out of sleep, but he also seems just as inclined to see every moment of his life outside the womb. She's particularly proud of the fact that she gave him a midnight and three am bottle without waking any of his older siblings, or even Callie.
The night is actually quite eventful, at least in spurts. All of the peds (and OB) night shift nurses wander in to catch a glimpse of him and (very quietly) coo and coddle over him. Her star pupil and (Callie accuses, Arizona denies) work husband Alex Karev even comes by, having been called in earlier in the long night for an emergency surgery. Karev gives his "I'm too tough to smile" smile and hands over a sad little "It's a Boy!" gift shop teddy bear, dissolving into a real, honest grin when Arizona allows him to hold the newborn.
"You and Torres make pretty babies even when you're not making 'em," he gruffs.
She smiles her thanks, maybe a little sadly. He would be a good father, she thinks, but he thinks his window passed him by and he's resigned himself to never having it.
But that's all in the middle of the night. As the night gives way to dawn, it's just her and Teo, all alone with their snoring family in a tiny hospital room.
An overly catchy Disney song from the previous night's showing of The Jungle Book plays in her head as she rocks him and he sucks on his six am bottle.
"Oo, ee, oo, I wanna be like you," Arizona sings, for Teo's ears only. His eyes peek open speciously. "I wanna walk like you, talk like you."
Since she's holding him tight, he's not swaddled, the blanket just laid over him to ward off the hospital chill. Accordingly, his tiny feet kick against her hand, starting when she sings and stopping when she stops.
"You see it's true," Arizona tries again, her grin growing wide. She shuffles over to where Callie's sleeping and kicks her foot gently but insistently.
"Whaa? Go t' sleep, baby."
"It's morning, Calliope," Arizona laughs.
"No."
"It is."
"But we haven't..." A giant yawn overtakes Callie as she stretches out. "Fed Mateo yet..."
"Correction, you haven't. I have. He's pretended to have three bottles all night, including this one. You know how at first they just try to figure it out?"
"You stayed up."
"I did! And watch this. Sing him a song."
"Arizona..." Callie grabs Arizona's hips and pulls them over to her lap, checking her watch. "It's six am. Why are we singing?"
"Just sing him something and watch him," Arizona insists, fidgeting as she balances herself in Callie's lap while trying not to interrupt Teo's bottle time.
"I don't know what to sing him," Callie groans, frustrated. "I need coffee. Ooh. Not breastfeeding. That means I can have lots of coffee."
"Fine. Just watch." Arizona pulls the blanket aside and starts to sing the song again. "You see it's true."
"Seriously? I married a five year old."
Arizona ignores her and keeps singing, Teo's feet moving when her voice does, resting when she's silent.
"Someone like me, can learn to be, like someone like you..."
Callie laughs when she finally notices the movement.
"Aw. Look at his tiny little dancing legs."
Arizona puts her lips onto the soft, soft baby skin of Teo's exposed neck and covers up his little feet again.
Callie continues, "Well, he's either dancing or trying to say 'Ah! Momma, stop singing!' in newborn."
"Oh, haha. Very funny," Arizona grins.
Callie drops a kiss onto Arizona's shoulder, then rests her chin there, her arms slipping over hers so that they're both holding baby Mateo.
"It feels right," Callie whispers, looking down at the half-heartedly nursing little one. "I didn't think it would feel so right so soon."
"Do you think he'll notice he's adopted?" Arizona teases.
Barely over twenty-four hours old, Teo's skin is still very pale, but they imagine that it will darken to a pretty shade of milk chocolate like Marisol's.
"No. He'll never guess," Callie laughs, stroking Teo's brow.
She drops another kiss, this one at the collar of Arizona's soft cotton shirt. Then another, behind her ear.
There's a rustling from the hospital bed as Asa slides out from the tangle of his sisters' limbs.
"Morning," he grumbles, slipping off and shivering a little when his feet hit the cold tile. He scratches at his fuzzy head.
"Good morning, little man. Sleep well?" Arizona asks.
Asa shakes his right hand out and yawns. "I think Leni slept on my hand."
Arizona grins widely at his sleepy little boy cuteness. Callie disentangles her arms from Arizona's and holds out a hand for him to take. With skilled handsfingers, she starts to massage the blood flow back into the offended appendage. As Arizona shifts over to one side of the recliner with Teo, Callie tugs Asa into her lap, enjoying the early morning when he's the most vulnerable to cuddling. Asa nestles his head back onto Callie's shoulder and sighs, eyes on Teo.
"Thanks for the brother."
Marisol is gingerly packing up her things when a knock at her door breaks the peaceful quiet. She turns to see Arizona in the doorway, and her breath catches when she realizes Baby Teo is cradled in her arms.
"My mom is doing the paperwork. I'm going home soon."
"So are we," Arizona says gently. "Did you want to say goodbye? For now."
Marisol nods mutely.
They've worked out the details of the adoption agreement: Marisol's still on the fence about how involved she's wants to be, but she's going to have one visit a year and any other reasonable contact (birthday and /Christmas phone calls, etc) if she wants it. It's an awkward, delicate territory, they know, but at the end of the day there can never be too many people that love Mateo in his life.
"I think Asa and the girls would like to say goodbye, too, if you're up for it," Arizona says, laying the swaddled newborn tenderly into Marisol's lightly shaking arms.
"Yeah, I think that would be good."
"Good. Callie'll bring them in."
Marisol looks to the infant in her arms and ponders what exactly she feels. She should feel some sort of grief, she thinks, but as much as his sweet face tugs on her heart strings, all she feels now, after hours of uninterrupted sleep, is relief. She'll miss him, of course, but she'll miss all of the Robbins-Torres family, and she thinks of Mateo as one of them now.
Their quiet is broken as said Robbins-Torres family pours in.
"Momma, Uncle Mark says we have to go home today, 'cause Merryweather tried to bite him this morning," Lena immediately informs.
Asa snickers at the image, as does Marisol, who met the three chickens (Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather) via Skype a few weeks ago.
"Uncle Mark needs to toughen up."
"Maybe Merry just recognized a fox in the hen house," Callie teases, tickling at the ribs of the three year-old in her arms. Caroline giggles.
Teo begins to fuss then, and Marisol immediately looks to hand him back to one of his mothers. Arizona steps forward to take him, rocking him soothingly.
"Hermanito, no te llores," [Don't cry,] Asa insists sweetly. "Is he hungry, Momma?"
"Maybe a little. You can give him a bottle before we head out."
Asa nods once, pleased with the answer.
"Guys, Marisol is heading home soon. Do you wanna say your goodbyes?" Arizona asks.
Asa comes in for a gentle but awkward little boy hug.
"Bye."
"Goodbye, Asa."
"Buh-bye," Caroline waves from Callie's hip. She's still young and wary of this somewhat stranger she's only ever seen on a screen and who somehow brought them that noisy, smelly baby.
Lena then lunges forward, grabbing Marisol around the still-sore middle.
"Bye. Gracias por nuestro hermanito," she says, voice muffled. [Thanks for our little brother.]
Marisol fights back the lump in her throat at the unexpected outburst and strokes Lena's soft blonde curls.
"De nada, Lena-nena. CuĂdalo bien." [You're welcome, Lena-baby. Take good care of him.]
Lena laughs. "My abuelita calls me Lena-nena, 'cause it rhymes."
"It does."
"We'll take care of him. Promise," Lena says.
Asa nods earnestly to back her up. Caroline is less interested, squirming to get down.
Callie sets her the dark haired toddler on the ground and moves to embrace Marisol. Their words were all said in the delivery room, so each of them simply triesy to put all of their gratitude into the hug. Then Callie takes Teo from Arizona, who also hugs Marisol.
"Take care of yourself," Arizona says warmly. "Call us if you need us."
"I will," Marisol nods firmly.
"Troops," Arizona then turns to the three older children. "Let's head out. We have bags to pack and a room to clean."
Callie rolls her eyes as the four jokingly march out with a chorus of "Bye!"s.
"Here. He's settled down. Say your goodbyes," Callie says gently when they're alone with Mateo. She lays the boy in Marisol's arms. "I'll be right outside the door."
"Hola, nene," Marisol says softly. "Guess it's gonna be weird not hearing my voice every day. Plenty of voices to keep you company, though. Be a good boy and listen to your mamis. They know what's best. You're lucky, Teo. I'll always love you, but they can give you everything you need, with love to spare. So, I guess I'll see you around."
She drops a kiss to his smooth forehead and feels way too grown up as she pulls open the door, just a little teary.
Callie smiles sweetly as she takes Mateo back from her. "We'll be in touch."
Dr. Montgomery is waiting with her, taking a step forward as Callie takes one back. Addison puts a warm arm around Marisol.
"Alright. I better go see if they're all ready," Callie says, keeping eye contact.
"Okay. Bye."
Callie smiles bittersweetly and holds Teo close. "Bye."
Marisol thinks the tears she sheds into Dr. Montgomery's shoulder as Callie walks away are as much of relief as they are of sadness.
"Everything go okay?" Arizona asks, meeting Callie at the doorway.
Over her wife's shoulder, Callie can see Asa ready and waiting with a bottle.
"As well as it could," Callie says honestly.
Arizona nods, taking and squeezing her hand. "How about we give him a bottle and then head home?"
"I'd love that," Callie sighs. "What do you say, Teo?" Then she catches a glimpse of each of the older children's bright red t-shirts. "Oh my god. What are they wearing?"
"Teo's got one, too!" Lena exclaims, holding up a matching Thing Four onesie.
"Arizona, you didn't."
"Oh, I so did."
"You know this is only going to encourage Yang to refer to them by number instead of name."
"That's alright. Right, Thing Two?"
"Yep!" Lena agrees with her momma brightly, still excitedly displaying the shirt for her baby brother.
Callie moves to supervise Asa feeding Teo his bottle, Lena close at her heels. Arizona surveys the room to see if all the packing has been done. She sees her pensive three-year-old, green blankie in hand, lingering at the edges of the action. Her big brown eyes study everyone's movements with half-interest, half-wariness.
"Doing okay there, Care-bear?" Arizona asks her softly, squatting to her level. She groans inwardly at her unconscious use of Mark Sloan's nickname for the toddler. Cari's hand, blankie and all, grabs a hold of Arizona's shoulder as she nods. "It's alright. You'll get used to him. Maybe even like him, when he's a little bigger. You'll love being a big sister."
"He's so loud," Caroline complains, her straight bangs falling in her eyes. Arizona brushes them away.
"Not right now, he's not. Want to get a better look? Asa's giving him a bottle, so he'll be nice and quiet."
Arizona raises her arms in an offer to pick the girl up, which she happily accepts, holding tight to her momma's neck. She groans, outwardly this time, as she pushes herself up to stand.
"Goodness you're getting big, Caroline."
She carries the toddler over to the recliner, where Asa is tucked in deep, pillow on his lap where Teo lays, Callie hovering close by. Lena has clambered up one arm of the chair, intently watching the baby suckle. Arizona sighs, resting her head on Caroline's.
She's ready to take her family home.
Arizona escapes the craziness of downstairs, with the three hyperactive kids and their four indulgent grandparents, and slips into the nursery where Callie has been holed up with Teo for about half an hour now.
"Is he giving you trouble or are you hiding?" Arizona asks, leaning in the doorway, a contented smile spreading across her face as she watches Callie and Teo in the rocking chair.
"Hiding, clearly," Callie grins, looking up. Her hair, dark, curly, and just the slightest bit unkempt, falls in her eyes. At the sight, Arizona wonders how many times somebody can fall in love with someone without falling out of love in between. She thinks she might do it about once every other day.
"They're playing seven person Go Fish. I'm afraid Lena and your father may come to blows over that last three of spades."
Callie laughs. "They're both very stubborn."
The room lapses back into a comfortable silence as Arizona makes no signs of moving out of the small sliver of light in the doorway, happily propping herself up against its frame to watch these two together. Callie begins humming a little eighties power ballad in Teo's ear softly, almost unconsciously. Arizona watches with delight as Teo's feet begin to bounce along with the song. As a pediatrician, she knows there's no scientific way that he's actually dancing, but the mother in her wants to believe he is.
"Hold me closer, tiny dancer," Arizona laughs softly.
"Really?" Callie rolls her eyes.
"You keep saying that like you're surprised at the things I do."
"I am. You continue to surprise me, in wonderful ways, every day."
"Aw, Calliope, that was romantic."
Callie grins sloppily. "As a reward, will you refrain from singing Elton John to our newborn?"
"I don't like breaking my promises to you," Arizona shakes her head. "Let's not set me up to fail. I will, however, suggest you lay him down in his crib. When he wakes up in three or four hours, we'll move him down to the bassinet in our room."
"And what are we going to do for those three to four hours?"
"Well, there are quite a lot of obstacles between us and our bedroom, but I think we might be able to make it into the hall closet unnoticed."
"Dr. Robbins, are you propositioning me?"
"Duh," Arizona grins.
"And in a closet, no less. I feel like an intern."
Pushing off the door, Arizona comes to gently take Mateo from Callie's arms. He's half asleep already, and she moves to lay him in his crib.
"Are you accepting?"
"I could be swayed."
"Come into the linen closet and I'll make it worth your while." More serious, she focuses on Teo, running a finger down the slope of his tiny little nose. She sings: "Blue jean baby..."
"Stop it."
"LA lady..."
"Arizona, I'm serious."
"Seamstress for the band..."
"Is this really necessary..."
"Pretty eyed, pirate smile. Married a music man."
"Okay, I guess it is."
"Goodnight, our Tiny Dancer. Sleep tight. Don't let the bed bugs bite."
"Oh, god. That's gonna stick."
Arizona laughs and extends a hand, which Callie takes willingly.
"How about that closet?"
fin
